Topic: ARRL Announces Sumner's Successor.

[W1RC]

Hello All:

On January 26th the ARRL announced their Directors unanimous decision for a Chief Executive Officer to succeed the aging Dave Summer effective April 18th.  He is Tom Gallagher, NY2RF, of West Palm Beach FL. 

I read his bio on QRZ.  He isn't a big-gun high-profile DXer/Contester which is a great start. I like him already.

He was born in 1949 and is (or will be) 67 years of age which makes him the same age as Twoof and most of our Directors.   It is very interesting that the League BoD chose someone who is that old.  Maybe from their perspective 67 is young!  Perhaps they chose him as a short-term fill-in CEO until they could find a long-term person, kinda like the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church did in 1958 elected Pope John XXIII.  Maybe NY2RF will be like John XXIII and surprise the heck out of them by making a lot of good changes during his five year tenure that last to this day.

Anyways, this guy seems to be more like the average ham radio operator than a superstar contester or dxer.  Tom uses wire antennas to "keep a low profile" and occasionally operates a Drake C Line station which is definitely to his credit.  He held a General Class license up until 2013 when he upgraded to Extra Class.  Tom holds a MBA from the Wharton School and his professional background is international finance and investment banking. 

The news just came out of his appointment so hopefully he will have time to read the congratulatory message I am sending him befor the deluge begins and hopefully it will mark the beginning of a new and productive relationship with Newington.

Here is the official announcement:

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/tom-gallagher-ny2rf-will-succeed-david-sumner-k1zz-as-arrl-ceo?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Regardless, I still maintain the same stance on NEAR-Fest remaining independent and not being a League "sanctioned" event.  However that notwithstanding I say we should give the new man a chance in the hope that we can work with them in an amicable atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect.

I am inviting Tom Gallagher to NEAR-Fest XIX as our guest not as a representative of the League but as a fellow amateur radio enthusiast.

The olive branch has been extended.  Let's wait and see what happens.

73,

MrM

Here is Tom's autobiographic entry on QRZ:
NY2RF first licensed in Bryn Mawr, PA in 1966, as WA3GRF; in Charlotte, NC as N4GRF.

I live in West Palm Beach Florida along the inter coastal water way (Lake Worth) about one mile from the Atlantic Ocean. The sandy soil has attractive conductivity properties and of course the salt water helps propagation.

In beach communities, antennas are a challenge, and I try to keep a low profile even though there are no HOA restrictions. I use a random-length wire tuned with an ICOM AH-4 tuner which feeds 170 feet of multi-directional wire at about 26 feet in height.It's radiation pattern is somewhat unpredictable but it works well to Europe and Latin America. As an alternate, I have a 40-meter windom at 26 feet. The balun attached to the windom with 10 feet of ladder line is grounded where it connects with the coax to reduce noise.  I am also constructing a beam antenna mast.

I operate three basic stations:

1. Modern solid-state equipment including an ICOM-7600, an ICOM IC-756 Classic, a Yaesu FT-847, and a Yaesu FT-817 for QRP. My mobile installation includes an FT-857 combined with an Outbacker Perth+ antenna.

2. A vintage station which includes a combo Drake T-4XC, R-4C, L-4B linear amplifier with a Drake MN-2000 matching network/tuner. Signal reports indicate that the audio is especially high quality. I also have a Kenwood TS-520 hybrid.

3. An HSMM (high speed multimedia) digital repeater consisting of a Linksys WRT-54GL, with .081 watt output, feeding a 15-dbi omni vertical antenna with an effective radiated power of about 500 mw. It's battery operated, solar-powered, and part of the Palm Beach County HSMM mesh network infrastructure. See HSMM-mesh.org and PBCmesh.com for more information.

I belong to West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group.

Working Europe and Latin America DX on HF is my favorite activity. I would like to work Asia when I get a better HF antenna solution. With a recent upgrade to Amateur Extra, I hope to be more active on 80/75/40 meters.

My email address is NY2RF@arrl.net.

I accept only paper QSL's (although I'm grateful for an email if you wish). I respond with a paper QSL direct your address on QRZ.com unless you otherwise specify.

Thanks for your contacts, and also thanks for supporting this excellent hobby.