Welcome to our busy season!
Plans are roaring ahead for World Amateur Radio Day on April 18th. As you know, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe proclaimed April 18, 2025 World Amateur Radio Day in Ottawa. And now the OARC is collaborating with West Carleton Disaster Relief to operate portable Amateur Radio stations at several locations in West Carleton. Learn more about the locations and how to get involved.
CN Cycle for CHEO is also fast approaching (May 4th) and Amateur Radio operators are needed for this one-day community event. We need some bicycle mobiles, some walking mobiles, some fixed stations along the route, and a few people for the command post. Learn more about how to get involved.
We particularly want to encourage our new hams to get involved and we will pair you with a more experienced ham to ensure your success! Be sure to let the organizer know you are a new ham when you volunteer.
To make it easier for you to get involved with OARC activities and community events, we are experimenting with a new online calendar. You can see it on our home page so be sure to check back there often for the latest info.
Membership Coordinator news
My last Prez Sez focussed on filling the role of Membership Coordinator…and it worked!
First and foremost, a big thank you to Rick Furniss VE3IHI, who has served as our membership chair since January of 2020, after serving in many other roles with the Club prior to that. I have been personally very grateful for your support, Rick, especially through the Pandemic, and through a period where the Club has been going through so much change.
Next, a warm welcome to our new Membership Coordinator, Claude Fournier. Claude started with the Canadian Coast Guard at the age of 17, rising to the rank of Captain and serving in many roles at sea and in the classroom as a Search-and-Rescue instructor. A life-long learner, Claude also earned a BA and MBA, before retiring after 40 years of service. A family member led Claude to his love of Amateur Radio. He achieved his Advanced Amateur Radio Qualification with Harrie and Thane’s coaching and is now working on his CW training. Claude’s call sign VA3VLW, which he chose because he considers that he has been on a Very Long Wave project that started at the age of 17, when the sea first called him. Claude: thank you for your service and for being our new Membership Coordinator. All membership inquiries – joining, renewing, OARC name tags, and more – can now be directed to Claude at Membership@oarc.net.
Operational planning 2025-26
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the OARC Strategic Plan 2025-2028. Some of your feedback was addressed with changes to the Plan itself, and other feedback will be addressed in our yearly operational plans. The Strategic Plan is the foundation for our operational plans and a high-level summary of the draft OARC Operational Plan 2025-26 is now available. It describes what we plan to focus on this coming year. We would appreciate your feedback so please email any comments to Ryan, the OARC Secretary, at Secretary@oarc.net no later than 5pm on Friday, April 18th.
A personal thank-you for making the March 12 “group discussions” so worthwhile
Last month’s meeting was a big success, with forty-five Amateur Radio enthusiasts providing feedback about five key OARC activities. You can read more and see photos here: March 12th meeting was a big success! We are using all the feedback we received to help inform our operational plans going forward. I am truly grateful for everyone who decided to come out in person that night. Seeing and speaking with so many of you in person, gives me energy!
Administrative note
We discovered a small error in our bylaws, which were published earlier this year. We accidentally changed the date of our financial year end from April 30th to May 31st, so we will change it back. There will be no change to the date of the OARC Annual Meeting, scheduled for June 11, 2025.
All my best and 73,
Roger Egan VA3EGY
The Prez
Last Updated on 2025-07-31 by Joannadanna