ARRL West Central Florida Section
Jimmy Russ AB4KA – Section Manager
The January 2026 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator. This issue features a guest column from Gary Bishop K4GHB, who is with Polk County ARES.
All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.
On Monday December 15, 2025, Chris Bloxsom AA4CB was appointed to be the new ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, by Jimmy Russ AB4KA, Section Manager.
Originally from Long Island, New York, Bloxsom was first licensed in 1985, upgraded his license to General class in 2000, and then to Extra class in 2016. Bloxsom has served as an ARRL Public Information Officer in Pasco County for a number of years, and is currently active in the East Pasco Amateur Radio Club, along with several other amateur radio clubs.
Jimmy Russ AB4KA, had the following comments to say about the appointment of Bloxsom as Affiliated Club Coordinator, “The West Central Florida section has a new Affiliated Club Coordinator, Chris Bloxsom, AA4CB. Chris has been an amateur radio operator since 1985 and has lived in Florida since 2000. He is active in several clubs and will be an even greater asset to the West Central Florida section during the upcoming “Year of the Club” in 2026. Welcome aboard, Chris! We’re happy to have you.”
On Saturday December 14, 2025, at the Tampa Bay Hamfest, during the ARRL forum, Jimmy Russ AB4KA, Section Manager, announced that the winner of the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award was Mike Lunsford KB4FHP. Lunsford is serving as an Assistant Section Manager – Public Service Liaison since December 13, 2022, and is serving as the President of the Lake Wales Radio Amateurs (https://lwra.us) since January 2022.
Lunsford was first licensed at KN4ITQ in 2018, but had a long time interest in Amateur Radio working with several organizations, including CERT and ARES, in his professional career before retirement. After retirement, Lunsford’s wife encouraged him to get a hobby and amateur radio was the obvious choice. After getting his Technician class ticket Lunsford became quickly involved in the amateur radio community and became a member of the Lake Wales Radio Amateurs, Lakeland Amateur Radio Club, Polk County ARES, and a member of the ARRL. In 2019, Lunsford obtained the vanity callsign of KB4FHP, inspired by his time a as a volunteer with the Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary, upon upgrading to General class. Lunsford currently serves as an ARRL Technical Specialist for digital voice modes.
Lunsford in his professional career was employed by Polk County Fire Rescue for 40 years and retired as a Battalion Chief over Special Operations, which included Office of Professional Standards, specialized response units, special events, and law enforcement liaison. Lunsford also dealt with the Public Information Office section from Polk County Fire Resuce and other agencies on a daily basis. Lunsford was the 451st person to hold a paramedic license in the State of Florida, and has maintained his license even in retirement. Lunsford also volunteered for 35 years as a Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary State Trooper and retired with the rank of Major. Lunsford also owns a part time business, since 1981, doing electronics and two-way radio installations in law enforcement, fire, and EMS vehicles.
Lunsford’s other interests are participation as a coach for Special Olympics, as his son is an athlete, for Bocce, Golf, Bowling, and being active at his church, First Baptist Church in Lake Wales, as a ministry volunteer.
The ARRL West Central Florida Section congratulates Mike Lunsford KB4FHP on being named the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award recipient. The 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award was presented to Lunsford, at the ARRL forum during the Tampa Bay Hamfest on Saturday December 14, 2025. As in the past several years, The West Central Florida Group, the owners and operators of the NI4CE Repeater System, have sponsored a one year ARRL membership for Lunsford.
The Ellen White W1YL Award was established in 2016 in memory of Ellen White W1YL, who recently became a Silent Key in November of 2022. The Ellen White W1YL Award is to name the amateur radio operator who has made the greatest contribution to amateur radio in the ARRL West Central Florida Section.
For all the details and history of the Ellen White W1YL Award you may go to http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/white-award/.
The December 2025 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator. All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.
THE WCF PRESSER for November/December 2025, issue #68, has just been published and is now available for download from the Section website at https://arrlwcf.org/home/the-wcf-section-presser-arrl-west-central-florida-section-news/.
THE WCF PRESSER production team is composed of Darrell Davis KT4WX, Assistant Section Manager for Technology, as editor, and Russ Delaney N4RTD Assistant Section Manager for Digital Communications, as layout coordinator. In order to continue to publish THE WCF PRESSER, content is needed. The editors are not “mind readers” and your submissions are definitely needed. If your amateur radio club or group is having an activity or event, write it up and send it to Darrell Davis KT4WX via email at kt4wx@arrl.net. The submission format does not matter and the production team can work with any format. Pictures being included is encouraged.
