As was announced previously, two annual awards have been established within the New Mexico Section to recognize a League member and ARRL-affiliated club within our ranks. ARRL members across the state submitted their nominations, and it gives me pleasure to announce this year’s recipients: Bill Beodeker, NM5BB of Los Alamos and the Taos Amateur Radio club.
Here is a thumbnail sketch of our recipients from their nominations. Both will be recognized and awarded a plaque at this weekend’s ARRL New Mexico State Convention (Albuquerque Duke City Hamfest, https://dukecityhamfest.org). Please join me in congratulating them!
2015 ARRL NEW MEXICO SECTION HAM OF THE YEAR
Bill Boedeker, NM5BB is in many ways an active and exemplary radio amateur operator. Upon earning his licence, Bill became active in the Los Alamos Amateur Radio Club (LAARC) where he currently holds the position of Communications Officer. He is an ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator and oversees quarterly examinations at the LAARC facility in Los Alamos. Bill has taught several licensing classes around northern New Mexico. He has also run the local Sunday evening net as well as an informal SSB net on 28.440 MHz where Technician licenses could interact with hams across the state on 10 meters. Bill has also been central to the Field Day effort of LAARC. Over the years, he has acted as its Field Day Coordinator, making arrangements for the Field Day site, submitting the club’s entry to ARRL, and gifting a transceiver, antennas, several logging laptops, and a network equipment to the club.
In the public service realm, Bill is District Emergency Coordinator and RACES official for Los Alamos County and has built an effective relationship with the Los Alamos County Emergency Manager. His efforts were evident during the Los Conchas Fire in 2011 which forced the evacuation of Los Alamos County. He is also largely responsible for the ARES/RACES station at the New Mexico State EOC, where Bill oversaw the upgrade of amateur radio equipment including the installation of new antennas.
Bill holds an Extra Class licensee, is a Life Member of the ARRL and also serves as an Assistant Section Manager within the New Mexico Section.
2015 ARRL NEW MEXICO SECTION CLUB OF THE YEAR
The Taos Amateur Radio Club became ARRL-affiliated in 2012, is made up of about 60 members, and is very active within the surrounding amateur radio community. It holds regular monthly meetings that are activity or skill focused, has established and maintains repeaters on remote mountaintops throughout northern New Mexico, conducts training nets for its members and area hams, recruits new members through several area partner organizations, mentors both new hams as well as people interested in becoming a ham one day, has an active Volunteer Examination team that provides on-demand testing sessions, has been a regular club participant of the New Mexico QSO Party, and has two active teenage members. Taos ARC provides a great deal of service to the public as well. It is a certified New Mexico Search & Rescue (SAR) organization, is essentially home to Taos County ARES, supports Taos county emergency management and police, has provided communications for the annual RoughRiders 200 mile bike race, and provides technical support for the local CAP squadron, fire department, and SAR teams. Taos ARC meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the Taos County EOC. Its website is http://taosarc.org
Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination for this year’s awards. An announcement will be sent across the Section when nominations for the 2016 ARRL New Mexico Section Ham of the Year and 2016 ARRL New Mexico Section Club of the Year awards are open.
