MARCO 2009 Annual Meeting Report

MARCO's annual meeting took place in Chicago from June 12^th to June 14^th. Thanks to the efforts of Harry “Top Quark” Przekop and Ellen “Gluon” Przekop, the gathering was a complete success.

Several members gathered for dinner at Lawry's Restaurant on Thursday June 11^th. Unfortunately, your humble scribe had to work that day, and so was still enplaned and circling somewhere over Indiana when steaks were served. By all reports, it was a warm gathering and a great meal.

The annual business meeting took place on Friday morning at Harry and Ellen's home, located about ½ mile from our headquarters hotel, the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza.. Theirs is a very interesting place, a converted shrimp warehouse. It is part dwelling, part museum, part music studio, and part ham shack.

Minutes of the meeting are posted separately.

From Chez Przekop, we piled into several vehicles for the drive out to Fermilab. Harry formerly worked there, and was warmly greeted by old friends. Fermilab staffer Kermit Carlson (W9XA) and docent Lynda Ballingall took us on a 3-hour, take-no-prisoners tour of the facility. We saw plenty of hardware, including the 750,000 volt Cockroft-Walton accelerator and the various stages of the high-energy linear accelerator. More than one of us mused about firing up those 5 megawatt amplifier tubes on Field Day! We also learned about the construction and operation of the proton storage and collider rings as well as some of the medical applications of neutron beam therapy employed at the Lab. Lynda “B” also delivered an informal talk on the search for and classification of subatomic particles, the history of the site and the Lab's first Director, Robert R. Wilson. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any “techie.”

Any dinner plans effectively blown by our late return to Chicago, the group went its separate ways in the evening.

Saturday's schedule allowed some time to sleep in, and most people took advantage. I spent a little while exploring the massive Merchandise Mart adjacent to the hotel.

At 10 AM about 15 of us departed for the Museum of Science and Industry. There, we toured the U-505 exhibit. This is the only WWII German submarine in the United States. We learned of what living and working conditions were like for those who sailed on this vessel. We also learned the story of the daring capture of the U-505 by a team under the command of Chicago native Dan Gallery. From there, we were free to explore the rest of the museum. Some did, and others didn't. I did for a while, and then enjoyed the nice weather by taking a long walk along the Lake Shore. I also dropped in at the Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park.

Mirabell was the setting for the MARCO banquet on Saturday evening. This authentic German restaurant served wonderful German beer, food and atmosphere. Our speaker was Chief Joseph Roccosalva of the Chicago Fire Department. Despite having just come off an extended tour of duty including twelve hours spent helping prevent a woman from jumping from a 25^th floor balcony, the Chief delivered an informative and interesting talk. We learned several useful tips for minimizing the risk of injury or death during a fire, and we each were given smoke detectors to take home and install. (I got mine through the TSA security check. Did you?) The Chief's personal reminiscences about his firefighting career were quite entertaining.

I didn't make a list of those in attendance, and so apologize in advance for anyone who might be inadvertently omitted from the roster of attendees. Those whom I remember are: Harry WB9EDP, Ellen KC9ARN, Lou WA1HGE, Danny W4DAN, Caroline Centers, Arnold WB6OJB, Joan Kalan, Warren KD4GUA, Linda KE5BQK, Bernie KD5QHV, Linda and Bernie's friend Iliana, Mary AE4BX, Bill WA9HIR, Marilyn N9PXI (Bill's XYL), Chip N5RTF, Terry Keister, Paul N6DMV, Elsa Lukas, Stuart WA9ZPL, Bill W9ZCL, Michaline KC9ARP and yours truly, Bruce KM2L. We missed Jili BD2CM, who participated in the business meeting and helped transport participants around Chicago. Unfortunately, he had another engagement and could not attend the banquet.

KD4GUA won the boobie for worst travel arrangements, as his return flight to Tampa departed at 5:30 Sunday morning. The rest of us followed at a safe distance.

As always, it was over much too quickly, and we can't wait to get back together. Mark your calendars for Dayton Hamvention, May 13^th to May 16^th, 2010.