We send our thanks to Marty N8MG as he departs his SEC role and heads off to anew career taking him out of state. Good luck and our thanks, Marty. TheSEC position will now be filled by John WB8RCR who will hold the postconcurrently with that of STM. This will allow a closer bond between ourARES/RACES organization and the National Traffic System. We will nowconcentrate on our successes in improving tactical messaging and the handlingof long-range traffic for our served agencies. We completed another successful ARRL Michigan Section Outing this pastweekend thanks to the tireless efforts of K8ZE, KA8YKK and WB8WJV. John,Debbie and Roger planned and implemented this annual event and held it atWoodlands Campgrounds. Guests included Great Lakes Division Vice DirectorGary KI4LA and Ohio SM Joe K8QOI as well and Midland County Emergency ManagerRoger Garner KB8VSS. Roger was able to present the EM's perspective ofcommunications needs from the ARES/RACES program at one of several forumsheld at the outing. Other sessions included NCS Training by K8AMR, NTS fromWB8RCR, Networking and collaboration from AB8CB, Digital Radio from WB8TKLand an ARRL Forum. An occasional shower did not "dampen" anyone's spirit asa large pole barn adequately houses all of the key activities. The AnnualSection Breakfast was provided by the Michigan Section Staff, and thetraditional Campfire entertainment was enjoyed by everyone. Of Special Note: On Saturday and Sunday, October 6 and 7, 2007, The SteamRailroading Institute will be conducting its fall excursion from Kawkawlin toGrayling, Michigan. Amateur Radio has been asked to play a significant rolein this event. During the 2005 excursion, it was discovered that cellular coverage alongthe route was very problematic. Therefore, Amateur Radio operators are beingasked to provide periodic reports of train location and handle anyoperational traffic or emergency communications that might arise during theexcursion. Our plan is to place two radio amateurs on-board. One would beequipped with a handheld radio (and spare batteries!) and the other with aportable VHF (two-meter) radio, mag-mount antenna, and power supply.Communications will be provided through assigned stations monitoringexcursion progress via VHF repeaters along the route. "Shore" stations must be willing to place periodic telephone calls andshould have some real experience handling third-party traffic. As this eventoccurs on SET weekend, ARES groups supporting the excursion by providing thisservice can count the activity toward their SET points. The Saturday excursion leaves Kawkawlin at 8-AM and is scheduled to arriveat Grayling at 4-PM. However, one should allow extra time for any delays,which may arise. The Sunday excursion leaves Grayling at 4-PM and isscheduled to arrive at Kawkawlin at 8-PM. Again, volunteers should allow fordelays. We can set this up for two teams, one team for each day, or, ifone team wants to spend the night in Grayling and return the following day,we can accommodate this as well. Grayling will be holding a big event thatweekend, with plenty to do in the area. This is an ideal opportunity for an ARES or NTS member who is also a railfan! A safety certification briefing will be conducted at Owosso in advance ofthe event for those who will be riding the train. This will take placebefore the event, most likely in September. This briefing is required forinsurance purposes and to insure both volunteer and passenger safety. If you are a rail fan or enjoy railroad history, you will not want to missthis opportunity. If you would like to volunteer for this event, pleasecontact Jim Wades, K8SIW at: wb8siw@charter.net For those interested in railroad matters, the excursion will be pulled bythe famous Pere Marquette 1225 steam locomotive. The 1225 was built to haulfast freight between the steel mills of Indiana and Illinois and the "arsenal of democracy" (Detroit) during the war years. The 1225 is, in manyrespects, the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology, having been designedand built at the close of the steam era. Movie fans will recognize the 1225as the authentic "Polar Express" locomotive utilized for the initial filmingand modeling of the animated Christmas move "Polar Express" starring TomHanks. A link to the train's routes can be found athttp://www.mi-arpsc.org/images/Kaw-Gra.gif Don't forget - big doin's at the Mackinac Bridge the 27th and 28th of thismonth - the Mackinac Bridge 50th Anniversary Special Radio Event. Most of uswon't be around for the 75th anniversary, so get involved if you can - it'snot too late. If they have enough operators, the event will open extraoperating positions to accommodate. If you can't work at the event proper,try to work W8M over the air - see the operating plan athttp://www.macbridge50.info for times, modes and suggested frequencies. Thanks to Marv, KC8MLD, Ron, WA8OOH, Hank, N8XX, Diane, WI8K and John, KC8ULEfor their efforts to take this grand bit of Michigan to the world by radio. Station Activity Reports (SAR) for June, 2007: WB9JSR 602, KC8WSE 316,AB8SY 249, K8KV 200, K8AE 164, K8LJG 161, K8AMR 138, KD8AAD 132, WB8RCR 75,K8RDN 48, W8RNQ 45, KD8BGQ 27, AB8WF 25, KC8MLD 15, KC8ZGB 15, WD8USA 13,N8UN 10, K8ZJU 9, K8YB 5, K8KHZ 2, WA8OOH 0, KC8BMV 0. Public Service Honor Roll Reports (PSHRs) for June, 2007: KD8BGQ 280, WU8Y174, K8MFK 140, K8AE 140, K8AMR 123, WB9JSR 120, WB8RCR 120, KC8WSE 120,K8ZJU 104, K8RDN 95, AB8SY 80, K8KV 80, K8VFZ 66. SARs are reports of all the radiogram traffic you have handled in the pastmonth. PSHRs include your net and public service activities for the month.PSHRs and SARs should be filed monthly with WB8RCR. You can access a simplereporting form at: http://www.mi-nts.org/PSHR_entry.shtml to provide yourreports to WB8RCR. June Official Emergency Station reports came in from W8UY and W8WRB. YourOES reports should be filed with WA8EFK. In all cases, reporting byradiogram is encouraged. Packet messages can be routed towb8rcr@wb8rcr.ampr.org and wa8efk@wa8efk.ampr.org73,Dale WA8EFK--------------------------------------------------------------------ARRL Michigan SectionSection Manager: Dale R. Williams, WA8EFKwa8efk@arrl.org