Thank You For Your Support!

I received some great news from ARRL HQ this afternoon. Thanks to the great support from so many people, I will have the privilege of serving as your ARRL New England Division Director for the next 3 years.

It has been an amazing opportunity to campaign for and prepare to take on this challenge. I have met so many great folks, clubs, and other groups during the past 6 months since the process of running to become your director began. The people in our Division give me great confidence that Amateur Radio has a great future ahead for all of us.

Thanks to the support of a great team and all of you, I have learned a great deal about what is important to ARRL members here in New England and I am anxious to get to work.

This would not have been possible without all of the support that so many of you provided for my campaign and the work that we are hoping to do.

I’d like to add a special THANK YOU to the team of folks who helped me to campaign for Director. Without all of the folks on our team, I would not be in a position to serve as Director. I look forward to continuing to work with and expand our team so that we may work on behalf of New England and all ARRL members to strengthen and grow Amateur Radio. This will involve tackling a broad range of issues and it will take a diverse team of dedicated Amateur Radio people to be successful. I am very happy to have a strong core team to begin this part of our work.

I also want to thank my XYL Anita, AB1QB for the tireless effort and support that she put into my campaign and all the things that we do together to make Amateur Radio stronger.

To all of you who helped make this possible, I want to say a very big THANK YOU for giving me the chance to serve you. I hope that ARRL New England Division members will continue with the excellent feedback and support as we get to work.

Fred, AB1OC
ARRL New England Division Director-Elect

An Important Choice – Please Cast Your Vote for ARRL New England Division Director

I believe that Amateur Radio and the ARRL are at a crossroads. Issues such as the need to bring new people of all ages into Amateur Radio and get them active have become urgent.

Fred, AB1OC Helping a School Make Contact with an Astronaut on the ISS via Amateur Radio

We also need to do a much better job at building public awareness and support for Amateur Radio as a means to protect our rights as hams and our spectrum. One important way that we can do this is through work to support Amateur Radio-based STEM education in schools.

It is simply not enough to acknowledge the problems we face and suggest ideas on how we might address them. We need a Director that has a demonstrated track record of solving problems and getting results.

We need a director who can take on a broad range of issues. Doing this requires a team approach and a Director who can collaborate with ARRL members across our Division to get things done. To this end, I have assembled a team of leaders across the New England Division who are actively helping me to develop well-thought-out positions on important issues facing the ARRL and Amateurs across New England.

I believe that a dual approach that includes working both within the ARRL to solve problems and with clubs and ARRL members in the New England Division to create effective Amateur Radio programs is the best way to address the issues that the ARRL and Amateur Radio are facing. My plans to implement this approach include a combination of improved communications with New England ARRL Members, outreach to ARRL Directors and Leaders, and the appointment of Assistant Directors within my first 100 days as your Director.

If you have any questions or thoughts on what your next Director needs to focus on, I can be reached at [email protected].

Ballots for ARRL New England Division Director have been mailed to ARRL New England members and you should have received your ballot by now. Ballots are due back to ARRL HQ by November 19th. Please take the time to return your ballot so your vote counts in this important election. The last Director election was decided by only a few votes so your vote is very important.

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC

ARRL New England Division Director Candidates Forum at Northeast HamXpostion

The three candidates who are running to become the next New England Division Director participated in a Candidates Forum at the Northeast HamXpostion in Marlborough, MA recently. The Candidate Forum was moderated by Don Arthur, K1DCA. Thanks to Jim Palmer, KB1KQW for recording and producing the video of the Candidate Forum.

Don asked a series of thoughtful questions that enabled those present to learn what each candidate was about and how they planned to take the ARRL and the Amateur Radio Service forward into the future. The candidates did not know what Don’s questions would be in advance.

I hope that you will take the time to watch the video to learn about my plans as your Director.

New England ARRL members will be sent their ballots by mail on October 1st. Ballots are due back to due back at ARRL HQ no later than 12:00 pm on November 19th.

Fred, AB1OC

Plans for First 100 Days as Director

Every executive leadership role that I have held has come with an understanding that I would have 100 days to take actions that demonstrate my ability to do the job and my commitment to addressing important issues that ARRL members here in New England care about. I believe that anyone who is chosen to be your New England Director should be making this sort of commitment.

The following actions will be completed during the first 100 days after becoming your ARRL New England Director:

