[PVRCNC] President's letter

[SteveK]

Fantastic Bill.  Congratulations, fearless leader!

73,

Steve, K4QL


Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 1, 2026, at 10:41 AM, Bill Axelrod via PVRCNC <pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
> 
> I am overjoyed and somewhat overwhelmed to have been elected as President
> of the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) – the premier US contesting club.
> Thank you for this honor.  I look forward to meeting as many of you as I
> can, as soon as I can.
> 
> First of all, I’d like to thank Doug, AA3S for his leadership as PVRC
> President.  He leaves his presidency after leading countless contest wins
> and major technical improvements.
> 
> So, who is K3WA?  I was licensed in 1956 at the age of 13.  My first call
> was KN2SLL and then K2SLL.  I discovered contesting early in my ham life.
> I wondered why there were so many stations on the air on select weekends.
> I didn’t want to miss out on the fun.  My first “official” contest was the
> CW sweepstakes in 1962 at the Treasure Island, CA Navy Electronics training
> school club station, K6NCG.  One of my classmates was the son of Ken Clark,
> W4KFC – a PVRC founder.
> 
> The next 31 years moved me all over the world.  I contested from Alaska,
> Japan, Greece, Hawaii, and multiple locations on both sides of the USA.
> What fun!  The downside was that I was never able to live in any one place
> long enough to put up a competitive station.
> 
> I retired from the Navy in 1992.  In 1994 I found myself in Herndon, VA.  I
> joined PVRC in 2002, soon moved out to West Virginia with enough land to
> put up towers and actually was able to win some contests for WV and even
> for the 8th call district.
> 
> In 2008 I fully retired and moved to the Midwest.  Bought some land, put up
> some towers and beverages and totally immersed myself in and enjoyed
> competitive contesting.  I was also very active in the Society of Midwest
> Contesters (SMC).
> 
> Ten years later it became time to downsize.  As a result, I chose to return
> to PVRC-land and moved to North Carolina.  The downside was that I wound up
> in a HoA with only a flagpole for an antenna.  The big upside was that I
> was back and active in PVRC once again.  And I’m happy to be here.
> 
> I’m the Chairman of the NC Chapter, was PVRC VP for three years, and the
> secretary for one.
> 
> Now, let’s put our smiles on, turn on and tune up our stations, find a
> contest, and have fun!
> 
> GO PVRC!
> 
> 73…   Bill K3WA
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