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First, I want to thank Nancy Austin, KC1NEK, for her leadership as Rhode Island Section Manager over the last couple of years. There is a lot going on in the Rhode Island Section – great clubs, top notch contest stations, new ARES leadership, active SKYWARN participation, just to name a few. The Section Manager role can be challenging and demanding. Thank you, Nancy, for all your work on behalf of Rhode Island radio amateurs.

 

I’m not going to go into great detail with a bio, you are welcome to look me up on QRZ or on my webpage to learn more about me. I’d rather focus on what I bring to the Rhode Island Section as the newly appointed Section Manager.

 

To start, I have a good understanding of the ARRL Field Organization. Over the course of my Amateur Radio career, I’ve served as an Emergency Coordinator, Volunteer Examiner, award checker for DXCC and WAS, Public Information Coordinator, and Assistant Section Manager. I spent about nine years working at ARRL HQ as the Emergency Preparedness Manager and contributed to the Section Manager workshops. I’ve also written for QST, the ARES E-Letter, was lead author on Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio, editor for The Public Service Communications Handbook, and contributor to the ARRL Operators Manual.

 

My approach to Amateur Radio focuses on three areas:

• Get on the air
• Be a mentor
• Try something new, experiment

 

We enjoy a hobby that provides us a tremendous amount of spectrum. If we don’t use it, we lose it; we sink or swim together regardless of our individual pursuits in Amateur Radio. “What are we doing to bring new blood into the hobby”, well this starts with you. Share your knowledge, experience and passion for radio with others. Amateur Radio constantly challenges us to learn and grow, which is good! Make the most of it.

 

Finally, I firmly believe if we have folks in the Rhode Island Section who are doing good work – in clubs, with ARES, with contests, POTA, or any other pursuit – we need to encourage them to keep going! It’s easy to be an arm chair quarterback, it’s also pointless. Go for the extra effort and support the many ways we do Amateur Radio in the Ocean State.

 

So, what’s next? What are my first steps as Rhode Island Section Manager? Well, here’s what I have in mind:

• New email distro list for ARRL Rhode Island Section. A Google Group has been set up to send out Section news. You can sign up for this email list by completing an online form, here’s the link. The first Section Newsletter will go out in mid-January.
• Rhode Island Section meeting. Sometime in the first quarter of 2026 we will have a Rhode Island Section meeting – likely via Zoom or combination of Zoom/in-person. It is an opportunity to hear from Section leadership and for leadership to hear from you.
• Website update. It has been a while since the RI Section page has been updated, so we will begin work on that.

 

It is an honor to be appointed to this position, and I look forward to working with you all in support of Amateur Radio in Rhode Island.

 

73,

Mike Corey, KI1U

ARRL Rhode Island Section Manager

[email protected]

 

Jim Creamer, KB1MAO, writes on the RI-ARES mailing list:

We have another trail run coming up that needs ham radio assistance.  We would like to have 15 hams for this race due to the amount of area covered.  This run, the Li’l Rhody Runaround, is in the Burlingame State Park in Charlestown RI on Sunday, November 19, 2023.  There are two courses: a 4 mile and an 8 mile.  Both courses start and end in the vicinity of the Burlingame Picnic Grove.

Course Description:  The terrain of the course is primarily dirt trails, with some dirt and asphalt roads.  In order to minimize bunching up at the trail entrance, the race will first run just under one mile on Sanctuary Road, a quiet dead-end dirt road with very little traffic.

The 8-mile course will branch to the right and follow single-track trails counter clockwise around Watchaug Pond, finishing back at the picnic area parking lot.  The 4-mile course will continue straight on Sanctuary Road, before branching off to trails in the DEM-owned Kimball Preserve, making a loop through Burlingame State Park Campground, and returning to same start/finish via Sanctuary Road.

Hams will be providing safety communications along the course and will need to walk or ride a bicycle short distances carrying their equipment to their posts.  The area is heavily forested and has multiple elevated areas that can disrupt radio signals.  Good radios, antennas and power supplies are essential.  We completed our testing of radio coms on the course and determined that simplex works well throughout the area.  A minimum of a 5-watt hand held radio with an aftermarket approximately 19 inch long antenna with the appropriate connector for your radio, is required.  Any set up for POTA or SOTA will work as well.  Just remember what gets carried in must get carried out.  The Info sheet has the current comm plan, which may change with further testing.

Please let me know if you are available or not and pass this on to your clubs, family and friends that might be interested.

Requirement:

Each participant and volunteer must wear at least 200 square inches of orange.  Anyone not wearing orange will not be allowed to race per State of RI DEM mandate.

 

Below are the responses I have so far.  If I missed you pleas let me know

 

Call Sign	First Name	Y/N/M
KB1MAO	Jim	N
AB1TT	Owen	Y
K1SDB	Sean	Y
KB1RHD	Sally	Y
AB1DA	David	Y
N1SMX	John	Y
K1PRA	Phil	Y
KC1MEW	Susan	Y
K1 PRA	Phil	Y
NOCALL	Sue	Y
NOCALL	Geof	Y

Thank you,

Jim Creamer, KB1MAO
Westerly Amateur Radio Team
2 David Ave.
Westerly, RI 02891
P: 401-596-2720
C: 401-864-4510