[continued from previous message]   
      
   he's been involved in Summits On The Air, the Colorado ham has found   
   many kinds of meaningful recognition, most of them with a connection to   
   animals. As a SOTA chaser, he received a Rooster Award from his friend   
   Steve, WG0AT, after 50 successful contacts with activators on Mt.   
   Herman. This unofficial honor was granted in memory of Steve's two   
   beloved goats, Peanut and Rooster. Ray later became an official Shack   
   Sloth, achieving 1,000 points chasing summits throughout Colorado.   
      
   As both the elevations and Ray's point score began to soar, so did his   
   enchantment with the natural beauty around him. Becoming a ham in 2021,   
   it didn't take long for the avid hiker to step out with his portable   
   gear: His first SOTA activation was on Mt. Antero [ANN TERRO], a   
   so-called "fourteener" for its 14 thousand plus feet above sea level.   
   Enchanted by nature's vistas and animals - from moose to hummingbird -   
   Ray has had his share of what he considers "wow moments."   
      
   What he received in June of 2023 has no equal in his eyes. It was not   
   the 4 points he got that day for his activation on Devil's Head summit.   
   No, Ray was in the national forest specifically to visit the active   
   fire tower, where Ashley, the tower's lookout officer, had promised to   
   present him with a card bestowing membership in something the Forest   
   Service called the Ancient and Honorable Order of Squirrels. An   
   internet search shows that, at least since the 1940s, the forest   
   lookouts have presented these cards at active fire towers around the US   
   to raise public awareness of the perils of forest fires.   
      
   To Ray, there is no greater honor than being a card-carrying Forest   
   Service squirrel. The card is a tangible reminder of all that was once   
   good in our world so long ago and still surrounds us now. "I cherish   
   this," he told Newsline: [quote] "It is one of the most valuable things   
   I own." [endquote]   
      
   This is Ralph Squillace KK6ITB.   
      
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