 
THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER
This has been a big past month for MAARS. First we held our garage sale fundraiser which along with members dues, will actually keep us in the black this year. Membership seems to be on the slow rise as well so let's hope we can keep this going. Second, MAARS participated once again in the Flint Hills Triathlon. This year we managed to be involved in much more than counting bicycles as they went by. We were directly responsible for getting aid to one injured participant in a location where cell phones were not doing the job. I'll let the volunteers tell their story there, though. I would like to thank those people who helped with communication at the Triathlon, Scott Chainey (ACØCY), Christine Chainey (KCØYJN), Josh Jones (KI4LZK), Francis Sable (WØEVJ) and Sylvia Carter (KCØYJO). These members did an outstanding job and got some valuable practice at emergency communications. For our June meeting Francis Sable will be presenting a demonstration on antenna theory. We will also need to make plans for this year's Field Day, which we will be holding at one of the shelters in Manhattan's City Park. I hope to see you all at the meeting, and please join us for dinner at the Sirloin Stockade.
Brian Carter, KCØDWX On a breezy June morning, several hundred people decided to get together and swim in a cold lake, bicycle up and down some hills and run with the wind. Many others leave their warm beds just as early to support their crazy habit of pushing their bodies to the limit. These are the athletes and the volunteers of the Flint Hills Triathlon. One group of six people has been asked to assist in "just being there" and keeping an eye on bicycle riders that pass by their location. For those people the morning will pass slowly, as they count yet another bicycle as it passes their location, not even thinking of why the vehicle is sitting there. These are the members of the Manhattan Area Amateur Radio Society. Thinking of sitting in their vehicles, chatting with each other, drinking some coffee and counting bicycles, they meet up hoping that this will be good PR for the club. With three members stationary along the route, one acting as a chase vehicle for support, another as a liaison with the Red Cross, and the final member being a shadow to the race coordinator, none of us expected anything very exciting to happen. We learned quickly that small actions helped many others to return to their families safely. The morning started with watching people line up, jump into the cold lake and swim without getting drowned from the arms and legs flopping all around them. Then when they just couldn't stand the cold water any longer they finished and ran to a transition area. This is where the radio club members kicked into action. We were going to watch bicycles!! If bored enough, count them as they passed by. The shadow alerted everyone that a bicycle had left the area, time to start counting. Everyone was ready. Station 1 saw a bicycle and reported back to the shadow. Station 2 saw a bicycle and reported back to the shadow. Station 3 saw the first bicycle and reported that it had turned around to head back. Well, so much for excitement for a while. As station 2 started counting bicycles coming past him for the second time, he was alerted that there had possibly been an accident nearby and that a cyclist was down and injured. Station 2 let the shadow know what was going on. Jumping into action, looking around for someone to tell and then remembering the phone numbers to the ambulance crew. Phone the crew, get them started that way, brief them and update them as soon as possible. Radio signal relay problems added to the adrenaline of the situation. Unclear signal from the station 2 person's location made it difficult to update the ambulance to the exact location of the patient that needed their help. Trying other possible means of cell phone and CB radio with a roving motorcycle group, nothing was working. Finally, the radio signal cleared and information was flowing again. An older female, fallen for unknown reason, was unconscious with scrapes and bumps to the head and shoulder. Who was she? The race coordinator wanted all the information he could get. He had to know who it was and where were they. After a few more radio communications were made an identity was established for the down rider and notification of the family was made. This event didn't affect many people within the race, but this and other equipment malfunctions on other people's bicycles caused for other notifications to the race coordinator to be made. The stress lessened with the quick relay of questions and answers by the radio club members. As the morning went on everyone was accounted for from the route they had taken and nobody was lost. They all returned to the park to drop off their bicycles and take off running into the wind to finish their tour of the area in their own special way. This turned out to be a busy morning with much more to do than just drink coffee and count bicycles. It was a great team-building project for club members, as they were dependent on each other for the information to be obtained and shared. It started out a PR-building exercise but became much more for people that needed their help.
VICE-PRESIDENT'S REPORT
no report
SECRETARY'S REPORT
no report
TREASURER'S REPORT
June 2007
NEW FROM ARRL - Beginning October 1, 2001, our club will receive $15 for each new member joining the ARRL through our club. This is for new members or those who have not been a member for two or more years. There will be no commission for renewals but we still may submit your renewals, if you wish. Since the club retains the dues, it is necessary for you to write your check to MAARS, and then the treasurer writes a check to ARRL.
Dues will be due by Oct. 31 and are: regular membership $20, full-time student $10, family $30. Please complete the following when renewing your membership, even if you did so last year. Return to the Treasurer, at a meeting or to MAARS, P. O. Box 613, Manhattan, KS 66505-0613. If you are currently receiving both the email and paper copy of the newsletter, please consider just receiving the email copy. It will save the club $5-6.00 per year per copy. NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ MAILING ADDRESS____________________________________ DATE _____________ CITY _______________________________ STATE _____ ZIP CODE _____________ TELEPHONE # (____)_______________ E-MAIL ADDRESS _______________________ FOR FAMILY MEMBERSHIP: NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ NAME _______________________________________ CALLSIGN ____________ CHECK THE FOLLOWING WHICH APPLY: ____ ARRL member ____ It is alright to list my e-mail address on the homepage. It is alright to list my address and telephone number for distribution only to our members. ____ How do you prefer to receive your newsletter?
____ e-mail ____ U.S. mail ____ both
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