​ GREATER LOUISVILLE
HAMFEST 2025
8am-2pm Saturday, September 6
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
Whatever the Weather, We'll Hamfest Together
Tickets $8 Advance, $10 (cash only) Fri & Sat at the Hamfest
Scouts & Scout Leaders in Uniform Free. Under 16 Free. 16-18 years old $5 Admission
Talk-In: 146.700 MHz (CTCSS 79.7 Hz)
2025 Kentucky Amateur of the Year
Each year, the Greater Louisville Hamfest recognizes a licensed ham operator in Kentucky as the KY Amateur of the Year. Keep an eye out and nominate someone who is a hams ham - that guy or gal who is active on the air, always lends a helping hand and balances hamming with the rest of life. Got someone in mind? Sing their praises in an email to KYAmateuroftheYear@gmail.com.​ For more information, go to our KY Ham of the Year page. -Buddy Sohl KC4WQ
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What's Happening for GLH-2025
We now have free admission to anyone under 16. Youth who are 16-18 years old can get in for only $5. These tickets will have the prize stub attached, so be sure they pick up their ticket at either the Inside or Outside Ticket Booth. Tickets for Scouts and Scout Leaders in uniform can get their free Admission Ticket at the Inside Ticket Booth. They will also be eligible for the Door Prize and Major Prize drawings. These special tickets are only available on the day of the hamfest and cannot be purchased in advance.
This year's Forums are really exciting, featuring Parks on the Air (POTA), Digital Networking with TARPN & LINUX and the ARRL.
Our Major Prizes are a treat, too. First prize is a Yaesu FT-891 HF + 50 MHz All Mode Mobile Transceiver. It's a great rig for a seasoned ham operator or a newcomer. We also have a Tri-Band MFJ-1536 Pulsar Antenna and a Dual Band MFJ-1522 Pulsar Antenna as second and third prizes. Please note, because of their length, you will have to arrange for pickup - we cannot mail them. And for 4th and 5th prizes we have a BaoFeng UV-5R 8W Tri-Power UHF/VHF Handheld Transceiver, which has been praised by hams as a backup radio or nice entry unit.
The QLF contest is back again. Get your left foot in practice to send some Morse Code.
The Kentucky Amateur of the Year award will also be presented to a local ham operator, nominated by other hams, for this honored recognition.
Extra Prize Tickets are re-priced $1 each. Yep, we heard you and we have returned to your preferred pricing on those tickets.
All tickets are now on sale at the GLH Store and registration is open for inside and outside spaces. For more details, click the "Tickets & Spaces" tab in our menu.
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Greater Louisville Hamfest Staffing Alert!
Hello Fellow Ham Operators,
The Greater Louisville Hamfest is in big trouble and we need your help.
Our staffing has dropped from seven committee members down to six. Unfortunately, we no longer have enough staff or help to continue with the hamfest after this year. That means that there will probably no longer be a Greater Louisville Hamfest after this year. All the committee members are doing multiple jobs which makes it hard to put on a good hamfest. If you enjoy the hamfest, please consider volunteering to help us out by joining our Greater Louisville Hamfest Committee. It is an easy committee to be a member of because we only meet from February through September. The meetings are on Zoom and only last approximately 40 minutes. They start at 6:30 pm and take place on the third Tuesday of each month. We would however, still require you to spend most of the day at the hamfest. Your volunteering for our GLHA committee would be doing our fellow hams throughout our area a great service. Please really consider this opportunity, because besides selling radios and equipment, you meet lots of hams, and you do have quite a bit of fun while you are at the hamfest. Thank you for your consideration. It would be great to see you each month on Zoom and work with at the hamfest each September.
Sincerely,
Tom Lubrick, KU4VG (Vice Chairman, GLHA)
You can contact the following committee members to let them know you would like to volunteer for the GLHA committee:
Bob Myers, K4RVM at K4RVM@LouisvilleHamfest.com
Tom Lubrick, KU4VG at KU4VG@LouisvilleHamfest.com
Garry Gillett, AG9GG
Steve Driver, N9BWT
Buddy Sohl, KC4WQ
Dick Truax, K9RT (Note: Dick can usually be found at VE Testing Sites)
​Thoughts from the GLHA Chairman
This is not set in stone about future hamfests, but we are at a point that we have too few people to actively manage the event. Fortunately, we have dedicated hams and others who have given of their time to help sell tickets. Several of the GLHA Team are dedicated to full-time tasks with the Scout Merit Badge Program, Prize Booth, Tailgating, Talk-in, QLF Contest, and award presentations. Others rotate, filling in where needed, as well as setting up, helping those who reserved spaces and much more behind the scenes. When one person in a full day task becomes unavailable due to health issues, etc., someone else needs to fill in, and if nobody else is on staff, we have an issue. DO NOTE: WE ARE NOT SHUTTING DOWN THE LOUISVILLE HAMFEST NOW OR IN THE FUTURE. But, it could become a reality if we don't have bodies to do the minimum tasks necessary to staff the hamfest. This is neither a ploy nor is it a scare tactic to get others involved, but it is simple reality. We've always said that the Louisville Hamfest is OUR hamfest - an event for the Amateur Radio community. It has, and always will, depend on your support for its success. So we simply ask for help from our fellow hams to join us to keep this event going each year. Without your support, the future is in limbo.
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Bob Myers, K4RVM, GLHA Chairman K4RVM@LouisvilleHamfest.com
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