Hams from across the region will get an inside look at current issues facing amateur radio this Thursday, May 4 when the Sangamon Valley Radio Club hears from two top ARRL regional officials: Illinois Section manager Ron Morgan AD9I and Section Emergency Coordinator Fritz Bock, WD9FMB, both of East Peoria.
This will be Morgan's second involvement in a club event since his appointment as Section Manager this past February. In March, he was guest speaker at the Club's 69th anniversary dinner as an ARRL chapter. At that point, he was just weeks into his term. Now, with several more months of dealing with AARL issues under his belt, and forming his own team, he's back to discuss what we will be facing in terms of national, regional, and local challenges. Morgan has also joined SVRC, bringing our membership tally to 105. As he pointed out in his March speech, we are the second largest ARRL club in Illinois!
Morgan served as an Assistant Section Manager in Illinois since 2002. He is also an ARRL Central Division Assistant Director. A retired electrical engineer, Morgan currently teaches technology at Illinois Central Christian School.
Bock has been active in the emergency communications arena for a number of years and during the Tornado devastation in Washington several years ago was a key component in organizing the hams in the community as they worked closely with the Red Cross. He holds an General Class license, is an active instructor and mentor to new amateurs.
Bock has worked with the Chicago Marathon committee since hams were first involved several years ago and has been a First Aid Station Communications Manager where hundreds of important pieces of traffic are passed each year during the Marathon.