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AE5ME > ARL 23.04.16 01:09l 61 Lines 6860 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : C45D9ZYL8V1A
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARRL Letter April 21 Part 1 of 4
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ<AE5ME
Sent: 160422/2244Z 36153@AE5ME.#NEOK.OK.USA.NOAM BPQ1.4.64
•New ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, Pledges World-Class Service, Openness, Inclusiveness
•EchoLink VoIP Service Proving Valuable in Handling Ecuador Earthquake Traffic
•You Have an Appointment with the Doctor!
•National Parks on the Air Update
•Amateur Radio Praised Following Participation in Washington Interoperability Exercise
•US ARDF Champions Now Looking Toward September World Championships in Bulgaria
•On-the-Air Activity to Highlight International Marconi Day on April 23
•The "Other" Heard Island DXpedition -- VK0LD
•In Brief...
•The K7RA Solar Update
•This Week in Radiosport
•Upcoming ARRL Section, State, and Division Conventions and Events
New ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, Pledges World-Class Service, Openness, Inclusiveness
The ARRL's new Chief Executive Officer Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, got down to work on his first day in office on April 18 by promising to make the League's foundational business processes "rock solid" and bring them up to state of the art, which members have a right to expect. Gallagher, who arrived at Headquarters on February 29 as CEO-Elect, has now assumed the top leadership post long held by David Sumner, K1ZZ, who officially retired on April 18. In late January, all 15 ARRL Directors voted to elect Gallagher as CEO and Secretary, and Gallagher said he plans to build upon Sumner's legacy. During weeks of walking the halls and speaking with what he described as "the 95 outstanding employees we have here at Headquarters," Gallagher said he's seen a lot that's positive but acknowledged that some issues need attention.
ARRL CEO Tom Gallagher, NY2RF.
"My colleagues require the tools to do their jobs efficiently and effectively," he said. "When they don't have them it makes it harder for them to serve our members. We want to keep traffic moving. That will require investment and hard work, but we're going to do it."
Gallagher said some resources would be redeployed into areas that need more support, to improve or enhance the League's service.
The new CEO pointed to the recent example of more than 1000 issues of QST that were lost in transit to members' mailboxes due to a train derailment. "Within 24 hours, we knew exactly which copies had been destroyed, and the Circulation Department sent out replacement copies via First-Class Mail," he said. That's the kind of world-class service we want to perpetuate."
QST readers soon will see Gallagher's personal stamp on the monthly editorial, which he's renamed "Second Century." While it will be essentially the same format as Sumner's "It Seems to Us" editorial, "the latter belongs to Dave," Gallagher said. "I don't think I could ever replace his erudition and his scholarship, or match his plain speaking, and I'm not going to try."
Gallagher also has promised a spirit of openness and inclusiveness to bring the enrichment of Amateur Radio to a wider community. "Greater transparency is my guiding principle, as well as that of ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, and the goals included in the Strategic Plan approved by the ARRL Board of Directors ," he added. Gallagher invited members to take their suggestions and concerns directly to him.
Gallagher's assumption of the CEO post coincided with World Amateur Radio Day, which marks the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) in 1925. Read more.
EchoLink VoIP Service Proving Valuable in Handling Ecuador Earthquake Traffic
What you see on the news is only the tip of the iceberg of what really happened as a result of the devastating April 16 earthquake in Ecuador, Michigan physician Rick Dorsch, NE8Z/HC1MD, told ARRL. Since the 7.8 magnitude quake hit while most people were at home finishing dinner, "thousands of people" remain buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings, he said, although some have been found alive. Dorsch and his wife Maria, HC1MM, also a physician, have been helping to handle health-and-welfare traffic via EchoLink, which is connected to the Ecuadorean interlaced national 2 meter repeater network.
The destroyed home of well-known DXer Lilian de Ayala, HC4L. [Courtesy of Rick Dorsch, NE8Z/HC1MD]
"EchoLink is actually a fantastic Amateur Radio service," Dorsch told ARRL. "It has become extremely useful for the hams there to reach out to the outside world via 2 meters." (Other reports have indicated that some EchoLink nodes have been shut down to save power.)
HF also is playing a role, and radio amateurs have been asked to give 7.060 MHz (LSB) a wide berth while the Cadena HC Net handles emergency traffic. Dorsch said some problems have cropped up from DX pileups that have overlapped the net's frequency.
Dorsch pointed out that while most of the damage was in the HC4 areas of Manabí and Esmeraldas provinces and the HC2 area of Guayas Province, what's not seen from the outside is the heavy damage to surrounding small fishing villages and colonial towns that were leveled. Fortunately the Portoviejo Radio Club was undamaged, and members have been operating from there. Dorsch said that electrical power is starting to return, and the cellular network is still "iffy," but the Quito Radio Club is providing battery-powered cellphone charging stations.
A lot of health-and-welfare traffic is headed not only between Ecuador and the US but to Spain, Chile, and elsewhere, he reported. Dorsch said more bilingual Spanish-English speakers are needed on the HC1BG-R EchoLink channel.
While power has been knocked out over much of the affected region, Dorsch said, he's witnessing hams all over Ecuador operating from mobile stations, portable stations, and, in some cases, from home. "All of the Ecuadorean radio clubs have been on high alert and are helping in search-and-rescue efforts," he said. "Ham radio at its best!"
Lilian "Mami" de Ayala, HC4L. [Courtesy of Rick Dorsch, NE8Z/HC1MD]
On a more positive note, Dorsch said that noted DXer Lilian "Mami" de Ayala, HC4L, barely escaped death or serious injury when her home collapsed. The 85-year-old, who lives in Portoviejo, was in her radio room seconds before the earthquake hit. "Her granddaughter had come over to visit, so Lilian went into another part of the house," Dorsch said. Her radio room and home were destroyed, and her next-door neighbor was among the casualties.
"She's still in shock and can't believe she's alive," Dorsch told ARRL. Local hams have removed her personal effects and ham radio gear to a safe location.
For more than 40 years, de Ayala had been a regular check-in on the Cadena HC Net on 40 meters. "It's ironic that the one person who lost all of her radio equipment was the one who organized radio emergency services for so many years," Dorsch said. Her tower and antennas survived, because they were mounted on the roof of her son's home next door. -- Thanks also to Ramón Santoyo, XE1KK, IARU Region 2 Vice President
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