Dear ACS Radio Club Members and Friends,It has been only 2.5 months since I took office as the ASC Radio Club President on September 1, 2005. So much has happened and I hope that it has been as positive for you as it has been for me.
Trust me; there have been bumps in the road. My personality does not quite ‘mesh’ with the variety of talents and personalities held by those who contribute to the LAFD through the ACS. PlusI began my whole adventure with the LAFD as a CERT Member, so I have been categorically somewhat of an outsider from the get go. To add to that I am a relatively ‘new’ ham and have only held my license for less than two years. I am neither an engineer nor an electrician.
It boggles my mind to think of the collective pool of talents that lay within the membership of the ACS. Some are hidden talents and some are gladly shared. It is this collaborative fellowship of sorts that is the kind that I really appreciate among Ham/Amateur Radio Operators, since we, by definition, practice this ‘hobby’ of Amateur Radio without thought of financial gain.
As LAFD volunteers I find it impressive that by and large we volunteer not only to support the City and the Fire Department but also to serve the community in which we live. It is this notion of service that I would like my November Radio Club President’s Message to be about.
What does service mean to me? Well, for starters, I am at your service. This is not the Presidency of Carolyne. The day I was elected I had an unusual feeling come over me – an epiphany of sorts. It was, as cliché as this sounds, the realization that since I was elected by the ACS Members, I would be ‘serving at the will of the people.’ Specifically, at your will.
With this in mind if there is anything that you think needs improvement -- any idea that you have had to improve the club or our membership at large -- please share them with me or any other member of the Presidency.
Which brings me to my next point: I am already very proud of this Presidency. We have already moved forward on some of our Key Goals and it has been less than 3 months! We have created an ever improving, interactive and administratively functional website at lafdacs.org and members have utilized it well. I thank you for doing this. It has made our job easier and has removed a tremendous burden from the Command Staff of administering over the daily affairs of the ACS.
Conversely, a small part of me is waiting for me and Alberto and Donna and Kevin Ballantine to crash and burn after building up such momentum so quickly. The other part feels we are just beginning and there is so much more to be done. To me, that is the nature of service – it is bound to make you worry a little and bring up a bit of anxiety. But we must press onward nonetheless.
I would like to finish with a story: When I was in my early twenties I served a Mission for my church. I left my studies at Pepperdine University and even gave up a few scholarships to do so because I knew, deep down, that the opportunity to serve my fellow man would have a profound and lasting impact on my life. And it did – it made me a better person in ways that nothing else could have.
During that year and a half away from family, loved ones and school I learned that opportunities to serve ebb and flow. I learned that sometimes you just need to go out there and create opportunities to serve. And I learned that people are all hard-wired differently. Service is a fascinating venture, to say the least.
So weather it be your community or the LAFD/City of Los Angeles, I promise you that if you serve willingly and without expectation of recognition or gain, you will find satisfaction and fulfillment that you’d never before imagined. Sometimes it can be rough. Personality conflicts may arise; people may annoy you, or circumstances just may not go your way. But if you persist and have the right attitude in your heart it will be one of the most satisfying things you ever do for yourself.
Most Sincerely,
Carolyne J. Keeler, KG6TWQ
ACS Radio Club President
PHOTOS by Bernard Faulkin, KG6FBM
