These comments were received on the Jambo97 mailing list, or directly by E-mail.
"Thanks" to all those who took the time to let us know how you felt.
Mike:
I thought the work your people did at K2BSA was marvelous!
My son, Charlie, came to the Jambo with the goal of getting his Amateur Radio license. Thanks to your folks, he is still floating about four feet off the ground because he got it done!
Special thanks to Art Steinke, WB9JKZ, who elevated the appellation, "ELMER" to a new level.
We did see truly heroic efforts on the part of folks in the staff trenches...at K2BSA and many other venues.
A heartfelt thanks, Mike. You and your staff exemplify all that is so very good in the Scouting (and Amateur Radio) movements.
Bates N9UVI
The following is an article from Jamboree Today , the daily newspaper at the Jamboree:
By Nadine Yawn
For an exciting 10 minutes early Friday morning, Scouts spoke with American astronaut Mike Foale aboard the Russian Space Station MIR. MIR is a Russian word that means both peace and world. Foale is a licensed amateur radio operator and particularly enjoys talking with kids. He will continue to contact all interested licensed operators while on board the space station.
Chris Anderson, a staff member at K2BSA Amateur Radio exhibit, made first contact with MIR just before 5 a.m. as more than 100 Scouts and Scouters eagerly waited to hear Foaleís voice.
Life Scout Jake Lindsley, 15, of Lakeport, Calif., was the first to speak. Foale told him that as a youth he was active as a Scout in Germany. "How you doing?" was Jim Tomkins' greeting. Tomkins is a 15-year-old Eagle Scout from Lafayette, Calif. Shelley Weil, chairman of the jamboree's National Jewish Committee, spoke briefly to Foale before introducing Stephen Zverev. Zverev, who spoke to Foale in Russian, is a 16-year-old Scout from Irkutsk, Siberia.
Jeffrey Lasker, 17, of Napa, Calif., was asked by Foale, "How many Scouts in your troop and are you in the forest or in the open?" Lasker told Foale there were 40 Scouts in his troop in tents.
Before speaking to the next Scout, the American astronaut said his view of Earth was a beautiful one that offered a continuous sunrise. Star Scout Joe Schuette, 13, from Bethel, Alaska, spoke briefly to Foale before Chris Wildman, a First Class Scout from Alamo Calif.
Then Anderson pointed up to the early morning sky and showed the crowd the MIR Space Station above them.
Mike Long, a 16-year-old Life Scout from Danville, Calif., told Foale, "It's pretty cool, we can see you right now." Shortly before contact ended, Chris Sigvenze a 12-year-old Star Scout from Cedar, Iowa, and Star Scout Adam Ton, 14, of Chicago, talked briefly with the space station.
As MIR reached the horizon, Foale said "Thank you. This is my first group contact since I got up here." Anderson was the last to speak and wished Foale and those on MIR a "good next pass."
All those attending the special event received a "guest operator" certificate from K2BSA. Scouts who want to contact MIR after they get home are encouraged to first stop by the K2BSA exhibit. There they can get information on attending a licensing class and taking the FCC exam at the jamboree. There is no minimum age limit for licensing.
MIR began its latest mission with Cosmonauts Vasili Tsibliev, Aleksandr Lazutikin and American astronaut Jerry Linenger. Mike Foale replaced Linenger on May 15, 1997. MIR will host NASA astronauts as crewmembers between March 1995 and May 1998.
You can find this article and graphics at: http://www.bsa.scouting.org/jambo97/html/jambotoday.html
Look for the August 2nd issue.
The following was in response to a request for "your most memorable moment at the Jamboree:"
>10. That many people got up at an unfathomable hour to get to talk to Mir!
My Scouts woke me at 3 am(!) to hike across camp in time to get to K2BSA in time for the call. They had forewarned me, asking permission to do that, and I had decided I had better go along so that they wouldn't get picked up by the MPs. We hiked from Subcamp 6 in the Western Region all the way across camp along Travis Lake Rd before meeting anyone, and arrived at the site moments before a second group. Being first in line, five of the six Scouts from Troop 637 were able to talk over the radio with Mir (the sixth had traded his seat for a patch!). That made it worth the hike over and back for me, even at that hour.
