Our picnic page is on line. You can get Marge's address from it. If you are a non-member, you are welcome to buy raffle tickets, but you must be present to win a prize. Non-members can win any raffle prize except for the top three.

And speaking of the newsletter, it's in its final preparation stages and should be going to our publisher by Wednesday, the 8th. It should start showing up in a snail mail box near you from about the 15th.
Cat out of the bag department: Shortly after our last executive committee meeting, Jim, N7JB resigned his position as secretary of the WPSS. He has personal commitments which are demanding most of his time.

Thanks Jim for doing a great job as net secretary.

We will have a brief executive committee meeting in a few weeks. At this meeting...

• Michael, W7HUT will resign his position as director and be appointed net secretary by the president, Bart, WA6HZN.
• Jim, WB6YAM, our current first alternate director will automatically become a director.

On the evening of the 17th, after roll call, the Executive Committee was convened by Renée, K6FSB, outgoing WPSS president. After motions to accept the election results and the bylaws amendments approved by the membership, the meeting was turned over to incoming president, Bart, WA6HZN.

During the meeting, there was a lively debate about the time that our net should start and Bart appointed 2 committees. Jim, WB6YAM, is our picnic chairman for this year. He is half of a committee of 2 with Bart, WA6HZN, as the other exofficio member. The New Members' committee consists of...

WA6ZZK, our VP and net manager
WB2DRH, our current treasurer
W6PXD, our "Pac man" (sends out info packets to prospective members)
W7HUT, our roll call list editor
WA6HZN, our webmaster

Joe, WB2DRH, agreed to continue to serve as our net treasurer for the next few months and per Article V of the bylaws will continue to do so. With Joe's agreement to serve, all of the offices of the WPSS are filled.

That's the short of it. Detailed information with a few comments from Bart follow in...

A Look Into The Upcoming Year for the WPSS
by Bart, WA6HZN, WPSS president

(Topics: New Members' Committee, The 2008 Picnic, Net Time, and Badges)

In Praise of Volunteers: The New Members' Committee practically formed itself!

I hate to admit this, but I really don't know exactly how it came into existence or whose idea it was. It just happened. I simply gave it a name and some "official" recognition by recognizing it as a committee. All I know is that Michael, W7HUT, contacted me about putting roll call files on the web site each week and I told him that I'd be glad to do that. The members of the committee created a system that works.

Our net couldn't exist without people who are willing to volunteer to do a job that needs to be done. A big thanks from the guy at the far end of the information pipeline (me) goes out to all of the other members of the committee.

The 2008 picnic will be here sooner than you think! I've appointed Jim, WB6YAM, to be the picnic chairman for the upcoming picnic. This year's picnic will be at Laguna Seca in Monterey County.

Jim did a great job in planning and executing the 2007 picnic and I am looking forward to working with him on the 2008 picnic.

The Executive Committee will be meeting again in about a month's time to work out the details of planning the picnic. I'll publish a proposed agenda of that meeting when its time is set.

When do you want the net to start? 0100 GMT, 6pm Pacific Time, or some other time?

The Great Debate over our net's start time was reignited by Curtis, KG6UCW, in the form of a motion to move the net's start time back to 6pm local Pacific time. His motion didn't carry, so we're going to continue to start at 5pm local (0100 GMT) until clocks spring foward on the first Sunday in March.

I have a feeling that this issue isn't going to go away. I would really like to hear from all of you net members concerning this. Tell me what you think by postal mail...

Bart Atwood-Ebi, WA6HZN
309 Bodem Street
Modesto, CA 95350

e mail: wa6hzn@earthlink.net

... or contact me on the radio.

Bill, WØQNI, may have hit the nail on the head at our last Executive Committee meeting. Bill observed that the 0100 GMT start time rule was created when we were just past a peak in the solar cycle. We happen to be just past a minimum in the solar cycle and that makes band conditions really different than they were back in 1972 when this rule was written.

Many of us are retired and don't have much of a problem with showing up at 5pm (or 6:30 for roll call) during the winter, but as some people have observed in letters to me, we are picking up quite a few new members who are younger and have to work for their living.

In an e letter to me, one member suggested that we hold a referendum on the net time.

One way or the other, I think that the net starting time issue should be brought to a vote before the entire membership. I want to see that happen and will get back to you on that soon.

Of course, if we amend the bylaws to have the net start at, say, 6pm local Pacific time throughout the year, that amendment will include a provision to allow the Executive Committee to temporarily change the time. The current by laws give the Committee this power to do so. There are good reasons for that. The solar cycle will rise again over the next few years and we may wish to take advantage of that fact.

Identify Yourself! A long time member of the net reminded me recently that we used to have permanent, plastic WPSS badges. Arranging for the manufacture and distribution of badges could be an involved process. I don't have the expertise to carry it out, but perhaps one or more of you out there do. I am open to the idea.

If you like this idea, button hole one or more of the members of the Committee. We have other business to see to in the near future (the picnic), but if some of the membership are interested, I could put the subject of badges on the agenda for an upcoming Executive Committee meeting.