QNEWS - APRIL 18 VK4 ON AIR 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------* DID YOUR CLUB TELL ANYONE ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO THIS SPCIAL DAY? QUEENSLAND (VK4) STATE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PORTAL Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest news, key facts and figures, contacts and answers to your questions. tinyurl.com/uddvmx98 ------------------------------------------------------------* THE FOLLOWING NEWS CAN BE HEARD FROM OUR AUDIO SERVICE Available in Audio RIGHT NOW www.wiaq.org.au OR www.vk7ax.id.au/wianews/ Also search QNEWS (make sure it IS the Ham Radio QNEWS) in your podcast. listennotes.com/podcasts/q-news-ar-news-from-queensland-qnews-vk4bb-SHd0OpZILt1/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------* LOST PROPERTY FOUND FOUND AT REDFEST LAST WEEKEND SUNGLASSES. IF YOURS CONTACT THE REDCLIFFE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NOW! ---------------------------------------------------------------------* Hello, I’m Geoff Emery, VK4ZPP, and I’ve been thinking. “Amateur Radio: Home but never alone.� That is the theme of the World Amateur Radio Day as sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Union and today we are gathered around the radio and definitely not alone. Today is that day, the 18th of April 2021. www.iaru.org/on-the-air/world-amateur-radio-day/ If you go to the web site of the IARU you can find the specifics of events being conducted around the world and the historical background to why we radio amateurs celebrate this day. You will remember that previously there was an attempt to conduct an Australia wide public demonstration of amateur radio on the weekend closest to April 18. Today would have been a great opportunity to show off where this service is today as against where is was, say at the turn of the century. Today the willing and smiling faces of radio amateurs could be talking to members of the public and volunteer organisations about the recreational aspects and the public service that we are equipped to provide. Today could be part of the growing success that is amateur radio if we could just get out of our shacks and mingle with the public. Perhaps it is asking too much of the tired old men and women who proliferate in club rooms and field days perhaps we should be thinking of letting the younger members of our number conduct these activities and represent us from now on. Energy and enthusiasm are characteristics that will draw in people looking to share new experiences. The young and engaged amateurs perhaps have the necessary qualities to be our recruiting ambassadors. In community movements and groups, the dynamics change as circumstances change and to continue growth there must be purpose in the activity, a plan for continuity and a method of handing over the batten to the next generation of members. I have been wondering whether we have maintained any of these features and whether we have seriously thought about what it takes to continue. I have heard stories of clubs that remain functioning virtually on the basis of previous funds that have been saved and doing the same pattern of events month after month and year after year and as the members age and drop off, the numbers go down. At what point does it mean they have to drop the masts, dismantle the equipment and melt into the darkness of anonymity? This is World Amateur Radio Day and we are not alone. This is the time to think of a rallying cry, a motto, a call to action instead of a plaintive sob in the wind we need our voice to be heard amongst the 3 million licenced amateurs around the globe. We need to be present today and not just remembered tomorrow. I’m Geoff Emery VK4ZPP and that’s what I think....how about you? ---------------------------------------------------------------------* LOST PROPERTY FOUND FOUND AT REDFEST LAST WEEKEND SUNGLASSES. IF YOURS CONTACT THE REDCLIFFE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB NOW! ---------------------------------------------------------------------* TO SUPPLY QNEWS ITEMS:- Send SCRIPT to qnews@wia.org.au send audio to http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/upload/ QNEWS Tips to get MORE out of your weekly newscast on VK4WIA If you would like to submit club news items for inclusion in QNEWS broadcasts, please email your item in text to:- qnews@wia.org.au THEN submit audio:- To submit audio email qnews@wia.org.au and ask for the current password then read "how to submit items" in the weekly news page on http://www.wia.org.au/members/broadcast/contribute/ Remember the sooner you submit audio material the more the likelihood of it being broadcast in the very next edition QNEWS. Each item will only be broadcast once, if you want a couple of mentions, please submit different slants to keep your event 'fresh .� Subscribe: QNEWS-VK+subscribe@groups.io Group Owner: QNEWS-VK+owner@groups.io Help: QNEWS-VK+help@groups.io TO CEASE GETTING THIS EMAILED SERVICE:- Unsubscribe: QNEWS-VK+unsubscribe@groups.io -----------------------------ENDS------------------------------------*