[LCC] Centennial activity from Louisiana

[Mark Ketchell]

Happy New Year,
      As Louisiana Coordinators, W5WZ and I have received a number of 
emails after each of our weeks as W1AW/5 LA,  from both our own 
operators and those who had made contacts with us. I have been quite 
pleased at the positive response, and the number of "Thank You" 
messages. While the vast majority of contacts automatically matched 
in LoTW, we have had some log check requests which we had to 
research. On each of these where we provided the correct qso 
information, we received a follow-up note thanking us for our state, 
or our points, or for the extra effort help them retrieve their 
match. This not only showed the intense interest in the centennial 
event, but also how gracious most Hams still are.

      Although I personally only had a couple of thousand Q's, I had 
a blast, especially with the logistics of the W1AW/x project. I don't 
know if it was 100% Dave, NN1N's idea, but he chose some very good 
state coordinators, which played a large part in the program's 
success. We helped each other on the "Leader's reflector" and Dave 
kept us informed and excited, then we just shared our excitement with 
our own groups... and the result is over 3.5 million Qso's and still 
counting. Wow, what a success! Naturally, there were a few pundits 
who didn't care for it (or anything else that interfered with "their" 
domain). They missed out on a wonderful chance and a great time.

      To many, it is interesting how the enthusiasm just continued to 
build through the year. There were certainly more folks chasing 
states and points near the end than in the beginning. It was great 
that even after our weeks had passed, and the end of the year was 
closing in, I could get on and simply call "CQ Centennial - 12 
points", and instantly generate a pile-up. The whole year, one would 
have thought WE were the rare DX. I'm going to miss this.

      I also have to credit Joe, NJ1Q, at HQ, who had to sign and u/l 
all the individual files into LoTW, including those in which the 
format had to be corrected. There were literally hundreds each week, 
plus all the corrections, and he always handled them quickly with 
never a negative word or comment. We all own him a BIG thank you. I'm 
not sure either of them has slept in 2014.

      While Joe and Dave might have been the glue that held it 
together, the hero's were those who got on at all hours of the day 
and night and made the contacts. While there were some who made 
thousands, many who made hundreds, or the guys who made only a 
handfull - we all got on the air and had fun. Additionally, each of 
those qso's had a contact on the other end who wanted us for our 
state, band, mode or points. This one event has probably caused more 
"on-the-air" activity than any other since the start of the WPX and 
DXCC programs, and we hope that the activity level stays high, as 
many have now had the opportunity to run pile-ups who had never had 
that experience before.

      Scott and I join all our operators from Louisiana in saying 
"Thank you" to the ARRL and staff, and all those who got on the air, 
for generating so much activity and excitement in our wonderful 
hobby. Its been a great year and we are happy to have been a part of it.

73 and HNY,
Mark, K5ER

Coordinator, W1AW/5 LA

PS: Join us for the Louisiana Qso Party ( LAQP )   www.laqp.org on 
March 14, 2015, sponsored by the Louisiana Contest Club,  www.n5lcc.com .