Central Division

Jack Parker-W8ISH, talked about the four "Fs" in amateur radio.  He said every loves Food, Fun, Frequencies and Fellowship.  Those are key ingredients for the success of any club or public service project. Jack’s comments are backed by three very successful Amateur Radio Club
Workshops held around the state this year.  Nearly a hundred hams from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and the east coast have shared ideas on how to get amateur radio operators back in the seats and involved with club activities.  

Workshop studies show that hams are pre-occupied with career, family, church and other community activities.  Jack said, “We must not curse the Internet but embrace the Internet as
a tool to communicate with other hams.  Club repeaters no longer hold the interest of today’s ham.  As a result we must use the telephone, pagers and e-mail to inform club members of up coming activities.  The workshops found that clubs must minimize “debate factors” during club meetings and focus more on entertaining and informing members by using guest speakers.  Again, Food, Fun, Frequencies and Fellowship.  

Jack says we must heed the warning that either we use our frequencies or we will loose our frequencies.  Make not mistake, the threat is very real. So, how does amateur radio prosper?  By practicing the three “Cs”, Callsign, Communicate and Commitment.  Now that you have a Callsign,
begin to Communicate with other hams on a daily basis and make a Commitment to become more involved in club and public service activities.  Jack’s comments cover material developed during the workshops and is featured on the Workshop pages of this webpage.

text by w8ish