2008 Marine Corp Mud Run

Well if you missed the 2008 Marine Corp Mud Run, you missed two things.
1) Mud, and lots of it!
2) A really cool event and some really good use of Amateur Radio!

We had a total of 11 operators providing communications support at the Mud Run. The organizers have always had trouble with communications at this site and we were able to really come through for them.
With a total of over 1200 runners it was quite a large undertaking and I was told that the event will be moving to a mush larger site next year.

Thanks to Jim for getting this organized, Ron for being an excellent Net Control, and to everyone else who turned out to help!

RACK September 18th Meeting

Don Riley (N4CZL) invites you to attend the Radio Amateur Club of Knoxville (RACK) September 18 meeting at Wallace Memorial Baptist Church on Merchant's Road. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm. The speaker will be Bill Renaud, WR4MS, with the subject, 'Emergency Communications and the Incident Command System.' Bill will have a video presentation using a laptop computer along with a video projector for his presentation.

Don Riley (N4CZL), RACK First Vice President, can be reached by e-mail at rileydon@charter.net for additional information.

Refreshments will be served during the break, and a free prize drawing will be conducted. Family and guests are always welcome.

September '08 President's Corner

Hello Fellow Amateurs.

The guest speakers of the last few months have been outstanding. If you have missed them, the fellowship and knowledge they shared have been great for our hobby. W4TO Don Prater, last month's speaker, has a remote site that is second to none. A tremendous amount of engineering ideas were put into his station and I envy his ability to come up with such outstanding ideas. Don, thanks for sharing this information with the club.

We have some upcoming events that we need to put on our calendars. First, the September meeting is on the 18th this month. Our guest speaker will be Bill Reneud,WR4MS. His topic will be emergency communication and the incident command system. With the hurricane season in full blast, this is information that we all need to have in our thought processes. I look forward to Bill's presentation.

Another event will be Sept. 13. This will be providing communication for the Marine Corp League Mud Run at Melton Lake Park. This will involve a controlled net with information being relayed to the event staff on their needs around the course. If you want to participate in this event, e-mail me at my call sign @tds.net to be put on the list. I have to give it to the MCL a couple of days prior to the event.

Next is our Fall Picnic. The date has been changed to October 12, noon till 4:00pm at Adair Park in Ftn. City. The club will provide the usual burgers and dogs and drinks. If you could bring a side dish or dessert, we would appreciate it.

Outside of our regular meetings, the next event is going to be our Christmas Party. It will be held at Louis' Restaurant in Ftn. City. Tickets will be available later as will details such as price and menu.

Our website is back up and starting to pick up speed. Lou, WB3JKQ, has taken over the site and is putting a great amount of effort into keeping it current. Thanks, Lou.

We will also be attending to some left over business of the election that was delayed till the September meeting. If you would like to serve on the Board of Directors of the Club, contact Hal Moncier, AG4GF, who is leading the nomination committee.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings and encourage you to bring a visitor.

Keep our troops in your prayers,

Jim Norman, N4CFB
The Prez