Hello Fellow NNY Hams,

I wanted to pass along some of the exciting things that have been happening in the NNY section to you. Let me start by saying it is a privilege to be allowed to serve as section manager for our section. We have so many great people all pulling in the same direction, great clubs with members that always seem to step up to help their clubs and the section that I don’t even know how to begin to thank you all. All I can say is thank you and you really are making a difference and it is getting noticed!

Our NNY section team is growing nicely and we are getting people in the right positions to be able to serve our communities in times of need and also portray NNY Amateur Radio in a very positive light. This requires everyone’s support and again I thank you for that.

For those who are not aware, our section has a new Assistant Section Manager. Mark Varin KD2RJP has taken on that role along with his Emergency Coordinator duties in Clinton county and he has been doing a lot of great work finding people to fill vital positions in that area. Mark can be reached at .

Nate Jones, W2SLK has stepped into the role of Franklin County Emergency Coordinator and Nate has hit the ground running. He is working with people in his area to look at repeater coverage and how it can be effectively used for emergency communications. Nate is also looking at helping to get an Essex County repeater and ARES activity going again.

Our section now has a new Public Information Coordinator. His name is Don Macomber, KD2VIU. Don has just accepted the position and he will be working on a plan to get more information into and out of the section. He can be reached at . Don will be in need of some help in the form of local Public Information Officers to help him in his duties. If you are interested in a “PIO” position, please contact Don or me and we can get you set up.

Wells Farr, WB3CUF who is our current Assistant Traffic Manager has also agreed to step up and help out as an Assistant Emergency Coordinator to Schoharie County. This is great news as wells has many years of experience in emergency communications and traffic handling.

We have new net managers, assistant emergency coordinators and there are many many others doing a lot of great work in the section and I thank you all for that!

The section is working together as a whole to sponsor an online Technician study group using the Zoom platform to help people become licensed amateurs. This will be a 6 week event beginning in February and running for 6 weeks and at the end, there will be VE testing offered throughout the section. This will be offered to anyone who wants to be a part of it. More information will be released over the next few weeks so people will have time to sign up and get any study materials needed. We are hoping many people take advantage of this opportunity to become licensed. More information can be found on the NNY website in a week or so.

The NNY section now has its own website. You can check it out at https://nnyarrl.org/ . We have many things on the website including our section meetings for the last year, NNY club listings, and a NNY repeater list along with a calendar of events and County EC and Emergency Communications information. We hope that you will find this a useful tool. If you have any suggestions for the site or to add a club or NNY repeater please feel free to contact our section webmaster at .

As we move into 2024, I look forward to continuing to work with our great NNY volunteer staff to continue to promote Amateur Radio both in our section and around the area. We have a busy year ahead and I am looking forward to it. We will once again be traveling to the section ham fests for an open forum Q&A and to have a table set up to answer any questions you may have. Please stop by and see us and please support your local hamfests. Last year we had one in Depauville and one in Speculator. Both were a lot of fun!

I also plan on doing the Field Day tour again so don’t forget to list your activity on the locator when the time comes and I will do my best to get to your site. This is always a lot of fun and I really enjoy seeing everyone.

Once again, if I can help you in any way, please feel free to reach out to me at or and I will be happy to help.

73,
Rocco – WU2M