Are we there yet?
As conditions regarding Covid 19 gradually improve I am fielding lots of questions about when the club will return to its normal operations. When will we return to the Northbrook Library for our VE exams and open up our newly established ham station to the public? When will we get back to group meetings at Heller? Is the Fox Hunt going to happen later this summer? Are we going start Hams in the Park soon?
As more and more of the population gets vaccinated and as the positivity rates continue to fall in the Northern suburbs, I can understand the anxiety over returning to our former state of normalcy. My quick answer to all these questions is we are slowly coming out of our lockdown, but problematic variants of the virus requires us to proceed with caution and until we have more information, I cannot provide a definitive answer; but we are moving toward a “yes” once there is consensus for all authoritative sources.
But the virus has not stopped us from moving forward on a number of fronts. We are currently in discussions with an instructor at Glenbrook North H.S., District 225 regarding licensing his students at the Technician Level by providing supplemental studies to his Honor’s engineering students. As part of our community outreach effort, we hope to work cooperatively with his class as well as integrating the Northbrook Library project into the mix. We are currently developing an “Intro to Ham Radio” course for virtual dissemination in mid-May for the library. More to follow on these initiatives as they develop.
Last month I singled out two of the club’s unsung heroes for recognition in this blog. This month I have selected two more individuals, without who’s stellar assistance and dedication, the quality of our club’s offerings would truly be diminished. Tami Widbrodt, KD9IXB and Dave Hewitt, WW9S serve as significant forces within our club.
Tami is well known by most members as the Membership Director and one of the leaders in our Thursday Night Net. A relative newcomer to the club within the last 5 years, she has already left her mark on our operations. She is responsible for improving the automation of our weekly net sign-ins, as well as handling her monthly net assignments with grace and confidence. When we need questionnaires developed, she is one of our go-to people. She spends considerable time interviewing potential club members and provides detailed synopses of her interviews to the Board for consideration and voting. Her enthusiasm and can do attitude lifts the spirits of us all. Thanks Tami, for all you do for the club. It is greatly appreciated.
Dave has been a fixture of the club far preceding my presence. He remains one of the pillars of our organization. Best known for being our Club Vice President, he doubles and triples as the Build Club Chairman and Program Committee Chair. His development and expansion of the Build Club is truly notable, recently having put into place no less than five mentors and multiple project tracks for everyone from beginner to advanced. He has devoted time to pre-building many kits, promoting those that work and axing those that are duds. He has rewritten documentation on kits that fall short of his expectations so that participants will gain a positive experience. His feedback from participants of the Build Club have been nothing short of glowing. The same goes for his selection of topics and speakers for our monthly meetings. Under his excellent leadership, our attendance at virtual meetings has grown steadily, as does their viewing throughout the meetings by staying until the meeting concludes. As a technical resource, he is one of our “go to” champions. He readily volunteers his time and skills to keep our club running smoothly from behind the scenes.
So to Tami and Dave, you are truly great assets and our club would not be where it is today without your dedication, guidance, and many skills. Thank you for all that you do,
Well, that’s it for April. Stay safe and get vaccinated when it is your turn. You will be helping us all return to normalcy much sooner.
73,
Burt KR9T