To say the least, the 2011 conference scheduled for Huntsville was different from any previous SVHFS conference and, hopefully, from any of the future conferences for any ham activities. I can’t recall any other conference that had to be canceled because of weather, but this weather event was somewhat more severe than most. According to my sources, Alabama had ~270 people killed by multiple tornados that repeatedly struck the affected area from around 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. the night of April 27th. This date was the Wednesday before the conference was to begin on Friday. Most of the attendees had planned to arrive on Thursday although several did arrive on that Wednesday. We believe that the stars were aligned for a great conference. There was a quality list of presentations scheduled, a banquet speaker was scheduled with rock star credentials slated and many door prizes were on-hand. The local song and dance routine, Panoply In The Park, was performing all weekend just across the street from the hotel. Also, the Trans Siberian Orchestra was scheduled to play on Friday evening and was located in a venue less than a five minute walk away.

   What we, the conference committee, could not arrange was the weather. Because additional attendees wanted to hear our banquet speaker, Mr. Homer Hickam whose book, “The Rocket Boys” was made into the movie, “October Sky,” I was attempting to contact the hotel on Wednesday afternoon to increase the available number of banquet spaces. Their phone system was non-operational the entire afternoon due to storm effects, so I drove to the hotel to arrange for more seating for the banquet, arriving there about 5 p.m. By 5:15 p.m., the power at the hotel had failed, so we finished the reservation increase by flashlight. The hotel representative assured me that they would get this data updated by the next morning when their power was restored. What none of us knew at that time was that seven major transmission lines had been taken out by tornados and that a major source of power, the Brown’s Ferry nuclear power plant, had to be shut down because there was no way to transport the power that was generated. I went home for dinner thinking that the power would be restored by the following morning. I certainly did not know the extent of the damage and the power outage from the Mississippi border to the west and to Chattanooga to the east.

   The next morning, Jimmy, W4ZRZ, was on the phone, my only system that was working, to discuss the conference status. Jimmy had power and much more knowledge of the situation since without power I didn’t have TV coverage. After he gave me a status report, at his suggestion, we decided we had no alternative but to cancel the conference. Jimmy began contacting everyone he could either by phone or by email. My phone service was somewhat intermittent because the lines in my neighborhood were operating from battery backup good for 12 hours. A phone company employee was going from switch to switch to switch with a generator to recharge batteries. After about a day, most of the cell sites began to go off line as their battery backups started to die. After talking to Jimmy, I got my deep cycle battery I keep on the rig and moved it downstairs to power a small TV using an inverter. The coverage was all local. The Huntsville mayor stated that all activities, such as conferences, were being canceled with all effort directed toward search, rescue, and recovery. He also noted to expect power outage for at least five days. After two days, I fired up the generator to save the meat in the freezer and food in the fridge, knowing that I was somewhat limited on gasoline since no one could pump it without power. The Huntsville mayor also declared a dusk to dawn curfew and warned people not to be on the streets and roads during the curfew.

   The next morning, Jimmy, W4ZRZ, was on the phone, my only system that was working, to discuss the conference status. Jimmy had power and much more knowledge of the situation since without power I didn’t have TV coverage. After he gave me a status report, at his suggestion, we decided we had no alternative but to cancel the conference. Jimmy began contacting everyone he could either by phone or by email. My phone service was somewhat intermittent because the lines in my neighborhood were operating from battery backup good for 12 hours. A phone company employee was going from switch to switch to switch with a generator to recharge batteries. After about a day, most of the cell sites began to go off line as their battery backups started to die. After talking to Jimmy, I got my deep cycle battery I keep on the rig and moved it downstairs to power a small TV using an inverter. The coverage was all local. The Huntsville mayor stated that all activities, such as conferences, were being canceled with all effort directed toward search, rescue, and recovery. He also noted to expect power outage for at least five days. After two days, I fired up the generator to save the meat in the freezer and food in the fridge, knowing that I was somewhat limited on gasoline since no one could pump it without power. The Huntsville mayor also declared a dusk to dawn curfew and warned people not to be on the streets and roads during the curfew.

