eHam.net News

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Hundreds Turn Out for HamFest:

Posted: 14 Aug 2016 06:29 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37369


HUNTINGTON -- Five years ago, Mark Killen was looking for something to do
with his family when he got into the world of ham radio. Killen, of
Proctorville, Ohio, vice president of the Tri-State Radio Association, and
his wife, Teresa, and daughter, Ashton, a Fairland High School senior, all
passed tests to get their ham radio license in 2011. The family was among
more than 225 people attending the 54th annual HamFest on Saturday at New
Baptist Church in Huntington. "We handle emergency communications," Killen
said. "We practice all the time. We participate in disaster drills. We
volunteer at the 5Ks and can handle emergency radio communications. "I've
talked to people in New Zealand, Germany, Aruba and Switzerland," he
said. "When they ask where I'm from, (I tell them) the home of the Rome
beauty apple and across from Marshall University. "It's a swap meet, a
gathering of people who operate ham radios," Killen said. "It's an annual
celebration and a fundraiser." People come to the HamFest looking for parts
and things they need, including tuners and antennas, he said.