Central States VHF Society

Presidents report; 2003

The 2003 Central States VHF Society conference was held July 24-27 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Attendance was down over previous years with 134 individuals registering. Membership dues were received from 169 people according to conference records.

Registration opened on Thursday afternoon at 4pm. Registration on Thursday was heavy and we had many early attendees. That evening a large group were treated to dinner and a show at Oklahoma’s Discoveryland outdoor theater. Dinner was the Cattleman’s ranch dinner with Ribeye steak sandwiches and a great dessert. The participants were then treated to the rollicking frontier musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

Friday's activities began with the Antenna range, which was conducted by Marc Thorson, WB0TEM (vhf-uhf), and Kent Britain, WA5VJB (microwaves), along with a several hams lending support. The range was assembled in the large parking lot on the south end of the Hotel, both ranges were quite busy, and both Marc and Kent deserve our thanks. In addition to the conference activities, an entertaining family program was offered, hosted by Mary Calhoun and Linda Calhoun. Friday A.M. saw 23 attendees hopping a bus for a trip to the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, where the folks took in the animals and exhibits. Friday afternoon found the family attendees touring the brand new Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks just south of Tulsa. Friday afternoon was also the kick-off of the technical presentations. Presentations were held in a portion of Oklahoma’s largest ballroom. Facilities were excellent, with several great speakers showcasing their latest efforts and findings.

The location in Tulsa afforded all attendees with an excellent selection of eating establishments with over 100 restaurants within 2 miles of the hotel. At the Renaissance, a large flea market was held in the adjoining area to the Grand Ballroom, with many VHF'ers buying and selling. This area was held open during the entire time the technical presentations were in progress on Friday, and Saturday. The conference committee was pleased to be able to offer multiple vendors tables and electricity for the entire conference. A party suite was available Friday evening for members to relax and chat. During the Presentations, Al Ward W5LUA, and Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO, with the help of others, conducted the Noise figure measurement clinics, being stationed in the back of the Flea market area.

On Saturday, the family program featured a trip, with 23 attending, to the Thomas Gilcrease Museum followed by lunch and a tour of Philbrook Museum of Art. The technical presentations were held throughout the day. The last order of business in the afternoon was the annual business meeting and the election of new directors, along with authorization of donations to the ARRL, SETI league and AMSAT. The Society benefited from 3 additional Life memberships, final shirt sales and the donation of a precious gemstone globe which was raffled. 100 raffle tickets were sold.

The Saturday evening banquet featured long time society member Rod Blocksome, K0DAS. Rod made an excellent presentation on the study, by a group of Rockwell Collins engineers, of Amelia Earhart’s last radio transmissions and the search he participated in with Nauticos to find the wreckage. Kent Britain, WA5VJB, presented the Chambers Award to David Robinson, WW2R, and the Wilson Award to Sam Whitley, K5SW. Sam was the first recipient to receive this award via RF, after having to leave the banquet before the presentation. This was followed by the traditional prize drawing, with plenty of goodies to go around.

I wish to thank the following committee chairs and participants for their outstanding assistance during this conference:

• Tommy Henderson, WD5AGO (V.P., N.F., Prizes)
• Joe Lynch, N6CL, Proceedings
• Mary Calhoun, Linda Calhoun (family, ladies prizes)
• Bruce Richardson, W9FZ (finance)
• Marc Thorson, WB0TEM (Antenna Gain)
• Al Ward, W5LUA, (N.F.)
• Kent Britain, WA5VJB, (Antenna Gain)
• W0RRY, W5OKL, N5PMP, KB5HMZ, KD5DLL & many others from Tulsa

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