Public Info

Coordinator

John ross, KD8IDJ

Well, it’s here…. the OFFICIAL start to the 2019 Ohio Section Newsletter Contest! If you send out your January newsletter in December…. you can enter the contest now! You will still need a newsletter from a different month (a total of two) to be officially entered and eligible for judging. Most everyone sends a newsletter every month or a notification their electronic newsletter/website is ready for viewing. They all go into a special electronic file; the paper newsletters are printed (in color) and filed away in a heavily guarded steel rack cabinet until July! I read all of the newsletters but can’t tell anyone what you’re up to! The first time the judges see them is at the July judging table and I have to sit back and watch the magic happen! Our judges are pretty good picking the local winners and over the last few years we have generated regional winners as well. They are all seasoned journalists and public relations professionals who have been where we are….in the trenches of turning out monthly newsletters. In case you forgot, here’s a little background: Steve Wilson, President, Wilson Group Communications. Steve is a Vietnam Veteran and was a correspondent during his time in Vietnam. He worked for many of the larger news organizations across the country and his work has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize Donna Wilson, Vice President, Wilson Group Communications Donna is a communications professional and has worked with hundreds of clients and organizations. Jeanne Fox Jeanne is experienced Broadcast Journalist and worked for stations in Toledo and for CNN. A PR Professional she also worked for the Borden Company in Columbus. Kim Norris Kim is also an experienced Broadcast Journalist working for local TV in Columbus. As a communications and public relations professional she has held positions at AT&T and several State Of Ohio departments. We have a new judge joining our ranks this year…her story is below. All of us take the Ohio Section Newsletter Contest seriously…so do our judges. It’s what makes this the best and longest running contest in the country and what keeps our HAMS on top of their club’s activities. The OFFICAL rules are also below…call or email with any questions…and remember we are all winners. Thanks for all you do for Amateur Radio. NEW JUDGE FOR THE NEWSLETTER CONTEST A new judge will be joining our current four judges for the 2019 Newsletter Contest…Erin Cribbs. Erin worked for AT&T for 18 years…ending up in the President’s Office! Earlier this year, after sending her daughter off to college, she decided it was time to get back to her own degree work, so she enrolled in Columbus State. She will complete her Associate degree in May then after a semester at Capital University will have her degree in Business and Marketing. She also has a little journalism DNA. She wrote for a couple of local rags and, while working with me, she was under the watchful tutelage of a seasoned journalist!!! Erin will add another set of eyes and another dimension to our judging ranks. She will be a welcomed addition and help us with the BEST newsletter contest anywhere. HAMS AMONGST US It may be just me, but I keep finding amateur radio operators in the strangest places…and not when I’m looking for them. Last week, while at lunch with fellow employee, I learned that a guy in the room across the hall was a HAM! I have talked this guy for months, known him for years, and the subject or amateur radio never came up despite a handheld radio hooked to my belt and a 19” mag mount antenna hanging from the ceiling above my desk. I rushed back to the office to tell him the good news and found out he had been transferred to another location! Just missed him by that much! A few phone calls later, and after much amazement, we made contact, and all is good in the world of amateur radio. If there is a moral to this story, I think it would be…look around, keep talking about ham radio and maybe, and wear a name tag with your call sign on it! We are everywhere!! CHRISTMAS EVE DX I guess this all started when I was a kid and found out there weren’t reindeer flying across the sky on Christmas Eve. I would go down to the old coalbin/converted –to- ham-shack and, only by the light of the dial, listen to the DX from around the world. Turning the knob would bring in holiday conversations from every part of the globe and made me feel like I was connected to a very large Christmas party. Some of the conversations were hard to hear with all of the static and whine but those were the best…usually from the furthest corners of the world. It was mesmerizing and went on for hours lasting sometimes just before dawn on Christmas morning. A kid with a shortwave radio staying up all night…imagine that! I still do this today…when I can…in the quite of the evening and only by a dim light. A blast from my past…yes…a reminder there is a big world on the other side of the radio. Being an amateur radio operator, I can now talk to those folks…share greetings…but it’s the listening that still means the most. In the solitude that surrounds Christmas Eve you can hear many things beyond conversations. I appreciate how I came to this hobby…to this point…and what I’ve learned around electronics and human nature. Amateur Radio is connection that’s more than static and whine… it’s a reminder that we are a very small part of a much bigger entity…and should revel in every moment on the air or off. My thanks for a great year of ham radio….and I hope your holiday is meaningful and happy. Merry Christmas!