Section Newsletter — ARRL Santa Clara Valley — September 1, 2025
QST –Pacificon is Friday, October 10 –
Sunday, October 12, 2025San Ramon Marriott
2600 Bishop Drive
San Ramon, CA 94583Extracts from ARRL publications follow —
Interview with ARRL CEO: Details on Recent Board Meeting, Huntsville Hamfest, Legislative Advocacy, and DX
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, is the guest on The DX Mentor YouTube channel this week. The hosts of the popular show – Bill Salyers, AJ8B, and Joe Pater, W8GEX – spoke with Minster at length about many topics of interest to ARRL members. They touched on the recent introduction of the DXCC® Trident Plaque, which recognizes the achievement of amateur radio operators who have confirmed two-way radio contacts with 100 or more DXCC Award countries (entities) on three modes. Minster also talked about the newly announced 10-Band DXCC award.
The importance of radio clubs and 2026 being designated the ARRL Year of the Club was also a topic of discussion. Minster also answered questions about decisions made at the recent Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors.
The trio talked about this year’s Huntsville Hamfest, which held its annual convention in Alabama earlier this month. Huntsville Hamfest will host the ARRL National Convention next year, August 22 — 23, 2026.
Other topics of interest included the impact of social media on amateur radio, and ARRL leadership and governance. Minster also talked about the ARRL DX Advisory Committee (DXAC).
Watch the 2-hour interview on YouTube at https://youtu.be/fFIIXj0KKVY or listen to The DX Mentor podcast on your favorite platform.
***FCC Batch Filing System Unavailable
08/28/2025
As of Monday morning, August 25, 2025, the FCC’s Electronic Batch Filing (EBF) system—used by all VEC organizations to file exam sessions, individual applications, and club license applications—is not processing submissions.
This outage means that applications for new and upgraded licenses, as well as individual and club filings, are not currently being processed or issued.
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ARRL VEC alerted FCC staff, who are working to resolve the problem. While the system briefly processed a small number of Monday’s submissions on Wednesday, it has since gone down again. Thousands of applications remain pending on the FCC side.
ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, reported that the FCC has not provided an estimate on when the system will be restored.
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Candidates Named for ARRL Director and Vice Director Elections
08/18/2025
ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio® has announced that the candidates for the 2025 ARRL Division elections are now official. ARRL members will choose between four candidates for Director in the Southeastern Division, two candidates for Director in the Pacific and Southwestern Divisions, and two candidates for Vice Director in the Southwestern Division. The Directors in the Rocky Mountain and West Gulf Divisions are unopposed, as are the Vice Directors in the Pacific, Rocky Mountain, Southeastern and West Gulf Divisions.
Declared Elected without Opposition
- In the Rocky Mountain Division, Director Jeff Ryan, K0RM, who has held the position since 2018, and Mel Parkes, NM7P, who ran uncontested for the position of Vice Director.
- In the West Gulf Division, Director John Robert Stratton, N5AUS, and Vice Director Lee Cooper, W5LHC. Both have held these positions since 2019.
- In the Pacific Division, Vice Director Carol Milazzo, KP4MD, who was appointed to the position in July 2025.In the Southeastern Division, Vice Director Andrew Milluzzi, KK4LWR, who has held the position since 2024.
Contested Seats
- In the Pacific Division, Director John Litz, NZ6Q, will face challenger Bob Vallio, W6RGG, who has previously served as a Vice Director, Director, and Second Vice President.
- In the Southeastern Division, Director Mickey Baker, N4MB, will face challengers Jim Kvochick, K8JK, a former Michigan Section Manager; Scott Roberts, KK4ECR, who is the Northern Florida Section Manager, and Tom Schaefer, NY4I.
- In the Southwestern Division, Director Richard Norton, N6AA, will face challenger Rick Paquette, W7RAP, who is the Arizona Section Manager. John Kitchens, NS6X, the Santa Barbara Section Manager, will face challenger David Ginsberg, N3BKV, for the position of Vice Director.
Balloting for contested seats will take place this fall. Votes will be counted, and successful candidates announced, in November. Candidates declared elected will assume their roles for terms beginning January 1, 2026.
ARRL is governed by its Board of Directors. Elections are held for five of the 15 ARRL Divisions each year, for terms of 3 years.
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73 until next month.
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