MAARC Celebrates its 85th Anniversary with VE9M85A Special Event Call

The Moncton Area Amateur Radio Club (MAARC) was founded in 1966 as a successor to the Moncton Amateur Radio Club formed in 1936.  MAARC, Inc. was incorporated in 1977 under New Brunswick law as a not-for-profit organization. In 2018, the Tri-County Amateur Radio Club amalgamated with MAARC. The club is very active and plans are being made for a dinner to celebrate this important milestone in our club history.

As part of our 85th Anniversary celebrations, MAARC has obtained the special event call sign, VE9M85A which signifies the Moncton 85th Anniversary (M85A). This call will be active for 30 days, starting on August 1-30, 2021. The executive invites all members to come to the clubhouse and activate the call. A prize will be awarded to the member who makes the most contacts using the special event callsign. VE9ML and VE9BK are not eligible for the prize, so get to the clubhouse and get on the air.
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The first contact made was with AD2BT, Mike in Eastern New York with a 5x9 signal report on 14.225 MHz USB. Pictured is Ross, VE9GCS, MAARC Secretary making the 1st contact using VE9M85A. The first CW contact was made by JP, VE9BK with RX3Q/6, Igor in Liski Russia on 40m, and the first FT-8 contact was with Dennis N1RDN in Massachusettes on 20m by Marcel, VE9ML.