About the RATS Pirate Flag

In August of 2022, the club was going through a really bad time.  We won't air our dirty laundry here, but let's just say the club very nearly ceased to exist.  Club leadership had resigned, members were angry, and RATS was rapidly headed for its demise.  But a handful of uber-dedicated members acted swiftly and worked together to bring an end to the madness, calling a special membership meeting to appoint a new board which swiftly got to work on several critically important matters.  In the time since then, that core group of RATS leaders have worked continuously to grow the club and make it a better place for the members, fix operational deficiencies, add new programs and initiatives to support the membership and the local amateur radio community, and, basically, to save RATS.  The club is in a remarkably better place today.

Early on in the "RATS 2.0" timeline, club President Jeff Walton KN4SYE suggested we update the club logo.  Pirates, pirate radio, and a pirate ship were all kicked around, but we never found someone with the artistic talent and creativity to make it a reality.  (Although we really didn't look very hard -- we were way too busy with other club stuff!)  On New Year's Eve 2023, RATS Secretary Steve Crow KG4PEQ enlisted Microsoft's Copilot AI system and BuildASign.com to help fulfill Jeff's wishes.  After looking at over a hundred different variations and making a minor edit to put the correct number of toes on the rat (AI struggles with that!) we had our new pirate flag.

The first RATS pirate flag was gifted to Jeff Walton KN4SYE for his outstanding leadership and unwavering devotion to the long term success of the club.  This is the flag you may have seen at club activities like Winter Field Day and the Virginia QSO Party.

A second RATS pirate flag was gifted to member David Kleinholtz KO4RNT at a going-away party in April 2024.  David was an ordinary member who stepped forward to chair that special membership meeting back in August 2022.  And although he has never served a term on the RATS Board, he religiously attended nearly every RATS Board and membership meeting, actively offering his feedback during Board discussions with the aim of making RATS a better club.  We enjoyed having him at club activities, too.  David was awarded RATS Life Membership at the April 3, 2024 Board meeting before moving to North Dakota in May.

Microsoft Copilot's license terms don't allow us to use this Copilot-generated artwork commercially, so we won't be selling flags, t-shirts, or stickers, and it'll never replace our official club logo which we've had since 2003.  But you will definitely see it from time to time where this core team of new-generation RATS leadership are around.  The RATS pirate flag is a unifying symbol of the passion, dedication, and teamwork this group of friends pours into RATS.

This ship is headed in a new direction.  We hope you'll come along.

Photo above:  Jeff Walton KN4SYE (left) and Judi LeHuquet N4JDI present Life Member David Kleinholtz KO4RNT (center) with a RATS pirate flag on April 22, 2024.  Screen capture from video furnished by Bill Catogni N4WLC.  No club expenses were used to acquire the two flags mentioned on this page.