We have several high profile events coming up this summer
and fall, we will need many volunteers to make them happen and promote
amateur radio.
- Public Safety Day at the Fair: July 10, Winona County Fair 4pm-8pm. We will be joining other public safety groups like police, fire, first responders, auxiliary units, the National Weather Service, etc. to demonstrate how we utilize our resources to help keep our county safe. We are pleased to be invited to be part of this demonstration. Mike W0VTT and Dan, WK0W will be coordinating this. Please plan to participate if you can, for all or part of the event. This is a great event for new hams.
- Storm the Farm: details still to be determined.
- Ride the Ridges: September 21. This is an all day event, and one of the biggest events we support. We provide communications for the Winona Rotary Club bicycle ride fundraiser. For this event we provide communications for the ride that covers 3 counties and hundreds of road miles. We utilize VHF, UHF, APRS, portable repeaters, a multitude of power sources, mobile and fixed site stations, with to ultimate goal of making this the safest, best organized bicycle event in the upper Midwest. This year promises to be the largest in it’s history with some nationally known riders planning to participate. We will need more than 20 people, and new hams are always welcome, as we can pair you up with experienced operators to see how it all works. This is a large event and multiple people coordinate different parts of it.
- Waumandee Time Trials: September 28. This is another all day event
that takes place across the River in Waumandee Wisconsin. We provide communications from the bottom to the top of a 2 mile course for dozens of vintage cars racing to turn in the fastest time. Reporting everything from crashes to stalled cars to rule infractions is part of our responsibility, ultimately making this a safe event for drivers and spectators alike. Many ham operators are needed and again, first timers are welcome. Marv AC9TO coordinates this event. - Ben Klinger, our county emergency manager, has invited amateur radio to be part of a large full scale exercise involving a railroad derailment. This will take place Saturday October 5th and will involve multiple emergency response agencies, federal, state, and local. If you have never participated in an exercise of this nature, it will be well worth you time. More to come on this.