And thank you to whomever it was from K2BSA who sent my certificate. I never did make it back up there to pick it up, and I do appreciate receiving it!
YiS,
Alan R. Houser
** Scoutmaster, Berkeley Troop 24
** troop24@emf.net
** WWW page ** http://www.emf.net/~troop24/t24.html
** Scoutmaster, Mt. Diablo Silverado Council Jamboree Troop #637
** http://www.emf.net/~troop24/council/nj-637.html **
6.) MIR Contact
Another highlight for me was the MIR contact with Mike Foele (don't think I spelled that right), having 100 scouts get up at 4:30AM and many walking miles to get there, to talk to an astronaut living on the edge - these guys will remember this a long time - the MIR troubles are truly history in the making that they have connected with. the HAM radio guys did a fine job.
I had 3 boys accompany me that night from Troop 1519, they were the center of many conversations in camp on Friday - very glad they did it. I am hoping to make up a special certificate for them if I can get a digitised copy of the picture of MIR from the Jamboree paper (and permission to use it), if others who participated in this event would also like such a remembrance please Email me directly, may take some time to get this together.
7.) K2BSA
HAM radio repeater, great to have it. Suggest that we try to recruit one or two HAMs to bring HT equipment to Jambo in each troop and designate as official contact for nightly net, give them status like the Journalist Home Reporter (special patch, maybe flag for tent) would help in emergency communications, also delivering messages, it was great for me as a HAM to get weather forecasts relayed. It is wonderful that HAM radio and scouts still work so well together.
I am very grateful to the K2BSA staff for helping me connect with visitors, this was a very useful function and much appreciated.
Yours in Scouting,
Chris Siegl SM, Troop 316, St. Andrew Catholic Church, Apex NC, Occoneechee Council
I would also like to thank the radio staff. I sent an email message to my son while he was at jamboree, and he was completely thrilled to hear it and later see it posted. >>
I want to add my 'me too' - I sent an e-mail message and my son got it. That was a really cool thing for you guys to do!!!
diane
e-mail: Riggs801@aol.com
Subject: JAMBO97 High and Low Points
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 97 14:57 EDT
From: eweis@capintec.com (Eric M. Weis)
High Points:
K2BSA and their repeater which allowed realtime info to be available in the Subcamp (or wherever there was a 2m handset) and which transmitted e-mail messages from remote places (like Scouters, FOS and others back home).
<snip>
YiS
Eric Weis
Troop 165 ASM
Passaic Valley Council
Wayne NJ
Subject: Re: JAMBO97 K2BSA Staff
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 20:04:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: CLIFF CRAY <deacon@nh.ultranet.com>
Mike & all K2BSA staff,
Thank you for the effort you all put into making K2BSA work.
K2BSA made the limited communications from national bearable. Your group was able to help me out many times when someone would walk up thinking I should know something ( I guess it was the radio) and start asking questions. The K2BSA staff were able to answer all of the questions I asked. I know they got tired of giving everyone weather reports.
Your repeater was a TREMENDOUS help. It allowed me to stay in touch with our contingent troop in subcamp 17 while I was house at Longstreet. It also provided me contact with the 911 group when a bicyclist next to me decided the best route to take was head on with another cyclist.
I am sorry I did not get a chance to thank the group in person before we left. I would appreciate it if you would forward my personal thanks to all involved.
YIS & 73's
Scott Payne WA4CHL
Boys' Life Staff
Subject: Re: JAMBO97 K2BSA Staff
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 21:52:33 -0600 (MDT)
From: n5zgt@swcp.com (Brian Mileshosky)
I also want to thank the K2BSA staff for the AWESOME job they did making the Amateur Radio station so popular and successful! For all you hams out there, try to pick up a copy of the November issue of WORLDRADIO Magazine. I am a columnist for it, and I am mentioning K2BSA in my next column (Youth Forum)!
Mike, Phil and everybody else, thanks again and I look foward to seeing you all, or perhaps WORKING with you all in 2001!
73,
Brian, N5ZGT
Last update August 28, 1997