Brian, that’s as nice a summary of the Centennial-QP as I’ve seen. Thanks. Here’s a perspective from the field: From: Lyle Piner [mailto:firstcolonial@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2015 12:06 PM To: nn1n@arrl.net; Craigie, Kay, N3KN; k1zz@arrl.net Subject: Thank You! Happy 2015! I know you all must be feeling a certain sense of relief with the successful close of the ARRL Centennial year. Much has already been written about the great success of the Centennial QSO Party and the W1AW portable special event stations so I won't belabor that here. I am writing specifically to say thank you. As a relatively new amateur (first licensed in 2013), the timing of the centennial online celebration could not have been better from my perspective. The events prompted me to extend my operating privileges (Extra Class this year), extend my reach by becoming active in digital modes, and extend my involvement by becoming credentialed as a VE and joining my local ARES/RACES group. Most importantly, the events allowed me to "meet" each of you on the air and chat with some great people such as yourselves. Again, my sincere thanks and I hope to meet you on the air again soon. 73 Lyle Piner, N4ACK Windsor, VA Lyle’s message is practically a check list of what we had hoped the on-air event would accomplish. Others I have heard from say it got them back on the air for the first time in a long while (in some cases literally decades), motivated them to put up new or better antennas, and improved their operating skills. When you get the February issue of QST you’ll see that I put a teaser in the editorial about HPM’s 150th birthday being in 2019. I’m sure we’ll hear from members offering ideas for something special between now and then, because they won’t want to wait that long. If you’ve gotten as far as page 57 of the proposed 2015-16 Plan you’ve seen there are discussions underway for a possible 2016 activity. 73, Dave K1ZZ From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Mileshosky, Brian, N5ZGT Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 7:25 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:23688] Thank You and HNY! Okay, now I'm bored on the air -- same for a zillion other League members and hams across the world. Fair warning: I'm making a Director's motion in January to create a Centennial QSO Party Anonymous or Points Anonymous service, because lots of people now find themselves staring hopelessly at their now absolutely quiet radios. A huge THANK YOU to everyone -- ODV, staff, volunteers, members, hams -- for an absolute home run on the air this past year. Centennial celebration aside, if there is one thing that I hope everyone who participated in the QSO Party walked away with, it is that they became better and more dedicated radio operators throughout the year. That they used this year-long opportunity to learn more about themselves as an op, learned more about their gear, uncovered station and operating limitations and found ways to resolve them, and rediscovered the magic, fun (God forbid), and camaraderie that is ham radio. One very profound moment today was working a few folks in the QSO Party who I hadn't worked since back in January 1, 2014. Staring at that date in the log, and greeting those hams once again, with literally one year of time padding our last QSO was an in-your-face "this year has absolutely flown by way too fast" epiphany. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as they could while it lasted. Happy Centennial, and Happy New Year everyone. Be safe this evening and see you in a few weeks. 73, Brian N5ZGT ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division