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The Activities Committee coordinates hands-on training, public-outreach, and emergency-readiness exercises.
The Committee's mission is to design and deliver in-person events that teach radio-communication skills, strengthen the region’s emergency-communications capacity, and inspire public interest in STEM and public service—all while fostering fellowship among volunteers.
Under the direction of a Committee Chair, this group handles several key functions:
Event planning, including location, logistics, and budget.
Equipment transport, set-up, and tear-down.
Promotional activities and participant registration, as necessary.
Food and beverage.
Safety.
Public engagement, outreach, and education.
All club-sponsored activities are open to the public and typically involve an educational or public service component.
The committee will be responsible for the club's two annual Field Day exercises and additional activities that might include:
Field Day (Summer & Winter) – 24-hour simulated emergency deployment that trains operators, tests club infrastructure, and offers the public a first-hand look at amateur radio in action.
Antenna-Building Workshops – Guided, classroom-style sessions where participants construct and test antennas, reinforcing RF theory and safe construction techniques.
Contesting as Training (e.g., VA QSO Party, ARRL VHF Contests) – Structured operating events that sharpen rapid-deployment, logging, and frequency-management skills critical to disaster response.
Special-Mode Demonstrations – Interactive stations showcasing satellite contacts, digital voice, and weak-signal HF modes, emphasizing innovation and experimentation in radio science.
Transmitter Fox Hunts – Educational exercises in radio-direction finding that cultivate skills useful for locating interference sources or missing persons beacons.
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