On Friday evening 8th May 2015, I headed to King O’Malleys Hotel in Canberra for the first ‘informal’ gathering of the weekend for the attended the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) Annual General Meeting (AGM). The feed was great, the bundy was cold and it was terrific to catch up with a number of hams, including many of the VK1 locals.
On Saturday morning 9th May 2015, I attended the WIA AGM, which was held in the Poseidon room at the Hellenic Club in Canberra. A great venue.
A number of awards and presentations were made on Saturday morning, and I was very surprised to be issued with a Presidents certificate for my involvement in the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. It came as a great surprise.
At lunch time, Peter VK3PF displayed to a very interested crowd, one of his home brew antennas.
Following lunch, there were a number of presentations on a variety of topics. This included a presentation on the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program by Andrew VK1NAM.
After Andrew’s presentation, I delivered a quick 20 minute presentation on the World Wide Flora Fauna program. Hopefully it inspired a few more park activators and/or hunters.
The day wrapped up at about 5.30 p.m. at which time Peter VK3PF convinced me into accompanying him to Mount Ainslee for a quick 2 m SOTA activation. I will report on this in a little more detail in another post.
More information on the 2015 WIA AGM can be found on the WIA website at…..
http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2015/20150520-22/index.php
And more information on the award recipients on the day can be found at…..
http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2015/20150521-2/index.php
After our quick SOTA activation, I headed back to the Hellenic Club for the WIA Annual Dinner which was held in the Poiseden Room. The meal was very nice and there was a guest speaker from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Towards the end of the evening, it was announced that it was proposed that the next WIA AGM would be held on Norfolk Island. This excited a lot of people, including the SOTA & parks activators and hunters present in the room. Norfolk Island has a nice SOTA peak, and the whole island is also VKFF-392.