On March 1 I was appointed as the ARRL Section Manager to fulfill the term vacated by George Miller, W3GWM. George stepped down as SM due to health issues. I was saddened by George’s departure, as I’m sure many of you were. As the Section Emergency Coordinator, I worked closely with George and admired him as a person and respected and appreciated his leadership style. In a short while I expect George to be back at his microphone or keyboard making contacts on phone, PSK-31 or FT-8. Keep your ears tuned for his call.
I plan to continue George’s vision for the EPA. We have a large and active section with a great number of radio clubs . We have nearly 4,000 talented amateur radio operators transmitting from between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, a wide swath of the Keystone State stretching from the New York border in the north to Maryland and Delaware in the south. Among us are avid contesters, talented technical engineers, DX chasers, rag-chewers, digital mode enthusiasts, brass-pounders, traffic handlers and nearly 800 volunteers serving in Amateur Radio Emergency Service units throughout the section’s 34 counties.
As SM, my main responsibility is serving as our section’s representative to the ARRL. By communicating the concerns of our members to the League, we can work together to make our avocation all that it can be. I realize most amateur radio operators are too busy enjoying themselves on the air to take note of what goes on at the ARRL, but you’d be amazed at what happens. By reading QST Magazine, you may get an inkling, but so much more occurs beyond the pages that positively affects us all.
My sincere desire is to do the best I can as your representative and work diligently to help you make amateur radio thrive in the Eastern Pennsylvania Section. I hope you will continue to advance the radio arts and enjoy everything that makes our hobby so fantastic. I’d also like to offer sage advice from George Miller as he counseled me. “Amateur radio is a hobby, It’s supposed to be fun.” And, if you have the time or desire, please volunteer in some capacity as an instructor, a volunteer examiner, an ARES emergency communicator or as a mentor to a new ham. Please share your knowledge and talents with others.
Thank you and I hope to hear you on the air…