Cliff Ahrens, KØCA, ARRL Midwest Division Director

It has been my privilege to serve as your Midwest Division Director since January 2010, and for three years before that as your Vice Director. I have travelled throughout the Division to hamfests, conventions and club meetings, listened and responded to your concerns, represented you at ARRL Board and Committee meetings, and worked hard to justify the confidence and support which you have shown in me.

ARRL and Amateur Radio need strong leadership to meet the challenges we face. With the help of dedicated volunteers throughout the Midwest Division, I have worked diligently to:

Improve ARRL members’ services
Support the ARRL grassroots legislative action program efforts
Protect Amateur Radio from unreasonable subdivision restrictions and covenants
Preserve our Amateur Radio spectrum
Strengthen emergency communications
Mentor young hams, and promote school and college Amateur Radio Clubs

I currently serve as chairman of the Board’s Administration and Finance Committee and the Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee and was a former member of the Ethics and Elections Committee and Board Liaison to the DX Advisory Committee. My service includes a monthly Division Newsletter http://www.arrlmidwest.org/newsletter/newsletter.pdf, Midwest Division Web page http://www.arrlmidwest.org, Zero QSL Bureau sorter, ARRL awards card checker, Volunteer Examiner, ARES, and former Assistant Director.

I’ve been an active ham for more than thirty years, life member of ARRL and QCWA, member of the St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club, Mississippi Valley DX/Contest Club, Missouri DX/Contest Club, Kansas City DX Club, Eastern Iowa DX Association, Heartland DX Association, Lincoln, Nebraska ARC, Hannibal, Missouri ARC, CW Operators Club, and A-1 Operators Club. My interests include DXing, contesting, and public service.

Professionally, I am a Missouri appellate court judge and have served my community as President of the YMCA, Kiwanis Club, United Way, and the Chamber of Commerce. My wife Kim and I have three grown children (two hams W0CTA and K4CJA) and four grandchildren.

I need your continued support and would appreciate your vote to retain me as your Midwest Division Director. Working together, we can help ensure a bright future for Amateur Radio!

Thanks and 73,
Cliff K0CA

Cliff K0CA’s ARRL and Amateur Radio Volunteer Service

• ARRL Midwest Division Director – January 2010 to Present
• ARRL Midwest Division Vice Director – September 2006 to 2010
• ARRL Midwest Division Assistant Director – 1994 to September 2006
• Current Chairman of the ARRL Administration and Finance Committee
• Current Chairman of the ARRL Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee
• Former ARRL Board Liaison to the DX Advisory Committee
• ARRL Volunteer Examiner
• ARRL Sorter for Zero District QSL Bureau
• ARRL DXCC, VUCC and WAS Card Checker
• Former Member and Chair of the ARRL DX Advisory Committee
• ARRL Life Member
• Licensed since 1979; Extra Class since 1981 (ex- KA0EZR, N0BQN, and KI0W)
• ARRL Diamond Club Member
• ARES Member
• QCWA Life Member
• Member - St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club, Mississippi Valley DX/Contest Club, Missouri DX/Contest Club, Kansas City DX Club, Eastern Iowa DX Association, Heartland DX Association, Lincoln, Nebraska ARC, and Hannibal, Missouri ARC (Past President and Current Trustee)
• ARRL A-1 Operators Club
• CW Operators Club
• Enjoy DXing (#1 DXCC Honor Roll), Contesting, and rag-chewing

Cliff’s Professional and Community Activities

• Judge, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District (1991 to Present; Chief Judge 1996-1997)
• Chairman of Missouri Court Automation Committee
• Member, American and Missouri Bar Associations, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Member and Past President,
• Tenth Circuit Bar Association
• Undergraduate and Law Degrees from the University of Missouri
• Current Member and Former President, Hannibal Evening Kiwanis Club
• Hannibal Kiwanian of the Year Award (1983-1984)
• Former President and Board Member of YMCA of Hannibal, Missouri
• Former President of the United Way of Hannibal
• Former President of Hannibal Chamber of Commerce
• Former Secretary and Committee Member, Boy Scout Troop 106, Hannibal
• Former Cubmaster and Pack Chairman, Cub Scout Pack 100, Hannibal
• Former Trustee, Camp Oko-Tipi, Saverton Missouri (camp for YMCA, churches, and scouts)
• Former President of Hannibal High School Booster Club (athletics)
• Former Board Member of Missouri Children’s Trust Fund (prevention of child abuse and neglect)
• Member of University of Missouri Alumni Association
• Member and Eucharistic Minister, Holy Family Church, Hannibal, MO
• Member of Masonic bodies: St. John’s Lodge No. 28, AF&AM; Scottish Rite, 32nd degree
• Married to wife Kim for 43 years, with three children (two hams W0CTA and K4CJA), and four grandchildren

