I am delighted to forward this email from Dennis Mitchell, KC0YKN. It
looks like a great event and a lot of fun! Nice job, Dennis!

73, Art K0AIZ
----------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone you believe might be
interested. It is being sent to BARC & SACMARC club members as well as
other selected amateurs.

Sarpy County's big weekend is upon us. This Saturday and Sunday Offutt
Air Force Base will open their gates to the public for their 2009 Open
House and Air Show (http://www.offuttairshow.com/). The U.S. Navy Blue
Angels are the headline performers this year, but Amateur Radio will be
there as well.

The Bellevue Amateur Radio Club (BARC) and the Strategic Air Command
Memorial Amateur Radio Club (SACMARC) have partnered to setup a special
event station at the air show. We'll be operating Saturday and Sunday
using SACMARC's K0GRL callsign in honor of General Curtis LeMay's time
as Commander in Chief of Strategic Air Command at Offutt AFB. If you'd
like to join us from home, we plan to operate on 20 meters, on or about
14.247 Mhz.

The special event station will be operating on the flight line among
the throngs expected to visit the air show. This gives us a chance to
show off ham radio and tell visitors about our hobby. With the
forecast weather this weekend (sunny with highs in the mid 70's) it
will be a beautiful day to be outside.

This is a perfect opportunity for anyone who doesn't have an HF station
at home (or doesn't have HF operating privileges) to get on the air.
There will be Extra class control operators, so any ham, or even a
non-ham, is welcome to spend some time at the microphone. We also need
people to help log contacts and talk about amateur radio with people
wandering by. If you have amateur radio related apparel this is a
great time to wear it, a club polo shirt, field day shirt, anything
clean and presentable. Remember, we'll be the ambassadors of our hobby
to a lot of people.

It's easier than field day (no lugging gear), and the entertainment is
great, both IN the air and ON the air. For food you're on your own,
but as exhibitors at the air show we should be supplied with bottled
water & ice by the air show staff.

If you're interested in participating you don't need to bring anything,
we'll have the station setup both days. I would appreciate it if you'd
send me an e-mail to let me know that you are interested and what
days/times you'd like to operate or spend time at the station. As yet
we don't know exactly where we'll be located, but I will be able to
provide that information Friday evening.

Incidentally, even if you don't want to operate, if you're at the air
show this weekend, stop by and say hello. Look for us in the blue
picnic shelter under the dipole antenna.

Finally, if the thought of being shoulder-to-shoulder with 100,000+ of
your closest friends doesn't interest you, there is a very low key
opportunity to volunteer. If there were to be a incident at the Air
Show it might be necessary to activate the Omaha Metropolitan Medical
Response System (OMMRS) radio network. If you would be willing to help
in that circumstance, please plan to monitor local repeater frequencies
during the air show so you will be aware of events. In the event of an
OMMRS activation a message would be broadcast on all area repeaters to
notify available hams. I would be grateful if anyone planning to serve
in that capacity would let me know so I can have a list of people
likely to be available in the unlikely event of an emergency needing
our assistance.


Dennis Mitchell - KC0YKN
ARES Emergency Coordinator
Sarpy County, Nebraska

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Nebraska Section
Section Manager: Arthur I. Zygielbaum, K0AIZ

--------------------------------------------------------------------