I will complete a round of proactive ARRL Leadership and Board Outreach discussions – I will reach out to all ARRL Directors, all Vice Directors, the President, First and Second VPs, and our CEO to try to understand what they feel needs to be done to improve the Amateur Radio Service and the ARRL’s role in it. I will also attempt to find common ground and build consensus on concrete actions that we can take in support of ARRL member needs. I will partner with our Vice Director to complete these conversations.
I will take concrete steps to improve Communications and Collaboration within the New England Division – I will schedule quarterly New England Cabinet meetings via Zoom. Invitees will include New EnglandÂ Section Managers and their field volunteer staff, Club Presidents, and Individual Hams in the division who are thought leaders. New England representatives on the Contest Advisory Committee and the DX Advisory Committee would be included as well.
- I will put a process in place to leverage the nediv.arrl.org website for regular postings and communications about ARRL activities and issues. We will augment this with a groups.io to seek input from New England Division Members. I will ask our Vice Director to monitor the input we are getting, summarize it, and ensure that it is proactively shared and acted upon as part of the New England Cabinet process.
- I will appoint an initial set of Assistant Directors (see below) and ask them to proactively post updates on the work they are doing to promote their focus areas across New England and highlight work being done by clubs and individuals who are contributing to successful programs in their focus areas. I will also ask the Section Managers to post regular updates on the work that they are doing within their sections.
- We will publish a quarterly summary of ARRL New England Division activities and disseminate this information to the ARRL Board and Leadership team.
- I will ask our Vice Director to lead the establishment of the 2-way communication processes described above and manage their execution. Together, our Vice Director and I will work to create a focus for Improved Communications among New England ARRL Stakeholders and ARRL Leadership.
I will Appoint the following initial set of Assistant Directors – These people do not replace comparable functions within the ARRL Field Organization. Rather, they will be chartered to promote, support, and encourage the efforts of New England Section Managers, Club Leaders, and Individual Leaders in their focus areas. We will ask them to do this by creating an environment that proactively promotes and encourages the sharing of successful ideas and programs. Assistant Directors will also encourage their groups to collaborate to develop new programs and enhancements to existing programs to further improve their focus areas. These leaders will also play an important role by creating an environment to coordinate work efforts to solve problems and improve Amateur Radio participation in their areas across New England. The folks I will choose will include members of the ARRL Field Staff, Club Presidents, and individual Hams who have demonstrated a passionate interest in promoting and working to improve the Amateur Radio Service in the respective areas as well as a demonstrated commitment to working hard at listening to their stakeholders and acting on what they learn. I will engage in a regular process with our Assistant Directors to understand what they are hearing, what they are doing to promote progress and coordinate efforts to solve problems in their areas, and what they need me and the ARRL to do to help them.
- Assistant Director, Focus for Mentoring and Ham Development
- Assistant Director, Focus for Youth Outreach and STEM Learning through Amateur Radio
- Assistant Director, Focus for Promotion of Emergency Communications and Public Service Activities and Programs
- Assistant Director, Focus on Promoting Use of and Protecting our Spectrum

We will be creating additional Assistant Director roles to address issues as we go forward.

I will continue to demonstrate our commitment to supporting Amateur Radio Clubs and Groups – I have been doing work to open channels of communication with clubs across the region. This will become a key continuing effort going forward. I am personally committing to attend club meetings and other Amateur Radio gatherings (target 6 or more per quarter) leading up to and continuing AFTER the election to continue to create a focus on the important role that clubs play in taking the Amateur Radio Service forward.

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC

AB1OC Announces Run for ARRL New England Division Director

NASHUA, NH: Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, has announced his intention to run for the position of ARRL New England Division Director. Kemmerer has a long history of helping individuals to become licensed, learn new skills, and become active in the Amateur Radio Service. Fred has also served as President of the Nashua Area Radio Society, a club that has provided many hams licensing and development programs over the past six years.

I believe that Amateur Radio clubs and interest groups play an essential role in bringing new hams into the Amateur Radio Service and in helping hams to develop new skills, said Kemmerer. As New England Division Director, I will work with clubs and individuals in New England to help them expand their role as mentors and create a world-class environment for learning based on Amateur Radio.

Fred, AB1OC, also serves as an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) Mentor and Ground Station, helping schools around to world to participate in STEM learning based upon Amateur Radio. I will help groups and individuals in New England to create projects and programs to bring Amateur Radio to young people across the division, said Kemmerer. Amateur Radio provides a tremendous opportunity for youths to learn about technical topics and to develop valuable skills that they can use throughout their lives.

Kemmerer has been an active amateur for over 10 years with a broad range of Amateur Radio interests. I enjoy many aspects of the hobby, including DXing, contesting, EmCom activities and Field Day, satellites, station building, and weak signal operating on the VHF and higher bands. One of Amateur Radio’s most important strengths is its tremendous diversity and range of interests and activities. We need to work across New England and the ARRL to grow our hobby and protect our spectrum by encouraging our hobby’s broad use.

Fred, AB1OC, continues to devote considerable time and energy to license new hams and help all hams upgrade their licenses and get on the air. I’ve had the pleasure of leading a team of hams who have taught license classes, enabling over 360 people to earn a license or upgrade over the past five years. Kemmerer has created some innovative approaches to new ham development and getting hams on the air. We created a very popular program called Ham Bootcamp, designed to help both new and experienced hams get on the air, build their stations, and participate in new operating activities. The last Ham Bootcamp drew over 480 participants from across the United States. I hope to help clubs and individuals around New England and across the ARRL to develop successful programs to license and assist hams to get on the air and have fun in new activities, he added.

Fred Kemmerer, AB1OC, is an electrical engineer by training and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in EE. He has served in many business leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer, VP of Strategy and Business Development for a large telecommunication equipment company, VP and General Manager of a large data networking and communication business, and a Project Leader at Bell Laboratories in the development of wireless and wired data communications technologies. Fred has also served on the FCC’s Technical Advisory Council where he assisted the FCC in developing public policy related to wireless and broadband communications. Fred holds an Amateur Extra license and has been quite active on the air logging over 100,000 contacts on the HF and higher bands over the past 10 1/2 years. You can read more about his background on LinkedIn here.

You can learn more about Fred, AB1OCâ€™s campaign, and what he is hoping to accomplish as ARRL New England Division director at https://ab1oc-4-director.org.