[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] Candidate for ARC Office: Aaron Kahn (K6HLC)

[Aaron Kahn]

Greetings Fellow Members

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you
that I may not have met personally.  My name is Aaron Kahn and I am running
for the position of President of the Alexandria Radio Club. I am running
for this office to help make the club, with your help, relevant for both
you the membership and the wider community. I am keenly interested in
getting to know more about what you, the membership, value from being part
of this club. This information will assist in promoting member involvement
in Club affairs and activities resulting in a socially active environment
for all members.

As background, I have resided in Northern Virginia for the past 25 years
after accepting a position as an Aerospace Engineer with the Naval Research
Laboratory, Washington D.C.  Prior to moving to Virginia, I grew up in the
suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia and attended Georgia Tech, receiving Bachelors
and Masters Degrees in Aerospace Engineering.  I am married to my wife
Laura of 15 years, have one son, Stanley, and we reside in the Fairfax
County portion of Alexandria.  My interests outside of HAM radio are
general aviation and model aircraft.  I am a Private Pilot with Instrument
Rating and I fly my Piper Cherokee “Emily” regularly.  I also enjoy
building RC and free-flight models as well.

While I am a relatively new Ham, I have been very engaged in the events and
activities of the Alexandria Radio Club since joining.  I have participated
in both Field Day and Winter Field Day events with the Club and supported
the Alexandria City George Washington’s Birthday Parade.  For the George
Washington’s Birthday parade, I operated as the Club’s direct support
representative to the Parade Committee Chair.

As a licensed Extra class Ham, I also enjoy working the HF frequencies and
have actually built all my own antennas for my QTH.  Some of these antennas
include a 20m EFHW for the backyard and a 10m, 12m, 20m, 40m fan-dipole
installed in the attic.  I also wrote my own program to implement CW on my
computer, providing a full interface to my HF radio, an Icom 7300.  Using
my home equipment, I have been able to achieve the DXCC award and have a
good start on other DX challenges.  I have also been able to make contacts
from the air, combining my piloting skills with my HT radio.

Joining the Alexandria Radio Club has been a great experience.  I had
always wanted to get into the hobby, but growing up I did not have anyone
to “Elmer” me into the hobby.  My grandfather was a HAM and told me stories
of how he used to communicate with his friends in New Jersey while he was
helping to build the science stations in Antarctica during the 1950’s. Once
I received my license I was fortunate to be able to acquire my
grandfather's callsign (K6HLC).

I would not currently be a HAM if not for the help of the Alexandria Radio
Club in providing the lessons online and the logistics to take the exams.
For this, I am grateful.  I also have enjoyed the camaraderie and community
of the club members, especially during Field Day and other events.  I
strongly feel that in this day of social media, being together in person is
even more important, and this club provides exactly that environment and
the reason that I feel the need to give something back.

The elections will occur next Friday at the Club’s regular monthly meeting
and I would appreciate your vote to support my election as your next
President.

Sincerely,
Aaron Kahn