It is with a heavy heart, we report the passing of Mitchell Martin, WA5ZAP, the evening of January 31. Mitchell was a integral member of the Midland Amateur Radio Club serving as the Club Secretary, the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator for license testing and the dedicated member who picked up the doughnuts and opened the clubhouse for Saturday morning coffee. He held an Amateur Extra Class License and had served 18 years as Club Secretary.

Mitchell will be greatly missed.

The MARC Christmas Party has been moved.  We will be meeting at the Monterey Cocina Mexicana (Jorge’s) on the North side of the Albertson’s shopping center at Wadley and Midland Drive.  The date and time have not changed.  We will start gathering at 6:30 pm on Monday December 9, 2019.  The Monterey Cocina is located  at 32°01’02.73” N, 102°08’32.63” W, Lat/Long; or, 3323 N Midland Drive.

The remodeling of the Cattle Baron has taken longer than they originally anticipated, so we have to try another establishment.  Please join us Monday Night. We well still order the menu and pay individually (or by couple) for our food and drinks. 

I’m looking forward to an enjoyable evening.

Merry Christmas!

David KF5WDJ

The 2020 St. Patrick’s Day Hamfest is set for March 21st, 2020. Mark your calendars NOW to attend.

You can find all the info on the hamfest website at https://hamfest.w5qgg.org/. Take advantage of the Early Bird Special until December 31 to save $5 on The Package Deal. Just enter “5off” at checkout.

We are also raffling off the latest Elecraft top of the line transceiver, the K4, at the hamfest. For more info and to purchase your raffle ticket you can go directly to the raffle page on the hamfest website at https://k4raffle.w5qgg.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the hamfest!

The September Monthly General Membership Meeting will be held on Monday, September 16, 2019.  The meeting has been moved to the 3^rd Monday of the month.  Our special guest will be Mr. John Stratton, N5AUS, the Acting Director for the West Gulf Division of the ARRL.  His talk will cover the change of direction of the Board of Directors that has taken place during this last year.  John is running for the next term as Director and has served several years as the Vice Director.

On the weekend of July 20th & 21st the Midland ARC and Big Spring ARC provided communications for the annual Bike MS Cactus and Crude Ride from Midland to Lubbock. A total of 23 MARC and BSARC hams participated.

A total 213 riders left the starting line at the Apache office in Midland at 7:10 am Saturday morning. The first riders arrived in Lamesa at 9:42 am. The ride continued on Sunday morning with 206 riders leaving Lamesa at 7:00 am with the first riders arriving at the Caprock Winery in Lubbock at 9:50 am.