The Pete Rimmel 3rd Annual Picnic,
sponsored by the DCARC
sponsored by the DCARC
WOW! What a weekend.
If is wasn't for the 10-hour break in the middle of the night, I don't think many of us would have had the energy to make it through the entire event. All-in-all, it looks like it went pretty smoothly, especially with the number of activities we squeezed into a single weekend.
The Pete Rimmel Annual Family Picnic:
More than 30 attended, but we still had plenty of food! In addition to the normal hamburger/hot dogs, this year we had grilled shish-kabobs and pulled pork. Thanks to BeBe N4BJC, Phil K4OMD and Elza who provided a great variety of food, and Tony W6TNY who added more (plus cooked it all). Early Sunday morning, Tony cooked us some breakfast -- 8 dozen eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Additional thanks to those who brought drinks, ice and snacks for us to eat during the entire weekend.
The Florida QSO Party:
We had three stations running most of the time, thanks to Rich WB4EHG and his networking. From my estimate, we did pretty well. We had a few members who really shined in this category, and I understand that we'll get a more comprehensive report when the statistics are calculated. Here's a shot of the screen right after the end of the contest:
Note that we are placed second (yellow star next to our call), but that is only among other groups using this software (209 stations). Still, it's pretty good.
There seems to be a greater interest in contesting as a club when it's well-organized and we are not under a lot of pressure. We're out there to have fun.
Mini-Flea:
We thought it would be a good idea to have a mini-flea because of the number of people we expected to attend. I heard that quite a few items were bought/sold and the shelf unit worked better than flat tables for the flea (besides, we needed the tables for the picnic).
Fox Hunt:
With so much going on this weekend, and with the focus on the Florida QSO Party, we didn't get much participation in the Fox Hunt. Still, we came up with a winner and Dan KO4SYU chose his prize from the "prize box".
Raffle & Door Prizes:
Speaking of prizes, we raffled off the door prizes. We promised that you did not have to be present to win. That resulted in three prizes which need to yet be given out. The first is ticket number 470259. If you have that ticket, please let me know and you have 1st choice of the remaining prizes. The second and third remaining tickets were assigned to members on the sign-in sheet and we will contact them via email. (Everyone on the sign-in sheet got a single free ticket and additional tickets were sold). Prizes were donated by Phil and Elza, Neil WB2RUU, me, and George N8XH (sorry if I missed any other donors).
FCC Testing:
With all this going on, we still managed to hold some testing. Tom N4MEO, our VE Liaison, conducted several tests. We still plan to have another session on Sunday 5/21 (our usual schedule). Congratulations to those who passed.
I'm sure there will be room for improvement on each of these events, but I rate this weekend as a success.
I have started off with this summary -- let's have other comments (good and bad) about the weekend. I'm sure I've missed some points, and I particularly missed taking pictures. So what else did I forget? How about adding some more details to this thread?
73
Fred
WB4BAG
President -- DCARC
If is wasn't for the 10-hour break in the middle of the night, I don't think many of us would have had the energy to make it through the entire event. All-in-all, it looks like it went pretty smoothly, especially with the number of activities we squeezed into a single weekend.
The Pete Rimmel Annual Family Picnic:
More than 30 attended, but we still had plenty of food! In addition to the normal hamburger/hot dogs, this year we had grilled shish-kabobs and pulled pork. Thanks to BeBe N4BJC, Phil K4OMD and Elza who provided a great variety of food, and Tony W6TNY who added more (plus cooked it all). Early Sunday morning, Tony cooked us some breakfast -- 8 dozen eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Additional thanks to those who brought drinks, ice and snacks for us to eat during the entire weekend.
The Florida QSO Party:
We had three stations running most of the time, thanks to Rich WB4EHG and his networking. From my estimate, we did pretty well. We had a few members who really shined in this category, and I understand that we'll get a more comprehensive report when the statistics are calculated. Here's a shot of the screen right after the end of the contest:
Note that we are placed second (yellow star next to our call), but that is only among other groups using this software (209 stations). Still, it's pretty good.
There seems to be a greater interest in contesting as a club when it's well-organized and we are not under a lot of pressure. We're out there to have fun.
Mini-Flea:
We thought it would be a good idea to have a mini-flea because of the number of people we expected to attend. I heard that quite a few items were bought/sold and the shelf unit worked better than flat tables for the flea (besides, we needed the tables for the picnic).
Fox Hunt:
With so much going on this weekend, and with the focus on the Florida QSO Party, we didn't get much participation in the Fox Hunt. Still, we came up with a winner and Dan KO4SYU chose his prize from the "prize box".
Raffle & Door Prizes:
Speaking of prizes, we raffled off the door prizes. We promised that you did not have to be present to win. That resulted in three prizes which need to yet be given out. The first is ticket number 470259. If you have that ticket, please let me know and you have 1st choice of the remaining prizes. The second and third remaining tickets were assigned to members on the sign-in sheet and we will contact them via email. (Everyone on the sign-in sheet got a single free ticket and additional tickets were sold). Prizes were donated by Phil and Elza, Neil WB2RUU, me, and George N8XH (sorry if I missed any other donors).
FCC Testing:
With all this going on, we still managed to hold some testing. Tom N4MEO, our VE Liaison, conducted several tests. We still plan to have another session on Sunday 5/21 (our usual schedule). Congratulations to those who passed.
I'm sure there will be room for improvement on each of these events, but I rate this weekend as a success.
I have started off with this summary -- let's have other comments (good and bad) about the weekend. I'm sure I've missed some points, and I particularly missed taking pictures. So what else did I forget? How about adding some more details to this thread?
73
Fred
WB4BAG
President -- DCARC