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.

Midland County Sheriff Gary W. Painter, K5GWP, ended his watch and became a silent key on May 26, 2019.   After graduating from High School, Gary joined the Marine Corp and served two tours of duty in Vietnam.  In 1985 he was elected Sheriff in Midland County and 34 years later was still serving the people of Midland County at the time of his passing.

The 64th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Hamfest was a big success! We had a great turnout with lots of good deals, forums, and eyeball QSOs! Hope you didn’t miss it! Check out the hamfest photos in the gallery.

At the general meeting held on February 11, officers for the 2019 – 2020 year were nominated and elected by proclamation. New officers are: President – David Overton, KF5WDJ; Vice-President – Dylan McPherson, KG5RKK; Secretary – Mitchell Martin, WA5ZAP; Treasurer – Steve Hopkins, K5RS; Directors – Bill Bentley, N5POB, George Robertson, KG5KUQ, and Roger Rose, W5LXS.

There was a discussion about acquiring an amplifier and tuner for the main station. The club currently owns an Elecraft KPA500 and KAT500 which are designated for the remote station. There is no time frame for the amp acquisition.

The upcoming hamfest was discussed. David Overton has five programs set up for Saturday morning. Hamfest registrations and table rentals are doing well. The need for volunteers was reviewed. All the prizes have been purchased.

The 64th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Hamfest and ARRL West Texas Section Convention is fast approaching! This year the hamfest will be March 16 at the MLK Community Center.

We have some great prizes this year as well as raffling off another Elecraft K3S transceiver. David, KF5WDJ, has been working hard getting some interesting programs lined up for Saturday morning.

If we have your email address in the hamfest database you should have received an email about the hamfest. If we don’t have your email address the hamfest flyers are expected to go in the mail sometime next week.

Go to the hamfest website at hamfest.w5qgg.org to register, buy your K3S raffle ticket, and get all the latest info. We hope to see you there!