It is with the utmost
sadness that I report the loss of another one of our long-time CREST REACT
members. He was known to us by many names depending on the situation and you may
have referred to him as "Bloodhound", "Sergeant of Arms", "9,5", "WPOJ436" or
just simply by his name Mark Schrick.
Mark has been a member
of our CREST team most recently since 1998 but was a member long before that
when our team was known as Corona-Norco REACT.
Mark died yesterday en route to the CREST General Membership Meeting which he NEVER missed serving as our Sergeant of Arms for many years although he lived a long distance away and had no transportation. He did what he loved to do and did it well. He was as reliable as a rock when giving him any assignment. Mark was heard giving a traffic report on his bus while heading for his Mom's place just about one mile from our team meeting place. He never reached Mom's place. He was found on the ground between the bus stop and Mom's.
I recall Mark when he had only a handheld police scanner and loved to listen to the calls every chance. He then got a CB radio and began monitoring and taking REACT calls. Eventually, he progressed to GMRS where he was a cornerstone monitoring for emergency calls and acting as one of our valuable Traffic Watch Monitors giving road information to commuters daily. He got his own personal GMRS call sign (WPOJ436) and was always reliable to be there if you needed him.
During the 2005 REACT International Convention hosted by our team he tried several times until he passed his Amateur Radio License testing and received the call KI6ADI. He kidded ADI stood for "any damn idiot". Never did I see him without his humor or quick smile.
I spoke with Mark on the (GMRS) radio Wednesday. He had asked for my help in joining ARRL. His computer was broken and he wanted to join and belong badly. I offered to help him. During the conversation, he said he had the phone number to ARRL and thanks for my offer but he'll just call them and do it over the phone. He did. The next day (yesterday), I received a phone call from him all excited and relaying his ARRL membership number 2000186116 to me. He was very proud of his accomplishments and wanted his "Mum" to be proud of him too.
Nothing kept him down.
He attacked the REACT Emergency Communications Course and took both the
closed-book test and the open-book test the same day. He took both tests
closed-book. While he didn't receive a passing score he was planning on a retake
soon. This course is a monumental step for a friend I met with only a hand-held
scanner.
Mark never missed a
team event or meeting. His favorite event was working the Ramada Express
Off-Road Rally in the Grand Canyon which he worked side-by-side with one of his
many mentors Rob Clark. Mark could not wait to work the Rally this year because
he was a ham now. He never worked part of an event; he worked it from start to
stop as so many of the dedicated members of CREST REACT do. He lived and died
CREST REACT. This was his only true passion in life and he did it well. Another
fond event of Marks was the Temecula Tractor Races where this year he got to
ride on Ed Greanys old 1946 Farmall tractor - a symbol of Marks
childhood.
Like so many of our
silent keys, Mark will surely be missed as there is no replacing our
Bloodhound.
Mark was like glue. He
stuck to you through the good and the bad and was a friend you could count on no
matter what the situation. He will long be remembered as "9,5" by literally hundreds of communicators. He is survived
by Jackie "Mom" Schrick of
Additional funeral
details will be forthcoming as we learn of them.
Mark has now
transferred to the Eternal Rest REACT Team along with our other
departed members Frank (6), Steve (36), Goody (42), Jim (45), Maureen (77),
and Mary (329). God Bless them all.
Ed Greany, President
CREST COMMUNICATIONS
REACT TEAM #4252
(760)
868-8113