*** NEWSLETTER ***

March 2017

Greetings fellow Hams,

I'll keep this short and sweet.  We're expecting a very large turnout at the meeting this weekend, so it may take a while to get everyone fed.  Ladonna KG5GMC is hoping for a little extra help in the kitchen.  She'll pre-cut the sausage on Friday night, so it'll just be a matter of cooking the sausage and pancakes.

She sends her gratitude to Bobby WB5OSD and Larry W5ADI for helping the past few meetings.  She says it really makes a difference!

I'm working furiously on the slideshow for the special Smitty Tribute Presentation this weekend... if you have anything you would like included, please send it to me at this email address.

Look forward to hearing you on the net and seeing you this weekend!

-=Jerry=- W5BFF

The Steven "Smitty" Smith W5YME Memorial Month Meeting

In Memory of Steven F. Smith W5YME
March 10, 1956 - March 28, 2016

The meeting this month will be a Memorial and Tribute to our friend, Steven Smith W5YME (sk). Like always, we'll have our sausage and pancake breakfast at 8:30am and start our meeting at 9am at the Atlanta Airport Lounge.  We're expecting a larger-than-normal turnout, so we're encouraging everyone to wear their call sign and name badges. Jim N5YU will have sticker name badges for those that don't have call sign badges.   After the regular business, we will relocate the meeting to Steve Davis' hangar where a special tribute slide show and program honoring Smitty's memory will be presented.  Everyone is encouraged to bring a folding chair. NOTE:  If you have any photos or videos of Smitty you would like included in the slideshow, please send them to newsletter@raccradio.org DOUBLE DOOR PRIZES!!! This month, Jim N5YU will have TWO Yaesu FTM-3100s and TWO Baofeng Dual-Band HTs and MORE!  Everyone will receive one free ticket upon arrival, but additional tickets may be purchased for $1/ea.

From the Vice-President:  Sabrina Pollard W5DMI

I don’t make friends easily. At least I didn’t, until I became licensed to operate ham radio.  Now, I count many wonderful people as my friends although there are a lot of them I’ve never met in person.

One of those very special people whom I was never able to meet in person was our own Steven, W5YME. But I felt like I knew him. In fact, Steven was one of those rare individuals who could make everyone whose life he touched, say to himself, "Steven and I are best friends." That’s how he made me feel, and I’ve heard many folks say the same thing.

Steven always had a smile in his voice, making us feel that he was so glad to be talking with us personally on the radio. One of my favorite QSOs was one night when a ham operator down in my neck of the woods, around Hawkins, put out his call on the Freedom Link and was answered by W5YME. He and Steven had never met before, and they hadn’t even talked together before on the radio. But after just a few minutes, the two of them were chatting like old friends and were swapping stories about folks they knew mutually. It was a warm, wonderful experience for me, and it took place in mid-March of last year. I wanted to get up to Atlanta, to meet with the radio club where Steven was President.

But I didn’t get up there that month and just a week after that March meeting, our dear friend was gone.

I keep his family with me in my heart and I want to remember to smile when I press that transmit key. People can hear it in your voice when you smile. May the Lord bless all of Steven’s family and friends.