   I can’t say enough about the support I received from several of our society members in preparation for the conference. My committee, consisting of Jimmy, W4ZRZ, and Craig, K4XR, did everything I requested of them and more. Brian, NX9O, provided valuable information about registrations, plus he has an outstanding data base with historical data which was extremely useful for planning and forecasting such as the number of registrants who walk in to register and want to attend the banquet after the banquet cut-off time. Knowing how many of them to expect and how many plan to attend the banquet is very useful. You don’t want to turn folks away but you also don’t want to over purchase banquet meals that the society has to eat, so to speak! Ott’s xyl, Riki, offered to chaperone the spouses and families, Chuck, K0VXM, took care of the vendor arrangements, Steve, N2CEI, and Robin, K4IDC, handled the technical programs and proceedings publication, with assistance from Sandra, K4SME, Tom, N4NH, took care of the hospitality room, Jimmy, W4ZRZ requested and the door prizes, Les, W4FRA, provided publicity along with W4ZRZ’s multiple mail outs, and K4IDC also provided the audio/video support saving the society a considerable expense foregoing these items being leased from the hotel.

   On another note, Mr. Homer Hickam, our scheduled banquet speaker, agreed to waive his normal speaking fee (about 5 times the society’s treasury) and he rearranged his schedule so that he could speak to and entertain us. His only request was that we support one of his and his wife’s favorite charities. In return, I told him I would solicit donations their favorite designated charity, “The Forgotten Felines” for stray and feral cats. I still want our group to make a generous contribution since Mr. Hickam did his part only to be trumped by the weather like the rest of us. So, please send me your contributions or contact me to let me know how much you have chipped in on-line at Forgotten Felines, Inc. or by mail (Forgotten Felines, Inc., P.O. Box 60, Capshaw, AL 35742) so I can inform Mr. Hickam of the Society’s contribution. The price of a good meal, not a Happy Meal, from each and every one of you would be most welcome, and even larger contributions are encouraged. This is not just to support Mr. Hickam’s charity but to encourage him to be available the next time.

   As for the conference itself, this cancelation was without discussions to reschedule. Since the alignment of the stars only occurs once in a life time, I don’t believe we could put together a similar effort at a later date. However, I have had several folks contact me about rescheduling. What I can think of is perhaps having an abbreviated get together sometime in the fall but not a full blown conference assuming there would be sufficient interest for such an event for those of us who are having “conference withdrawal syndromes.” I would foresee a gathering with no outside family activities, probably not a banquet, and consequently not even with door prizes. What we could do is have some technical presentations, perhaps have a VHF/UHF/microwave swap meet, and maybe some NF and antenna gain measurements. It would be an opportunity to exchange technical ideas and spend some face time socializing with each other. I would expect about half the usual attendance but at considerable decrease in the conference expenses. This may be only a one day event, probably a Saturday. A fairly central but out of the mainstream location would the Lake Guntersville Alabama State Park Lodge. This lodge was heavily damaged by the tornados, but repairs are being made quickly to support the summer season. Our firm has just completed a microwave link to the lodge to provide them with connectivity as the entire infrastructure to the lodge was destroyed. I have gotten to know some of the staff and could see what might be available. It’s a beautiful location on top of a mountain (Alabama sized) overlooking a lake with almost 1,000 miles of shoreline. Food is available, and good food at that, at the dining hall, and meeting rooms are plentiful. If there is sufficient support for this by the SVHFS organization, I can check on availability.

   It is my understanding that Jimmy W4ZRZ will deliver the unused prizes to the SVHFS along with the signs and standards, the prize donors' list, the mailing addresses for the mail-outs on CD, plus all of the other useful material that can be beneficial for future conferences. I would also suggest that any prize donors who usually bring their prizes with them for donation at the conference turn them in to the Society as well.

   Copies of the 2011 SVHFS Conference Proceedings are available from Down East Microwave for $23 each including shipping within the continental U.S. Please see the Down East Microwave website for ordering information.

   Once again, I request that you please send your "Forgotten Felines" charitable contribution and inform me of the amount so that I can give Mr. Hickam a proper accounting of the Society's total philanthropy.

   So, for the conference that never was, this concludes my report. I thank you all for your understanding of the situation that occurred and especially those that pitched in to prepare for this year’s conference.

   73…Ben/K4QF