Community Involvement

Victor’s (US5WE/K1WE) Story

Posted on by David
Our FAIRS Counterpart in Ukraine Shares a Story about His Exploits with Ham Radio As our name states we are definitely an international organization. Victor Goncharsky (US5WE/K1WE) lives in Ukraine along with this wife Helen. They are an integral part of FAIRS and have been since the beginning. As you can imagine life in Ukraine is unlike it has ever been before and sometimes it is a needed break to take part in something that brings you enjoyment and a bit of peace. Below is a story written...
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FAIRS Members attend Hamvention 2024

Posted on by David
On the weekend of May 17th, 18th and 19th, 2024 almost 36,000 Ham Radio Operators from across the globe came together for their yearly Hamvention in Dayton, OH. Among those in attendance were members of FAIRS. David and Gaynell Larsen and Dee Wallace traveled from Floyd to 'set up shop' at the convention. Each year attendees have access to forums, a flea market and an indoor market where they can share information, stories and wares from their travels or items from their home base. As you ca...
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Bangladesh DXpedition

Posted on by David
The Bangladesh DX Club has done a DXpedition for the past three years activating Island on the Air (IOTA). In 2022, they chartered a boat and traveled to the Island “Dhal Char” and operated on many amateur radio frequencies and modes (voice and digital). Six operators and other volunteers made the trip to the Island. Bangladesh has very limited amateur radio activity and it’s quite rare to make a contact with a station there. This was the third year the group traveled to an Island for an IOT...
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FAIRS Bangladesh

Posted on by David
FAIRS assisted expanding Amateur Radio in 1993 with a DXpedition to Dhaka Bangladesh. A group of FAIRS members – three from the US, two from Ukraine and three from Russia gathered in Dhaka and operated for about three weeks and made about 25,000 contacts. FAIRS members also presented a two-week training program to train new hams. Seventeen Bangladesh folks were licensed because of this training session. It was very important to assist in ham radio in Bangladesh as there were only five licensed ...
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Long Time Support of the International Association for Disaster Preparedness & Response (DERA)

Posted on by David
FAIRS has been in support and a proud member of the International Association for Disaster Preparedness & Response (DERA) for many years. Founded in 1962, DERA nonprofit promotes amateur (ham) radio communication. They have assisted in many of our service projects, including a recent project in 2021 where they shipped a number of items to FAIRS. For more information on DERA, go to disasters.org.
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FAIRS Continues Despite Natural Disasters & COVID-19

Posted on by David
Over the past few years, the Island of Dominica has been hit by many uncontrollable hardships. Back in 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Dominica very impactful, leaving not only physical damage, but economic damage. Following Dave and Gaynell's last trip in January 2020, COVID-19 became prevalent internationally, causing another economic set back for Dominica, forcing many people to lose theirs jobs and businesses to shut down. Despite the restrictions following the spread of COVID-19, FAIRS still...
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FAIRS 29th trip to Dominica!

Posted on by David
FAIRS has been in Dominica for 22 years—time flies! Over the years we have seen so many changes down there. For many years Dominica was a British colony but in 1967 they decided they wanted to become Independent! In September 2017 Hurricane Maria hit the Island and totally devastated it. The Hurricane winds were relentless and took almost all of the "green" from the Island and left it bare. Most of the Island was without power for months and even now many areas don't have running water. The fol...
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2018 – FAIRS Works for Global GOODWILL!

Posted on by David
 Coordinating Relief and Care at Home and Regionally Responding after Hurricane Maria Projects and Ukrainian DX Foundation for Amateur International Radio Service, Ltd. sends many thanks for the continued support by our members and donors. Best wishes for a truly magical holiday season! In 2018# We were active at local mnctions and at special event stations & booths, and "on the air" at the ham shack located at Chantilly Farm in Floyd, VA, where our offices are now located. We want ...
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FAIRS and Floyd United Methodist Church Collect Items for Disaster Relief in Dominica

Posted on by David
During the most recent trip by FAIRS directors David and Gaynell Larsen to Dominica, the couple visited a small village near the capital of the city which had several homes destroyed due to a fire that occurred the day after Christmas. Over sixty individuals were displaced and living in school rooms with all their possessions destroyed. The church collected sheets, towels, and blankets to be shipped to Dominica for the fire victims. When Gaynell told FUMC Pastor Steve Johnson about the fire i...
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Love One, Teach One Foundation — New Year, New Programs

Posted on by David
Once Dominica's Independence celebrations were completed on November 3, the Love One, Teach One, Foundation went back to work serving their community. The Foundation led by Ms. Gloria Walsh is in their first year of a prison reading program to help those who are imprisoned. Ms. Walsh feels blessed to have 17 young men interested in the program. Now that the new year has come studying and hard work began with six individuals so they can successfully complete the CCLSC exam offered through the ...
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