The President

1.		Membership
	a.	Membership Dues
		All affiliate clubs are reminded to renew their membership with PARA by remitting the 2010 annual dues for its members. May I appeal to the clubs to refrain from holding back on the remittance of the dues of your paid members – please enrol all your members who have paid their annual dues at this time.
		Your contribution will help the association defray operating costs.

	b.	Orientation Seminars
		Last January 24, 2010, an Orientation Seminar was conducted for DX1UST. A total of 70 students attended the seminar. To sustain the momentum, I wrote an endorsement letter to the National Telecommunications Commission recommending the holding of a Special Examination for DX1UST. As of this writing, I have been informed that the request has been granted by Commissioner Cordoba.
		On February 27, 2010, there will be an Orientation Seminar in Iloilo City. The activity is hosted by the Panay Amateur Radio Club. Please contact Bobby Garcia, DU6BG via du6bg@info.com.ph for the details if you have prospective participants for the seminar.
		If your club/s has plans of hosting or conducting orientation seminars, please coordinate with the PARA Secretariat at 9741986. You can also send email to dx1par@yahoo.com

		Operating Activities for February 2010
	a.	The 2010 International Friendship Exchange & DX Contest, sponsored by the Girl Scouts Ham Radio Enthusiasts for Service (GSP SHARES), is scheduled from 0000Z to 0900Z (DX Contest from 12:45pm to 5:00pm local time) on Saturday, February 20, 2010. Please visit Local News of our PARA website for more information.

	b.	The CQ World Wide WPX RTTY Contest will be held from February 14 to 15, 2010. This is a major contest in the amateur world. I would like to encourage extensive DU participation for this year.

	c.	The ARRL International DX Contest CW will be held from February 22 to 23, 2010. The participation of our CW enthusiasts is enjoined. For those fond of Skimmer, please see the rules for 2010 if Skimmer is allowed.

	d.	Daily Nets
	i.	40-meter DU Nets. The frequencies used for the nets have recently been changed. The calling frequency is now at 7.095 MHz. Please adjust your VFOs accordingly. Insofar as the PARA Afternoon Nets are concerned, these are conducted at 5:00 P.M. from Mondays to Fridays. We still need net control volunteers especially for the evening net.
	ii.	2-meter Nets. Please continue to support and organize more 2-meter nets in your localities. Let us be active on 2 meters as this band represents our grass roots – at one time or another, we started and continue to use the 2 meter band. From my permanent QTH, I continue to monitor and participate in the nets conducted by ACER, CAVITE ACE, MMM and others.
	iii.	PARA District 1 2-meter Net. Volunteer net controls from different member clubs of District 1 continue to conduct net calls every Saturday at 8:00 P.M. on 144.1740 MHz. The quarterly schedule for net controls is determined during the District 1 Meeting or through the PARA District 1 Yahoo group where clubs volunteer to handle the net call at their preferred date, under the auspices of the PARA District 1 Director DU1DPE.

e.		Repeaters
		PARL has two (2) repeaters on air. One is located in Antipolo while the other is in Tagaytay. PARL uses 431.900 +5MHz and tone 100Hz for Antipolo and 85Hz for Tagaytay. Please drop by and say hello to DU1CC, DU1EV, DU1GM, DU1XX, and several others on frequency. PARL has plans of expanding its repeater footprint and network all the way to Baguio. DU1EV reported that DU1CC was able to trigger the Antipolo repeater long haul at more than 280 kilometres.
		HOMEBREWERS has a repeater heard on 431.800 +5MHz standard tone, but it is in reverse mode because they have QRM on the input side of the repeater. DU1FV, DU1DT, DU1DL and others are the mainstays on the repeater.
		DX1FLR also has its repeater up and WINLINK PBO online. DX1ARM has a repeater online also. For more information please visit the PARA website.

		PARA Board matters
	a.	Board Meeting
	i.	2^nd Board Meeting will be on February 6, 2010. On the table are: reorganization of the structure of Districts and Provinces, the accreditation of PARA as a done institution with BIR, 2^nd PARA Open Golf Tournament before the Summer Convention and IGEB, and a planned courtesy call with the NTC Commissioner. I will post at the PARA website the outcomes of the board meeting a day or two after they are decided.

	ii	Up for appointments are the following positions for 2010 term:
		1. National Traffic System Chairman
		2. Contest Chairman
		3. DXpedition Chairman
		4. QSL Bureau Manager
		If you have a nominee for the above positions please send me an email and in the body of the email please tell me the reasons why the nominee should be appointed. My email address is du1ugz@para.org.ph.

		Social Networking
	a.	The primary channel for news about ham radio in the Philippines is still http://www.para.org.ph but PARA also maintains the following social networking avenues:
	i.	PARA Forum – is an online forum established by our webmaster, George DU1GM, found at http://para.org.ph/forum/. Please visit the site and participate in the online discussions hosted by the forum.
	ii.	PARA Facebook – is an account in Facebook. It is a growing site with a modest membership of 282. Please visit the site by clicking HERE. It is an open group where everyone may post ham-related matters including photos.
	iii	If you have pictures of your club activities, please send them together with a brief caption to the PARA webmaster, George, DU1GM for publication at the PARA website. DU1GM’s email is webmaster@para.org.ph.
	iv	Lastly, you may also follow PARA on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dx1par. Please send us your tweets.