 

Rod Blocksome, KØDAS, ARRL Midwest Division Vice-Director

Last year I was appointed Vice-Director of the ARRL Midwest Division to fill a vacancy. I actively sought the position as I was retiring after 42 years with Rockwell Collins and felt it was time to give back to the hobby.I grew up on a farm in western Kansas and earned BSEE and MSEE degrees at Kansas State University. I served in the USAF during the Vietnam era as a Communication Systems Officer based in Hawaii but working across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. I have always been active in the local amateur radio clubs and organizations everywhere I’ve lived and served as an officer in most of them.

I’m currently a member of the following amateur organizations:

• ARRL – Life Member since 1979
• Central States VHF Society – since 1975
• Collins Amateur Radio Club – Charter Member 1983
• Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club – since 1974
• Eastern Iowa DX Association – since 2001
• Collins Collectors Association – since 1994
• The Radio Farm N0MA – since 1990

My main amateur radio activities include:

• Casual HF DXing – I’ve operated as K0DAS/KH6, VK2IHY, K0DAS/KH2, W0CXX/MM, T30CXX, & T32DAS in the past
• Weak Signal CW/SSB from 50 MHz through 2304 MHz, including EME on 144 and 432 MHz
• Restoration of Classic Amateur Equipment

My other hobbies and activities include: Photography, Astronomy, History (Technical & Military), Genealogy, International Travel, and The Search for Amelia Earhart’s Airplane.I enjoy the technical aspects of amateur radio and have published design articles in QST, ARRL Handbook, and many other ham publications. Several years ago, I and several ham engineers tackled a trial BPL installation in Cedar Rapids. We were able to convince the local power company to not deploy BPL. Our documented work was used by ARRL to fight BPL in other localities.In the past 18-months, I have gained experience and knowledge of ARRL HQ, the BoD and its standing committees, and the concerns of hams in the Midwest. I currently serve on three ARRL committees: RF Safety, National Broadband Plan Spectrum Defense, and the Microwave Band Plan.I am committed to attracting new folks into the hobby. I recently designed and implemented an ARRL Club Competition in the Midwest to attract more new hams.My key qualifications for continuing to serve as your ARRL Midwest Division Vice-Director are:

• 18-months experience as your current Vice-Director
• 51-years of amateur radio experience in Kansas, Hawaii, and Iowa
• Strong technical background in radio communications
• Willingness to listen with an open mind
• A Midwest plus International perspective to bear on issues
• A Desire to Promote, Protect, and Strengthen Amateur Radio

I was unopposed for Midwest Division Vice Director, and have been declared elected for the 2012-2014 term. Thank you for your continued support.

We are committed to serve you.

In 2014 ARRL, the National Organization for Amateur Radio™ will begin its second century serving Amateur Radio and Radio Amateurs. Our hobby is strong, and the future offers exciting opportunities. But we must be prepared to meet challenges on a number of fronts and aggressively strive to preserve, protect and defend Amateur Radio. We thank you for your support of ARRL, which provides many services to you, its members, as well as a strong, national voice for Amateur Radio. For the past year and a half, Cliff K0CA has served as your ARRL Midwest Division Director and Rod K0DAS as your Vice Director. We have travelled throughout the Midwest Division to hamfests, conventions and club meetings, listened to your needs and concerns, represented you at ARRL Board and Committee meetings, and have worked hard to represent your interests.

If you decide to retain us in office, these are some of the issues which we will continue to pursue to strengthen our hobby as we begin our second century.

• Improvements to ARRL Service and Member Benefits
  
  
• Protection of Amateur Radio from Unreasonable Subdivision Restrictions and Covenants
  
  
• Electronic editions of QST and other ARRL publications
  
  
• Expansion of the “reasonable accommodation” of Amateur Radio antennas to all forms of land use regulation
  
  
• Opposition to the reallocation of amateur spectrum
  
  
• Mentoring young hams and promote School and College Amateur Radio Clubs

 

Below you will find some useful links:

Visit the ARRL Visit the Midwest Division Read the latest Midwest Division Newsletter Visit the Iowa Section News on the ARRL website Visit the Kansas Section News on the ARRL website Visit the Missouri Section News on the ARRL website Visit the Nebraska Section News on the ARRL website

 

To Contact your Director or Vice Director with your Questions or Comments, please use the following email addresses.

Please note these are not “hot linked” (to avoid spambots), so you will need to type the address as shown.