[HCRA] Attention: Hams in New England, this pertains to you:

Sat Jun 12 10:49:39 EDT 2021

Once again, another difficult choice that has to be made when it comes to
voting for either Fred.  A few years ago it was something similar when Fred
(K1VR) ran against Tom Frenaye (K1KI). Both are very smart individuals and
are deeply involved in the hobby. I was hoping Fred (K1VR) would do well.

The following is just my 2 cents.

Fred (K1VR) is an established telecommunications lawyer that has helped
countless hams when it comes to dealing with cities, towns and their zoning
boards. He's written books that were published by the ARRL that pertain to
zoning. He even helped me personally when it came to putting up my roof
tower. He is also an active contester which is something that I really care
about. However, I got to see him in action at his first New England DIV
meeting and left with different feeling.

He seemed to be out of touch about the other aspects of amateur radio at
the time. Hopefully that has since changed. He also lacks an online
presence that I feel in this day-in-age is important. The directors should
be out there personally engaging with hams and clubs using various social
media platforms. For example, I see the Hudson directory being very active
and engaging people on QRZ, reddit, twitter and facebook. She's not just
sitting there waiting for people to contact her. I know some folks in HCRA
don't embrace social media platforms but it's here to stay and for younger
people (the future of our hobby), it's important that they be heard.

I've been following Fred (AB1OC) basically since he became a ham in 2010.
He has done some amazing things in the past 10 years. He has built a very
impressive station to where he does presentations about it. He appears to
be involved in multiple aspects of amateur radio and he does have a strong
online presence. He is big into helping people get interested in amateur
radio.  He helped turned the Nashua club from just a regular club to a club
that other clubs now look up to and often used as comparison. They are very
active in their local community, very active at the ARRL NE Div meetings
and helped out with Boxboro. If you check out http://www.n1fd.org, you can
see what this club has been up to.
However, I'm not entirely sure if has what it takes to be the New England
director.

Having good ideas is one thing, trying to implement them is another. He
will be dealing with other directors, some who are very set in their ways.
Being the head of a local club is one thing, dealing with multiple clubs
and other directors can be challenging.

I'll be looking forward to what both candidates have to say (that is if
K1VR is running). Vote wisely.

- Jeff (NT1K)

On Sat, Jun 12, 2021 at 9:36 AM Paul Kelliher <paulkelliher at comcast.net>
wrote:

> ______________________________________________
> -------Hampden County Radio Association-------
> -----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
> ______________________________________________
> Fred has been doing a fine job in my opinion.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Jun 12, 2021, at 9:30 AM, Alan Dove <alan.dove at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > -------Hampden County Radio Association-------
> > -----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
> > ______________________________________________
> > Hey, folks:
> >
> > Maybe I missed a memo; are we dissatisfied with our current Division
> Director (Fred Hopengarten, K1VR), or has he announced his departure? I'm
> certainly not opposed to voting out an incumbent, but usually like to have
> some reason to do so.
> >
> >          -- Alan (AB1XW)
> >
> >
> >> On Jun 12, 2021, at 08:13, Larry Krainson <wb1dby at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> That's great. You'll get a chance this fall. We're just ramping up and
> >> getting his info out there. He's a great guy too!
> >>
> >> Larry, W1AST
> >>
> >>
> >>  - HCRA President
> >>  - Visit my Ham Radio club website at: www.HCRA.org
> >>  - Team K2H - 13 Colonies Massachusetts State Manager
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