Ground Hog Day October 8, 2005
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The Ground Hog Party was held at 5:00 PM on October 8, 2005 at
the Watertown Moose Lodge.
Review of the 2005 Groundhog Event
I wish I knew the call signs of those all involved. I could find
them if I had a roster from the RRRC.
There were about 25 people attending the dinner and party. From 5-6 pm
stories flowed about previous events. The attendance probably would have
been greater if it wasn’t competing with the Badger game and the amateur
radio QCWA meeting. Maybe next year, the other events will not be on the
same weekend.
The dinner was served quickly and was enjoyed by the entire group.
Following the dinner, the program kicked into high gear. We had an
introduction session, where we gave our call signs, QTH and our most memorable
QSO’s. Our head table had a real group of experts. They kept the program
moving along. Following the intros, the Dave & Mark comedy team added some
whit and comedy. Some of the comedy was even unintentional, and a few
comments were actually quite funny.
Prior to dinner, we were all asked to fill out a card stating why or what
we would like to be or do on Halloween. Our next activity was to draw
these out of a box in random order. These were read by our panel of experts,
and flowed into a door prize session, where we all received a holiday gift.
The laughs and comments flowed during this portion of the evening.
Next, some special awards were given out to a select few, who have given much
of their time to keep this annual event running smoothly. These people have
gone well beyond the casual helper level in setting up and promoting all of
the activities.
The next event of the night was given by me, where I related how the trophy
brought me “Good Luck” throughout the past year. There were some truths,
and also some very “tall tails”. As a surprise, I gave a 15 minute talk on
the history of the Ballentine Beer that is in the trophy. Details were given
about the various types of beer brewed around the world, and included a history
of the Ballentine Brewing company. This included many changes from company
buyouts and brewery relocations. The presentation included a series of
collectable beer cans for illustration of the various brewers involved.
Finally, the auction began for the trophy. The lucky bidder turned out to be
Tim, W9LUB. That is going to be a good looking call on the trophy for the
next year, as it was once held by Tim’s dad, the founder of GONA, Groundhogs
of North America.
Tom – N9HR
