This month of September 2001 will forever be etched into our minds. The attack on our way of life, our freedom, and our people will forever change our world. The only solis that we have during this time is that we as a nation of individuals have come together with a stronger resolve. I personally thought I would never see our people come together as a whole in my lifetime. But with all our petty differences, our diversity has made us stronger. You cannot go one day or night and not see how these attacks have changed us. The terrorist themselves haven't fully grasped what AMERICA is all about. We are not about buildings, financial centers, or helpless American bodies. America is an idea. Freedom, Justice, and the Pursuit of our own way of life. No guarantees or sure things in life or this IDEA. However, it's up to the individual as to how and where they live. And now that they have blackened our eye's, like the cowards they are, they hide and seek refuge in other like minded countries. As our nations leaders prepare for the response that is deserved, we Americans must strive to push on. And we will move on. However, we will also never forget you are there in the shadows. Our guard may be up but our fortitude as a nation will survive and thrive as it always does.

This months meeting is our annual picnic and swap, which will be held at Yokuts Park. Members are asked to bring a main dish and a salad or a desert. We will also have our nominations for the next year's club officers. With several positions needing to be filled, it's time for some of you who want change to come out and run for office. I and your current slate of officers have tried to bring our club in the spotlight the last few years. I believe we have done well, however more needs to be done. Please consider running for office or serving on a committee and help our club prosper. This is also the time to vote for ham of the year. This is also the time to vote for Ham of the Year. This person should be someone we feel has worked hard for the group as a whole and has exemplified themselves as a fine citizen and member of the club. This is not a popularity contest. This award is for those folks or member who has gone the extra mile to make things happen. Please submit your vote for ham of the year to Larry, KF6JOQ. He will in turn make his report known to the Board, and that member will be honored at our Christmas meeting.

In the meantime, please donate your services in whatever way you can to your community, your country, and your club. Hope to see you all at the picnic and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

73, de K6RRS
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.
ARES/RACES Com. Chairman
NOAA Weather Spotter

Hello all,
As the days grow longer and the nights shorter we can all attest to the fact
that Summer is right around the corner. With the summer brings the heat.
This year the heat also brings the threat of rolling Blackouts for the State of California.
If you haven't already done so I would suggest that we all take steps to curtail some
of our electricity use. This is the perfect time to practice what we preach when
it comes to Emergency services. Since Field Day is right around the corner also
I would like to extend this invitaition for every one to come out and hone your
emergency operation skills. This include Settting up , running, feeding ,
and take down of an emergency station. Lars KF6AMF will be in charge of the
Field Day activities and is going to need every ones help to make this event happen.
Even though most hams think of this as a fun day to come out and play radio,
we must all remember that this is also a training exercise to test our
emergency preparedness. If you plan on comming out or are bringing
equipment out please let Lars know . We will need a head count to plan for
the meals and for accountability on the stations we will operate.

For those of you who have sold and bought Raffle tickets we will aslo hold the
Drawing for the Icom 706MllG as well as other raffle prizes. There is still time
to buy tickets but I would suggest you buy them soon so as not to miss out.
This months meeting will be field day related of course. We will take stock of who
is planning on being there and what equipment will be available as well as the
meals that will be served. There may also be a small slide show of the area
where we will be if I can get this stuff off my camera in time.

The Fireworks booth is also nearing the time we will need to have some
folks to help out. Ed KO6DY will have more information on that as it becomes available.

I hope to see you all at the next meeting and untill then conserve your
power usage and use backup battery pwr when ever possible for your radio equipment.
Remember if the Rolling Blackouts hit our area the repeater may also go down
so use the output of the repeator to make emergency contacts.
As Don N6DTB would say Keep Your Batteries Charged. You may need them this time.
Keep COOL and we will see you there at the meetings and on the Net.

73, de
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.
and ARES/RACES Com. Chairman

I would like to also take his time to thank Lars Nelson KF6AMF for standing in for me as I was on vacation. And thank your board for keeping up with all the work that is ahead of us.

The up coming Meeting will of course be our Spegetti dinner for the Mike Mc Corkle scholorship fund. So please come and join in the feast and the fellowship with your friends and family and support this great function.

Field Day is right around the corner so we will of course be looking for help with the set up and tear down as well as operators. The Fireworks booth will also need some of your time as well. It will follow field day the next week. So as you can see it will be a busy month to say the least for June.

If you havent done so please buy some tickets for the ICOM 706 that is being raffled off at Field day as well. This endevor will also support other such prizes in the future. There is so much more I would like to put down here however since I am running late with this due to my Vacation I will have to cut it short.

Thank you all for supporting your club and exceeding our expectations in club participation. Have a wonderfull month and I look foward to see you all at the Dinner.

73, de
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.
and ARES/RACES Com. Chairman

This months meeting will be a bake sale. Some of you remember last years success and we thought it might be nice to have one again.So all you Bakers can break out those secret family cookie and cake recipes and show your wares.

Another friendly reminder that the club will be auctioning off an ICOM 706MIIG at field day. Those tickets are on sale as we speak and are $5.00 a piece. Please buy a few and let your friends know about it as well. Speaking of Field day, I spoke with the folks out at 5 DOGS and they have agreed to allow us to use some of there space out there for Field Day. The only thing they ask is that we pay for the dumping of the toilets which is nominal.

