A New Year
 

Midwest Division Members,

This is my first email as the Midwest Division Director. Let me start
by wishing you all, belatedly, a great New Year. 2020 is certainly much
better seen in hindsight. Hopefully we'll get through COVID and the
national political angst will subside a bit so that we can get back to a
more normal life-style.

Rod Blocksome, K0DAS, set a high bar as a Division Director. He was
very active within the Board and its committees. Rod is also a really
great guy to work with. I learned a lot from him during my 6 years as
his Vice Director. His technical skills, knowledge of old radios and
Collins gear, as well as his passion for finding Amelia Earhart made our
conversations interesting and fun. Sitting behind him at the Board
meetings made me realize how patient he could be as he wisely steered
through all the arguments and discussions. So before anything else,
allow me to thank Rod for his service to the ARRL, to our Division, and
to ham radio. He leaves large shoes to fill.

Our new Vice Director, Dave Propper, K2DP, and I are setting off to
organize our Division and its communications paths. We've already
established a monthly Zoom meeting with all four Section Managers. We
will also be communicating with Assistant Directors and other appointees
on continuing their appointments as well as setting up periodic
meetings. The idea here is to make sure that we have good
communications amongst all of us and with our Division's ARRL members.
We'll be updating the website and newsletter to be sure you have the
latest contact information and links to resources available.

As you know, these are troubled times. Many news organizations have
reported that the demonstrations and violence at the U.S. capitol were
facilitated by "ham radio". Fortunately, hams monitoring repeaters
and other frequencies in the Maryland-DC area reported no use of ham
radio on January 6th. Unfortunately, the term "ham radio" has
become as generic as "xerox" and "kleenex". So the ARRL issued a
strong statement on the purpose of amateur radio and its use. You can
find that on the ARRL website, http://arrl.org, if you haven't seen it
already.

We've got a wonderful hobby. It is a hobby that is sanctioned by
International law and regulation, that allows us to save life in an
emergency, and that gives us the chance to enhance human life every day.
And, as you know, ham radio wouldn't be here if it weren't for the
good work of the ARRL and its members.

Dave and I are here to help. My email is and Dave's is
. If you have questions, need some clarification on
topics, or just have issues with your ARRL magazine subscriptions,
please let us know.

73, Art, K0AIZ and Dave, K2DP

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ARRL Midwest Division
Director: Arthur I Zygielbaum, K0AIZ

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