Volunteers’ Week – Jon Matthews, G6ASK

Each week over 100 volunteers join together to deliver the GB2RS news broadcast. In August 2021, Jon Matthews, G6ASK joined this team. He began by reading the news each week on VHF, and then in July 2022 he joined the HF Team and does every third Sunday in rotation with two other volunteers. In the three years he has been volunteering, he has missed just one Sunday.

He decided to volunteer after seeing an advert for newsreaders in RadCom. Amongst his friends, family, and students Jon is known for being chatty, and so the volunteer role seemed a natural choice for him. After contacting the GB2RS Manager, Steve Richards, G4HPE, he applied for his NoV and joined the team.

Having been licensed for over 40 years, Jon enjoys being able to give back to the hobby and would encourage anyone thinking of doing it to “go for it”. He has found that since volunteering he has become more active on the air and now also has the pleasure of being part of the net on a Tuesday morning, during school holidays, as a direct result of becoming a newsreader.

He recalls one of his early outings as a newsreader when he dropped all of his paperwork on the floor and struggled the find his place after a long pause in the broadcast. After what seemed like an eternity, he says he got underway again and made it to the end. Not a single soul mentioned it and simply thanked him and praised his reading. If there was nothing else, he says that is why he reads GB2RS every week. There is a wonderful band of regulars who call in on a Sunday morning and it is hugely satisfying to know that the service is well received and appreciated by so many.

Jon says, “The whole experience has been and continues to be immensely rewarding and I hope to keep going for as long as I can. Whilst it may seem daunting at first, the amateur radio community is incredibly supportive.”

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