First post by KE8BSM

[KE8BSM]

Hey Ham Community, this is an automated post on behalf of our new member: KE8BSM,

On behalf of Ham Community, let's give KE8BSM a warm welcome.

KE8BSM, we encourage you to browse around and get to know the Community's many sections. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, as with all things HAM, we all love to give advice 😎

For everyone's information, KE8BSM joined on the 05/09/2021; this is their profile: View Member.

[K3MRI]

Welcome Zach. And thanks for filling out Ham Census. Much appreciated!

[KE8BSM]

Hello everyone!  This is me typing right now. Haha. 

First, thank you for the welcome. This community looks awesome. I can't wait to explore more of it. 

A little bit about me: My uncle K0WNL got me interested in ham radio back in the early 90's. He gave me the Novice and Tech Gordon West study books (which I still have to this day). I was 8 years old and the study material was a little over my head at the time. Then as I got older I became more involved in after school activities. College kept me on my toes and I had no time for ham radio. Then I joined the work force and just got too busy with other things and interests. My employer was in the middle of selling their business in 2014-15. I knew this was coming and I knew I'd be out of work for a while so once the business sold I took time to study for my Tech. While I was studying, I convinced my brother in law to take the Tech with me. We both studied together and in July 2015 both of us passed our Tech exams. Less than a year later I upgraded to General. I'm currently studying for my Extra. 

Ham radio has connected me with really cool and interesting people, both on and off air. Who knew that in 5 years of being a ham I'd have a lot of awesome responsibilities. 

I became Skywarn certified in 2016 and joined my county's Emergency Management Volunteer Team as a Skywarn spotter and Amateur Radio Auxiliary Group (ARES). 

During that time, I developed a West Michigan Nets Calendar and started making Ham Radio content on YouTube - helping bring an interest back into VHF Packet/BBS and digital modes to hams in the area. 

In 2017, I joined the ARRL VE program and the Laurel VEC program so I could help new hams get licensed. 

At the end of 2018, I accepted the appointment of President of the Holland (Michigan) Amateur Radio Club - K8DAA for the 2019 year and still am President through 2021. I also accepted an appointment to a Skywarn Leadership position in the county. 

In early 2019, I accepted an appointment of Assistant District Emergency Coordinator for District 6 in Michigan within ARES. 

And in summer 2019, I starting helping my girlfriend study for her Tech exam. She always wanted to be a meteorologist. Her goal was to fly into hurricanes with the Air Force. But due to medical reasons, she wasn't able to join the the Air Force (had to drop ROTC) and her math skills aren't the sharpest. I introduced her to Skywarn in 2017. She loves the Skywarn program and to help communicate with spotters, she passed her Tech exam in 2019. Callsign KD9NRB. 

Now my dad is interested in getting his Tech license so I'm elmering him into the hobby. 

I serve as Net Control for a handful of nets in my area and am the net manager for a Friday night net. 

Outside of ham radio, I enjoy spending time with my girlfriend, play video games together, and enjoy music and being outdoors. In my spare time, I enjoy computer programing, building computers, cyber security, etc. 

Thanks for reading and I hope to meet a lot of you on here, on air, or maybe in person someday at Hamvention or Hamcation. 73 de KE8BSM

[K3MRI]

Hey Zach. Awesome background info. Thanks so so much for sharing. This community is still young but we’re hoping to build it with the type of ethos that you bring. It’s about informative, useful collaboration, and yes cooperation, and why not conversation. It’s also about knowledge and sharing that knowledge, hence the Census. In short, I hope you can be a part of the vision of this young community and help it to grow to where it is a true force for best practices in amateur radio.

Again, welcome and thank you!

PS. Great on both your girlfriend being licensed and your dad being interested! I haven’t checked to see if she’s in the Community yet, but I hope so, because we actually have a very unique plan built on women’s membership; quite unique in the hobby, we think.