Greetings to All,
As 2023 winds down, it is customary to review where we have been this year. With the pandemic in our rear view mirrors for over two years now, we continue our return to normalcy.
The Ole Virginia Hams participated in, and oversaw the final season of the Tri It Now mini triathlons. We wish Ina Nenninger, owner & organizer, a happy retirement.
Don, WA2SWX, and his team oversaw another successful Tailgate Party. He is also currently planning the 2024 Tailgate Party. It will be his last this time, as his house on the water is ready for his well-deserved retirement. He says he will be leaving us before January 2025, possibly as early as this summer.
Cat, KM4PBD, took the helm for her inaugural run as Field Day Chairwoman, and a fine debut it was. She even took home an award for that. More on that later.
Andy, KJ4MTP, lead us through another successful Warrior Bike Ride. This year the OVH provided 25 volunteer spotters, with Andy running the show. We helped the SOWW Team raise over $97,000.00 this year.
We experienced another bit of the changing of the guard this year. Wayne, N7QLK, is leaving the club.
Wayne was the traditional leader of the Prince William Turkey Trot (5k) & Mashed Potato Mile. This is the first year he didn’t lead the OVH team. Wayne has finally retired and will be moving to Florida, and with brand new knees as well. Talk about a new beginning.
Additionally, he was the W4OVH trustee. We will be making an announcement on this soon.
On December 2nd, George, K4GVT, once again lead the Ole Virginia Hams participation in the 77th Annual Greater Manassas Christmas Parade.
The parade ran from 10 AM until 12 noon but many of the participants were there prepping from 6:30 AM on. We dodged a bullet, weather wise. I was afraid it was going to be a replay of last year, but the rain ended the day before, on December 1st. On the day of the parade, the AM fog burned off pretty early, and then it was just cloudy.
At this time, I would like to recognize those involved:
Spotters: John, KG4NXT; Lynn, KX4HR; Greg, KM4CCG; Mike, KO4BCN; Byron, AK4XR; Gene, N4HFW and George, K4GVT. Net Control was David, KG4GIY.
Our OVH Trailer Team: Driver James, KQ4CAX with Decorators and Co-Pilots Daniela, KQ4IKQ and her husband Luis, KQ4GBC.
George, K4GVT, also roamed the parade route taking pictures, so check the following link for some of the pictures from this event.
Manassas parade 2023 (k4gvt.com)
A big thank you to all.
Our World Famous OVH Christmas Party was December 10th, once again held at the Yorkshire Restaurant. We had a good turnout. I counted 40 people, but my count might be off, too.
Several awards were handed out.
Cat – for her successful inaugural Field Day Chairwomanship.
Luther – recognition of 10 years of leadership of the Membership Committee.
Gil – for his continued excellence in contesting and also his superior repeater support.
Byron – recognition of his continued club dedication, exemplified as both Past President & Past Field Day Chairman
Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners.
Another thank you to Theresa, KG4TVM, for organizing the party. Theresa coordinated with the US Marines, as usual, but, due to a scheduling mix up on their end, our pair of Marines were a no show. Not to be deterred, Daniela, KQ4IKQ and her husband Luis, KQ4GBC quickly volunteered to get our Toys for Tots donations to a local firehouse that night to be included in that campaign.
Thank you both, again.
Thank you to everyone to donated gifts to Toys 4 Tots, and thanks to everyone who came out to the party. Thanks too, to the Yorkshire Restaurant for again hosting us and providing us with the turkey and ham. It sure seems as if George, K4GVT, has become our resident photographer. See his party pics at:
https://k4gvt.com/ovh/christmasparty2023/index.html
Get ready to renew your membership. Your annual dues are $25 now. Please remember the new amount when you make your payment. See the mail in Flyer for renewing your club membership later in this Newsletter. Also, OVH’s web site, W4OVH.net, allows you to renew online. In order for you to be eligible to vote in our upcoming February election, you will need to be current with all of your dues.
Now would be a good time to start thinking about nominees for club leadership positions. You might even decide to serve your fellow members as an officer. You will still need to be a member in good standing to be on the ballot.
Another reminder: The annual ARRL Straight Key Night (SKN) returns on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, January 1, 0000 – 2359 UTC, which is 7:00 PM EST on December 31st. This promises to be a lot of fun for the novice (hint, hint new members) as well as experienced CW operators – there is a surprising amount of activity on the HF bands. For more information, please follow the link:
https://www.arrl.org/straight-key-night
No monthly breakfast this month, due to the Holiday Season. We will resume our breakfast on Saturday, January 13th at 8:00 AM.
As our Christmas Party was also December’s monthly meeting, our next monthly meeting will be next year – Wednesday, January 17th and NOT TUESDAY.
W4OVH Monthly Meeting
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM EST
Buckhall VFD Hall
7190 Yates Ford Road
Manassas, VA 20111
Our January program will be a CW Academy presentation by Jeff Porter.
Our February presentation will be the upcoming VA QSO party.
Also, a reminder to check in to the OVH’s Thursday night VHF/UHF repeater net at 8 PM.
The details for that are on the OVH’s web site: https://w4ovh.net
Thank you and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.
Questions, comments or war stories can be directed to my e-mail: KN4DD@arrl.net
73,
Ken, KN4DD
the 2024 comment got me confused. I thought that I had lost a year hihi