[QCWA Hotlist] 2014-023 - QCWA Board Appoints Activities Manager

[ve6afo at 3web.com]

July 29, 2014

 From QCWA Headquarters

http://www.qcwa.org

QCWA Bulletin 2014-023 - QCWA Board Appoints Activities Manager

The QCWA Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard 
(Rich) Ferch, VE3KI, to fill the position of the QCWA Activities Manager.

Ferch was born in Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) in 1947. 
His interests in electronics, kit building and SWLing began in high 
school, but he did not become a radio amateur until 1978 while 
working in Pinawa, Manitoba, thanks to his Elmer, Jim Barrie VE4FK 
(SK). His first call sign was VE4AEO, which he exchanged for VE3IAY 
upon moving to Ottawa in 1980. He got his present call sign, VE3KI, 
in 2006, and in 2009 was able to re-obtain his original VE4AEO call 
sign, which he uses while visiting with family in Manitoba.

Although he does not consider himself to be a serious DXer, Ferch has 
always had an interest in DXing. He has achieved DXCC on each of the 
eight HF bands and is working towards 160m DXCC. However, his main 
amateur radio activity is contesting. He is an active contester, 
mainly in CW and RTTY. He is also a member of the development and 
documentation team for the N1MM Logger contesting software.

He is a Life Member of QCWA and a current member of ARRL, RAC, the CW 
Operators Club, Contest Club Ontario and the North American QRP CW 
Club. He served as Radio Amateurs of Canada's Vice President, 
Regulatory Affairs during 2006-2011 and is the trustee for all of 
RAC's 19 club call signs. He joined QCWA as a Life Member in 2006 and 
has been on the executive of QCWA Chapter 70 since 2008, first as a 
Director, later Vice-President and now President of the Chapter.

Ferch has degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of 
Waterloo and Cornell University. He has developed and used 
computational models to study problems in astrophysics, plasma 
physics and nuclear reactor safety. After working at the Cornell 
Laboratory for Plasma Physics and at Atomic Energy of Canada's 
Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment, he joined the Canadian 
nuclear regulatory agency (formerly the AECB, now the CNSC) in 1980, 
where he worked in a variety of capacities until his retirement in 
2006. During that time, he served as a Canadian representative on a 
number of international committees and working groups in the area of 
nuclear waste safety, and he continues to do contract work on related 
topics. He is married with two adult children.

73,

Ken Oelke, VE6AFO
President, QCWA Inc.