1 June 2026

To All Virginia ARRL Members:                                                                   

After decades of service to the Section, Carl Clements, W4CAC is stepping down as the Section Traffic Manager (STM).  George Stone, WA1JQC is appointed as our STM.   As some of you may remember, Carl was a previous Section Manager, and returned as the interim SM after Dr Joe Palsa died in office and before Jack Smith was elected as Section Manager in April 2022. 

Field Day 2026 is quickly approaching and we hope you have plans to join thousands of other Hams on the weekend of June 27-28 at a location near you.  Looking for a location?  See  http://arrl.org/field-day-locator  Note, you can always operate as a Class D Home Station.  Never been to Field Day?  Create a memory that will last a lifetime.  My first was Field Day in June 1965 was in Wixom, MI.  It rained!  Our generator when kaput.  Add your first memory of Field Day at: https://forms.gle/fYQp8RyoARP5MZse7

Speaking of Field Day, and Traffic Management, while at Field Day this year make a point to ask the Field Day stations if they are passing traffic via ARES WinLink or the National Traffic System.  If they are, consider asking the operator to send a formatted ICS-213 or ARRL Radiogram message to one of your ELMERs thanking them for introducing you to the Hobby.  

We are rebuilding our group of Section Technical Specialists.  These volunteers answer technical questions raised by you.  Currently our TS are Rich Davis, W4NMH, Rich Kennedy, K3VAT and Corey McCook, W1ZOR.  Consider contacting them directly if you have a technical question about the Hobby.  Their email addresses are good in QRZ.com.  If you’d like to join our TCs, drop me an email.

Terry, KA8TNF is our Section Emergency Coordinator (SEM).  He and his volunteer staff are refining the monthly ARRL reporting process across the Commonwealth.  The ARRL-ARES program in Virginia is divided into seven Districts led by seven District Emergency Coordinators (DECs) and their assistants.  The districts oversee (currently) 68 Emergency Coordinators (ECs) located in many Virginia cities//counties.  Unfortunately, we are missing ECs to fully represent Virginia’s Amateur Radio-related Emergency Communication (EmCOMM) needs.  If you are interested in applying for a position as an EC, check with the local clubs to see if there is an ARES group, or contact Terry at SEC<dot>VAARES<at>gmail<dot>com

Hurricane Season starts June 1^st thru November 30^th.  Be READY!  While storms do not have a calendar, expect peak season in mid-September.

Finally, Virgina is engaged in the 13 Colonies Special Event as K2B from 1-8 July.  Should you wish to operate from your home station as K2B, contact Dave Wright, K2WPM at dwright<at>davidwrightlaw<dot>us for details.

Mike

Section Manager

Serving ARRL Members in Virginia

Website:  www.ARRLVA.com