Walter “Tom” Loughney, AJ4XM

For QCWA President 2023

 

What will I bring as President of QCWA?

 

• I will ensure QCWA is prepared for the next 75 years and our 100th Anniversary milestone. I may not be there physically to celebrate with you, but QCWA will be there for you.

 

• I will always remain accessible to your concerns and suggestions. I constantly solicit feedback. Have a suggestion? Email me at AJ4XM@arrl.net.

 

• Increase QCWA membership beyond pre-pandemic levels with recruitment of new members and retention of existing members.

 

• Provide discounts for QCWA Members with equipment vendors, manufacturers, and retailers. New deals are close to agreement on some terms. I want every QCWA Member to have the opportunity to obtain at least $25/year in real discounts to offset the cost and increase the value of your membership. Some of these will extend beyond just radio gear.

 

• Increase involvement that supports Youth Activities. Young Amateurs are the future of Ham Radio and QCWA. I fully support Carole Perry and RCA’s Youth Programs as an integral point for middle to high schoolers. We already support post-secondary education for Hams via our Scholarship Program. I want QCWA to be involved with YOTA, Scouting, the Collegiate Amateur Radio Program, the Citizen Science Program, the YLRL Program, and more. I want to get them from when they are young and keep them active as they grow up and get to work and beyond.

 

• Strengthen our Chapters by providing ready-to-play programs that can be shown at local Meetings. Update our Chapter Manual with guidance on getting more attendance and members. I believe we need to engage younger hams in our Chapter Meetings, even if they are not eligible to join. They need to know who to contact for Elmering, and be kept active from high school, through college and beyond.

 

We are the Elmers. Encourage the sharing of our vast knowledge pool. No other organization has the level of experience as QCWA, and our members should be recognized for that. We should be the go-to source for  local clubs. We have the outline for a Mentoring program, from Board member Dave Clark, that I will roll out to local QCWA Chapters for use in their area.

 

• Expand the QCWA Journal to include more technical articles and how to ideas shared from members. We have the unique position to add pages by only increasing editor fees and not costly printing fees. I want to make use of that.

 

• Offer regular Zoom Meetings for Members who are not near a local Chapter. Every member should feel involved with QCWA and each other. These will start as Nationwide Monthly meetings but can expand to regional if the participation is high enough.


•More ideas to come – email me your suggestions at AJ4XM@arrl'net.


AJ4XM Ham Radio History (abbreviated)

I became a Novice in 1956, progressing through the ranks to Extra. I have served as your QCWA Vice President since 2020. Prior to that I was QCWA General Manager in 2015 and 2016.

Received my BS degree in Broadcasting from the University of Florida in 1964 and worked extensively in Albuquerque, NM (at the same station as Bill Pasternack), and in Miami, FL for many years. I have a lot of experience in other industries, giving me a great understanding of what others are looking for in belonging to an organization. Some of these include Automotive Technology and Service (ASE Certified Master Technician), Computer Programming (Microsoft Certified in many areas), designing and building high end computer servers with full redundancy for Telecommunications use with 99.9999% uptime, Networking (CISCO Certified), and more. I have been an officer in the professional groups in these fields.

I am an active member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 88 and IEEE Region 3. Ham Groups I belong to actively include Lighthouse Amateur Radio Alliance, Dayton Amateur Radio Association, West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group, QCWA Chapter 111 (and I visit with many other Chapters in person and via Zoom), RSGB, RCA, AWA, Florida East Coast DX Club, and the Florida Contest Group. I also visit other radio clubs via ZOOM and in person when I am in that area including North Fulton Amateur Radio League, Gwinnet Amateur Radio Society, Palms West Amateur Radio Club, Wellington Radio Club, and more.

I do Field Days with WPBARG, LARA, and NFARL based on where I am the last full weekend of June.

 

Served as President of the West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Club/Group for 2010-1012 and we won the Club of the Year Award from Dayton at the 2013 Hamvention. WPBARG established a permanent Ham Radio Exhibit at the South Florida Science Center (now renamed the Cox Science Center & Aquarium) with over 15,000 Ham Shack visitors per year. We built a replica of the Titanic Radio Room (with as much detail as possible including a live spark gap transmitter) to exhibit with the travelling Titanic exhibit and had over 60,000 visitors to that exhibit and our live Ham Shack.  Our first ISS contact for local schools had over 200,000 live viewers in the school system and on cable tv. Replays increased that number to over 270,000 viewers. This club has since made 2 more ISS school contacts. Our youth program was a highlight of the school year for middle school and high school students in STEM programs. A new shack is planned for an expanded presence in the new Sciernce center building being designed across the street as they grow.

 

Previously Vice-President of the Broward Amateur Radio Club (Fort Lauderdale) and Chairman of the Broward Hamfest, which had about 3000+ attendees.

 

As an ARRL Instructor and W5YI Instructor I have taught over 1000 people from ages 10 to 97 the material to successfully get their FCC Tech, General & Extra License. I  have an over 99% pass rate for students from my classes on each exam on the first try. I also teach classes in Morse Code, Electronics, Soldering, Radio and Antenna Theory including design and building.

 

I regularly attend Hamcation and Hamvention and many Hamfests during the year.

I am a Life Member of Handihams and ARRL. I have served as an ARRL Assistant Section Manager for Youth, Affiliated Club Coordinator, and currently as Technical Specialist for the Southern Florida Section. I am a Field Stocked ARRL VE Team Leader and a Laurel VE.

 

( More Ham history details are found at: www.qrz.com/db/AJ4XM ).

 

Vote for Walter “Tom” Loughney, AJ4XM.  Thank You!