Twenty Five Years of Service!

Thank you for joining us in celebrating our... Twenty-fifth!

- 25th Anniversary Special Event Station -

Thanks to all our Club Members who spent time operating W1S and keeping our Anniversary active. Congratulations and thank you to Bill - WB1DJM for being the first contact with W1S. Thanks, also to all those who gave us contacts and wished us well over the course of the week. It's been an honor serving the communities we represent, the agencies we serve and, most of all, Sturdy Memorial Hospital. Without their gracious hospitality and cooperation, we wouldn't be what we are today. A sincere wish for a Safe and Happy Holiday Season is extended to all those we have made friends and established relationships with! ...the Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC

* As of this writing (March 12, 2004) we believe that all contesters who submitted requests for Certificates, have been awarded their certificates. Several members arrived early for our February "Ragchew" Meeting and helped fill out, stuff envelopes and get those envelopes ready for mailing. A special thanks to all those that assisted with this effort. Also, a Special Thank you to Tom Bell - W1XS who had to handle all of these requests initially. "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty", as usual, Tom. It was a great year of celebration for our 25th Anniversary... congratulations to all members on the accomplishment. Let's keep on working and enjoying the benefits of this great organization.

The W1S Certificate

- 25th Anniversary Special Event Station W1S -

Don't forget, the commemorative certificate pictured above is available to all with a confirmed QSO with W1S. Send a Self-addressed, Stamped, 9 by 12 inch Envelope to the W1SMH Callbook address! That's W1SMH, c/o Tom Bell, 64 Scout Lane, North Attleboro, MA 02760

- HISTORY -

The Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club, was formed in 1978, just following the major snowstorm know as "The Blizzard of ‘78". During that snowstorm, several local amateur radio operators provided the Hospital with communications assistance, primarily oriented around the dispatching of four-wheel drive vehicles. Those vehicles were

	utilized to provide transportation for doctors and nurses, to and from the hospital. These radio operators assisted in getting critical staff to and from the Hospital. The group, later to be known as the Sturdy Memorial Hospital Amateur Radio Club, was conceived at the time by three hospital employees and a local area resident. The charter members of the club were Bill Beardsworth Jr., Peter Cardosi, Steve Faulkingham and Mike Worthington.
The primary purpose of the club was to help provide emergency communications for the hospital. A secondary purpose was to help enhance the Hospital's image in the community by becoming involved in public service activities. A third purpose was to provide hospital employees with a recreational activity. As the motives for the creation of the club were realistic, permission was granted by the Hospital for the formation of such a club. The club was formed and it was allocated a single room in the Rice-Webb building, which became the "Radio Room" and the official meeting place.
	Now, twenty five years later, the club is still at the forefront of technology and training. Of late, the club has become much more active in emergency communications. Members of the club have undergone rigorous training and are now members of Eastern Mass A.R.E.S. and SKYWARN. Public Service is still a prime objective with a significant number of events being handled by club members each year. The Hospital still houses the club's radio room, which has some significant new additions, including our new APRS Station. Check it out sometime!

- 1978 -

- Calendar of Anniversary Events -

- 2003 -

Affiliation Date: November 19, 1978 - Brought together by the Blizzard of "78"

Field Day - 2003 - We ran our 25th Annual Field Day exercise with the same determination as always and, despite some "not so great" band conditions, performed very well. The results won't be available until sometime in 2004, but the totals were very respectable. The club has always pulled together as a well-oiled team for this event and the 25th Anniversary effort was no different.

Ham Radio Expo - 2003 - We decided, due to some changes in the way our local scout troops were participating in the Boy Scouts of America "Jamboree On The Air (JOTA)" event, to combine our 25th Anniversary Expo with the JOTA event. Scouts from the greater Attleboro area were invited to attend the Expo at Sturdy Hospital's Rice Webb Auditorium and operate from there. The event was held on Saturday, October 18th from 10 AM to 4 PM and about 20 club members were in attendance.

Ham Radio Expo - 2003 in SMH's Rice Webb Auditorium

Unfortunately, due to local Boy Scouts having other commitments at West Point, NY, a Little League Banquet and Soccer Finals, we only had one Boy Scout in attendance. Thirteen year old Alan Miller of Mansfield's Troop 51 showed up with his Dad and got the royal tour of our exhibits. We also had a visit from Wrentham Ham, Paul Freeman - N1DPW who had seen the announcement in the Sun Chronicle and decided to stop by and see what we were all about!

Pete Guimond - N1EZT, explains APRS to Alan Miller and his Dad.

Later in the day, Gary and Charlotte Ahrendts of Attleboro, stopped by for a visit. Gary, a Technical Instructor for Motorola for many years, has always been interested in shortwave radio and communications equipment. He and Charlotte decided to stop by and see if we could assist him in attaining his Amateur Radio License. We explained the Volunteer Examiner system and our plans to get test sessions under way. We gave Gary some literature on the club and some suggestions for getting started on his studies for the test. Also attending

Jim Dorrance - KD1OQ, with Gary & Charlotte Ahrendts of Attleboro.

and showing an interest in getting licensed was Ned Brennan of Rhode Island. Ned has had an interest and stopped by to learn more about the hobby. Ned also joined us for the de-briefing session at our favorite "de-briefing place" after we shut down the event. Let's wish Ned luck in pursuing his interests and support him in any way we can.

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