The walk-a-thon is on for Multiple Sclerosis scheduled March 31, 2001. Any of you who wish to participate please contact me so I can get your T-shirt size and let the folks know who will be there. The scheduled time for us to be on site in 0700 in the morning and ending about 1200.

Also next month on April 7th we will have our tour of the Voice Of America. If you havent already done so please call Dennis, KA6TZP, if you plan on attending.

The first ham radio class has just concluded for myself, Marie N6ZFN, and Lars KF6AMF at Greenfield Jr. High school. We really had a fun time with this class and would like to thank all those hams who helped out with talking to the kids on the air.

I would also like to take the time to thank all the VE's who worked so hard at the last VE session. Your hard work to help those break into the ranks of Amateur radio and upgrade those who are already licenced is an asset to the club and the communtiy.
Well that's about it from the President's shack for this month. I thank you all for your participation on the nets and club functions. It is really a pleasure to work with such a fine group of people. See ya all at the next meeting.. 73, de
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.
and ARES/RACES Com. Chairman

Hello every one and I hope every one enjoyed the last meeting. Psk-31 is a fun mode to work and even better when someone show's you how it works. This month's meeting will be just a little more business with some fun stuff added in.

AB6CF, Bill, has resigned his post as the club call trustee. Due to personal reasons he felt it was best if someone else stepped forward who may have the desire and the time needed to fill in where he did such a wonderful job for years.
Your board of directors decided to leave it in your hands and go from there. If you are interested or know of someone who would be interested in filling the club call trustee position please come to the next meeting and let us know who you would like to see in that post. After considering your input I'll then appoint someone to be Club Call Trustee with the concurrence of the Board of Directors.

We will also have a video or two that Marie, N6ZFN, has obtained from the ARRL on Satellites; And if there is time one on Field Day. Speaking of Field Day it's right around the corner. If you would like to see Field day held at another site other than the Lake please let your board members know. I know there are some of you who have expressed interest in having it else where. Now is the time to come forward and let us know of a better location.

The Voice Of America tour is also coming on April 7th. Those who are interested should contact Dennis, KA6TZP, for more information.

Another friendly reminder that we will have an Icom 706mIIG for the Field Day Drawing. So buy your tickets now they are $5.00 a piece. If you know of someone who may be interested in some tickets you can also talk with Ed, KO6DY, and he can check you out with some tickets to sell as well.
The Fire Works booth is also on the way here soon. So if you know of a place we can have it and save us some money on the rent. OK I think I have covered as much as I can remember. I look forward to seeing you all at the next club meeting...until then

73...
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
With the Y2K finally at a close we can all start fresh and new for the year 2001. This year I and your board of directors hope to bring even more things for us to do. I would like to personally thank all the folks from last year who helped me through my first year as President. Without your help it would have been impossible to get things done. And my gratitude and congratulations goes out to the HAM OF THE YEAR KF6JOQ Larry Callahan who I felt went above and beyond this year and is well deserving of the award you the members bestowed him.

This year we have also seen our share of tragedies with the silent keys most recently KC6YBY Lou Rick's. Lou will be sorely missed by this operator and we wish his family all our best and send our prayers.

We have all come a long way from last year and now have a new year in front of us and lots of things to do. The Next meeting will feature a display of one of the hottest modes to come to Ham Radio PSK-31. This new mode has been around for about a year or two that I know of however is just now coming into its own. It is easy to use and we hope to show you how to use it and the different looks of the programs that you can download for free off the Internet. Also its not too early to talk about Field Day and the Fire works booth. We will need a chairperson for Field Day and folks who will help out with the Fire works booth. Both of these events should be a lot of fun and the Fireworks Booth will help our club raise some needed funds to repair or replace our repeater equipment. The club will also sponsor with the VOA , A tour of Voice Of America. The last one went over well and so we are planning another tour sometime in April. If you would like to be a part of that please let us know. There will also be members from other clubs who may participate as well. WE will also plan to have a T-Hunt or two, to sharpen our skills. And Marie N6ZFN will have more Training for the Ares/Races Group as well. Dennis KA6TZP and Larry KF6JOQ will be letting you know about a few Awards you can earn that involve making a few contacts here and there and would be some nice Paper to hang in your shack. Whew! That's quite a bit just to get started and there will be more to come as the year progresses.

Also Remember your Club Dues are DUE! So please plan on supporting the Club and get those dues in and be a part of all the neat stuff we have on tap for the new year. I am really excited about starting the new year off with some fun so please come to the meeting and bring some folks with you. Once last thing, Have Fun with the Hobby and share it with others that's how we grow.

73, de
Jim Thompson, President,
Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.

Jim Thompson, President, Kern County Central Valley, ARC, Inc.

The time has come to start thinking about your new slate of officers for next year. This year we kind of dropped the ball a little and did not get a committee together to canvass for possible candidates. However If you know of someone or you would like to run for office, Please come to the next Club Meeting. This months meeting is of course our picnic in the park. So bring some goodies and we can all sit and chew the Fat. You should also notice that we will have a Radio to raffle off. Once the price is met for the radio we will give it to the lucky winner. We will also have our Swap meet at the park as well. So if you have some equipment you would like to rid your shack of I am sure someone will be happy to add it to theirs. Well, that's about it for this segment my updates. Please read the memo regarding the Interference committee.