There are many rites of Spring - melting snow, the return of Sandhill Cranes from their winter haven, and most importantly for us amateur radio enthusiasts, the Marshall Crossroads Hamfest! In spite of the abbreviated late Friday night setup due to the MHSAA District Basketball game at Marshall High School, the many SMARS volunteers, sponsoring Marshall High School teachers and a select group of MHS students did a bang-up job of setting up for Saturday's event. All told, there were just over 1,200 tickets sold to our event, a pretty decent turnout especially considering the current economic conditions in our State. We were saddened to learn of the impending close of Elmer's Ham Shack, and very pleased to have some brand-new vendors from the East Coast at our event.
Many thanks go out to the hard-working SMARS volunteers who gave up some sleep Friday night to help with setup, Marshall High School Industrial Arts department, and the lone Scout from Battle Creek Troop 325 who all helped make the 2009 Crossroads Hamfest a success. I'd also like to personally recognize Bob Kingsbury KC8PRL, Don Larkin W8RVT, and John Davidson KC8WMM for the extra assistance they provided to me as I returned to school this fall and began new employment. Preparations are now underway for the 2010 Hamfest, still in Marshall but at a new, more easily accessible location - the Marshall Activities Center.
Stay tuned for more details
We hope to see everybody on March 20, 2010
Questions, comments, or more info on SMARS, please drop us a note:
Email: smars.w8df@yahoo.com