Quarter Century Amateur Radio Club
Annual General Meeting - April 16,2009
Dave Berwick - Honorary Life Membership
(presented by Fred Joyce)
One of the duties of your executive this evening is to honor Dave Berwick, VE6DD, with a Quarter Century Amateur Radio Club Honorary Life Membership. David could not be here tonight so his certificate will be presented to him at his convenience. In addition, Dave will receive a very handsome clock with an engraved plaque thereon and several souvenir photographs showing him hard at work at one of the club sites. These tokens are presented to confirm our appreciation for all that he has done for this club.
However, it is appropriate this evening to inform you all of the reasons for our having chosen to award him with this honor and at the same time to provide you some background details of his involvement in radio communications and as a ham radio operator and as an excellent electronics technician. First a bit of background. David was originally a Saskatchewan boy and was working as a CNR Station Agent at the time he got into ham radio. The father of his best friend taught him morse code and he obtained his certificate and operated an Amateur Station until WWII started and the Federal Government closed down all amateur radio stations.
When the war started David joined the RCAF where he worked as a radio operator/navigator. Following the war and after then de-mobilization of the forces he worked with CP Air as a station agent at a number of stations along the MacKenzie River for five years.
He then joined the Department of Transport and was working at Teslin, YT Aeradio when he was called to Edmonton where he was promoted to Radio Inspector. Shortly thereafter he was re-assigned to the Telecommunications Branch where he managed the Design and Construction Division until his retirement in the 1980’s. It should be noted he had been a top notch electronics technician even prior to his promotion.
I mention these details to illustrate that Dave has been a radio operator both as a professional and as an Amateur for more than 70 years and an excellent electronics technician for most of that time.
In Edmonton, Dave continued his Amateur Radio interests and was one of the Charter members of this club.
The QCARC was started nearly 24 years ago by Ian Burn, Peter Morrison and Norm Simons. Dave was one of the original members of QCARC. As a Club member Dave has always been very active in both the operating and the electronics maintenance side of the hobby. Many trips were made to our various repeater sites and they were often in pretty demanding conditions. Indeed a significant number of installation or maintenance trips were made to sites when weather conditions were marginal and there are lots of tales about member’s vehicles sliding off roads and becoming stuck in deep snow. Other stories are told about carrying equipment and tools to sites when it was necessary to walk uphill in thigh deep snow. In addition, Dave has served on our club executive and as our President for many of his years as a member.
Special comment must be made on behalf of those of us who traveled South in the winters in that Dave provided scheduled HF contact with all of us as a safety and convenience feature to ensure that all was well with we travelers. We must remember that those were pre-email days so the friendly voice from the North bringing local news and phoning family and friends was most welcome during our 2 to 3 times a day contacts.
In closing, I believe that all here will agree that Dave is a Ham’s Ham as well as being a truly fine gentleman of the highest caliber. He is highly deserving of this honor and award. All members of this organization wish him well.