Florida State Parks On The Air” contest was started in 2016 by Matt Stevens NJ4Y, who was a member of the Lakeland Amateur Radio Club, and was supported by a group of amateur radio operators from central Florida who love to get out and operate portable in our beautiful state. Florida State Parks On The Air was first held in April 2017, as a one day event.
In July 2025 management of the event passed to the Tamiami Amateur Radio Club in Venice. This will be a four-day event on April 17-20, 2026. Operating hours are from 1200 UTC to 2359 UTC each day (Friday through Monday) with NO overnight operation allowed from 8:00 PM to 7:59 AM local time the next morning. There are 174 state parks, trails, and historical sites on the official park list for the event. Full details and rules can be found on the event website: https://fspota.org.
The purpose of the event is to:
Clubs in Florida are encouraged to begin making plans to participate in the CLUB STATION category. This can be a great way to encourage and motivate club members to learn more about Parks on the Air and how to operate year-round as an individual. If nothing else, club members can get some fresh air and exercise by visiting one or more of Florida’s great state parks. In 2026 Georgia and Alabama will also be holding their state park on the air contests this same weekend. Amateurs everywhere are encouraged to “hunt” for these many park stations during the contest.
Thanks to Paul Nienaber KN4BAR, President of the Tamiami Amateur Radio Club, for the information that went into this press release.
In observance of Thanksgiving, the 50th Annual Tampa Bay Hamfest, Christmas, and New Years holidays, and in keeping with tradition, the following Section nets will be cancelled during the months of November and December 2025:
For the month of November the following Section nets will be cancelled:
For the month of December, the following Section Nets will be cancelled:
The Eagle Net, the NTS traffic for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, on the NI4CE Repeater System scheduled for 2030 EST daily, will operate as scheduled throughout the holidays, as it is an NTS traffic net. In keeping with tradition, Darrell Davis KT4WX, will be net control of the Eagle Net for the Christmas Eve and New Years Eve editions of the Eagle Net.
The ARRL West Central Florida Section wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year season.
The date and venue for the 12th Annual TECHCON have been set. The date for the 12th Annual TECHCON, the Annual Technical Conference for the ARRL West Central Florida Section, is Saturday February 28, 2026. The venue for the 12th Annual TECHCON will once again be the Hillsborough County Public Safety Operations Complex, located at 9450 E. Columbus Dr., Tampa, FL 33519, on the east side of Tampa, just on the west side of I-75.
Starting with the 12th Annual TECHCON, we will no longer live stream the presentations as the logistics to do so are to difficult to manage properly. The 12th Annual TECHCON presentations will be recorded and the presenter slides will be added to it during post-production editing, once again facilitated by Russ Delaney N4RTD, one of our Assistant Section Managers. Upon completion they will be uploaded to the Section YouTube channel once they are completed. The Section YouTube channel is located at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFA4-HEjr-lYMFisVG_Nk5A.
Registration for the 12th Annual TECHCON is now open. We are looking for presenters for TECHCON. To have a successful TECHCON, we must have those who are willing to be presenters, especially those who have not been a presenter before. The topic of presentation is, as always, the choice of the presenter, as long as the topic is related to amateur radio.
You may register to either attend or make a presentation for TECHCON at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/wcftechconfregistration/. For more information about TECHCON you may go to the TECHCON webpage on the Section website at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.
Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award will open on Saturday November 1, 2025. Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL Award may be made via the Section website Contact and Information Form at http://arrlwcf.org/section-forms/contact-info/. The Ellen White W1YL Award is given by the ARRL West Central Florida Section each year to honor the amateur radio operator who has made the greatest contribution to amateur radio in the ARRL West Central Florida Section for the current calendar year. Nominations for the 2025 Ellen White W1YL award will close on Sunday November 30, 2025. The recipient of the award will be announced on Friday December 12, 2025 at the Tampa Bay Hamfest and the award will be presented to that recipient during the ARRL forum at the Tampa Bay Hamfest on Saturday December 13, 2025.
The namesake of the award, Ellen White W1YL, became a Silent Key on Saturday November 5, 2022. White was appointed by Darrell Davis KT4WX in 2016, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida section at the time, due to her contributions to amateur radio over many years, which included being in amateur radio for 75 years and working at ARRL HQ for 25 years.
For details on the Ellen White W1YL Award, you may go to the Section website Ellen White W1YL Award page at http://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/ellen-white-w1yl-award/. For a detailed article on the life of Ellen White W1YL, please go to the ARRL News article published on November 7, 2022 at http://www.arrl.org/news/ellen-white-w1yl-silent-key-devoted-lifetime-to-amateur-radio-and-arrl.
The November 2025 issue of THE ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the new ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator. All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.
Included in this issue is a guest columnist and the Emergency Coordinator and Official Emergency Station reports for September 2025.