I am pleased to announce that we will be having Tom Frenaye, K1KI, the newly elected New England Area Director. Here is Tom’s bio:
I’ve served as ARRL Director in the past and am currently elected as an ARRL Director Emeritus. I’ve been licensed since I was 14 years old, thanks to a middle school science teacher. Amateur Radio has been part of my life ever since! I’m particularly interested and involved in on-the-air activities. In high school I focused on DXing and county hunting and worked more than 1500 US counties. A friend and I started the California QSO Party in the early 1970s.
After graduate school I took a once in a lifetime job as a communications specialist and spent a year in Palmer Station, Antarctica, also operating as KC4AAC. Following that, I took the job of contest program manager at ARRL in Newington CT. During that time, I learned about packet radio, which led to an understanding of computer networks, and a career in information technology at a Hartford-area insurance company where I developed large corporate databases for end user access, managed the new information center and the network control operations.
I volunteered as ARRL Director and Vice President until 2018, and also as ARRL Foundation president for ten years. I’ve also served on several of my town’s boards and commissions, including finance, technology, capital projects, and the planning and zoning commission. I’ve also served as mayor (First Selectman). I believe every ham should look for the opportunity to get involved in their town’s government in some way.
In the 1990’s I started a New England effort to get new hams on the air called the Get On The Air Program. It focused on reaching out to new hams and helping them to get started in ham radio by connecting them to local ham radio clubs. This program was then adopted by the ARRL as a major addition to Field Day – the Get On The Air (GOTA) station which is great for new hams to experience getting on-the-air.
In 2002 I started the New England QSO Party as a way to help encourage on-the-air activity. Over the last twenty years it has grown to more than 100,000 QSOs made in a weekend and 1100 logs received. When the World Radiosport Team Championships were held in the Boston area in 2014, I was part of the team that managed the event. My assignment was to find 50+ locations for teams to operate from, and to build the several hundred volunteers for site management.
I’ve also served as President of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club – two different times. I especially like to operate CW and on 160 meters, and really enjoy building antennas. I’m looking forward to the improving propagation on the 15 and 10m bands!
We will announce the link to join the Zoom meeting before the meeting, but it will be posted to the BARS email list and should not be shared outside our Club. Are you on the email list? If not, please send an email to bars-subscribe@w1hh.org and then simply reply to the robot response from the server and you will be subscribed.
Observing our Zoom meeting requires only a web browser and headphones/speakers. You do not need a webcam or microphone unless you want to speak or be seen.
Before our meeting date, please go to https://zoom.us/test and see if it will function for you. If you have problems, we can try to assist – feel free to ask questions on the BARS email list.
I am looking forward to “seeing” many of you there on Wednesday, 12/4, at 1900.
