Sunday, August 14, 2011 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM

By now you have all heard about this year's great Hamfest. It is true, we are back at the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge in Goleta. Please go the SBARC website and have a look at the flyer and make plans now to attend. Order your raffle tickets now to avoid the long line at the Hamfest.

We are going to have a whole bunch of terrific prizes -- things that would look good in any shack -- especially yours! But besides all those radio-related prizes, we would like to have gobs and gobs of wonderful donated prizes from all the local vendors in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta. That's where you come in. You must certainly have a favorite store or two that you patronize often. Please consider asking the owner or manager of those stores for some kind of donated prize for our raffle. You can explain to them how SBARC is an educational, charitable, not-for-profit corporation and how the club supports the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), puts on many classes for the public so they may earn their Amateur Radio licenses and how Amteur Radio is often the only means of communications available during an area emergency. By now, most people have at least heard about Amateur Radio.

When you are selecting your donation items, please consider what the prize winner would be happy winning.

Attached you will find a donation receipt that you can print out, sign, list items donated and leave with the merchant. Be sure to extend the club's thanks. Also, please let the merchant know that we will be acknowledging each merchant when his item is won during the prize drawing.

When you have your collected items, please contact Dave Hackleman, K6VML, (notice change here) at d.hackleman@verizon.net and let him know what you have gathered.

Thank you very much for helping SBARC to have an exciting hamfest raffle.

Sincerely,

Darryl Widman, KF6DI

SBARC Exec. Vice President