Date: August 2025
Amount: $24,750

The Okaw Valley Amateur Radio Club (OVARC), founded in 1975, promotes amateur radio through education, public service, and emergency preparedness. The club supports STEM outreach, has enabled two International Space Station contacts with local schools, and offers free youth licensing classes with handheld radios provided to new licensees.

This project will revitalize OVARC’s VHF repeater in Greenville, Illinois. The site is part of the St. Louis regional linked system and is used for emergency response, community events, and student training. Planned work includes replacing the failing shelter, installing an emergency generator, repairing the UHF link antenna, and adding environmental controls. These upgrades will keep the repeater reliable for local communications, emergency use, and easily accessible for radio operators.

Learn more at https://www.ovarc.net/.