Category: News

THREE POLK COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS NAMED RECIPIENTS OF THE OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER AWARD.

On Thursday March 19, 2026 at the 2026 Polk County Volunteer Banquet, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners recognized three amateur radio operators for their contributions as a volunteer with the 2026 Outstanding Volunteer Award: Jim Carlin N4JPC, Dan Haslam W5DBH, and Tom LaFlam N4CHL.  Carlin is an Assistant Emergency Coordinator (AEC) for Polk County ARES and active in Lake Ashton CERT.  Haslam is active in Polk County ARES, and helps to maintain the repeaters for the Lake Wales Radio Amateurs (LWRA) amateur radio club.   LaFlam is a volunteer firefighter, who volunteers for the EAA Sun-N-Fun Fly Inn each year.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section congratulates these three amateur radio operators on receiving the Polk County Outstanding Volunteer Award for 2026 for their service to the amateur radio community, and to the residents of Polk County.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR MAY 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The May 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This month is focused on preparations for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which starts June 1, 2026, for ARES personal and amateur radio operators in general.  Also the monthly ARES reports for March 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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FIRST ANNUAL ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION ARES CONFERENCE (ARESCON) SCHEDULED.

The ARRL West Central Florida Section will be hosting the first and hopefully annual ARES conference, which is being called ARESCON, on Saturday May 16, 2026 at the Hillsborough Public Service Operations Complex (PSOC), located at 9450 E Columbus Dr., Tampa, FL 33619, between 1300 EDT and 1600 EDT.  A pizza luncheon is planned before ARESCON for those who wish to participate, with a recommended donation of $5, to cover the cost of the pizza.  A conference agenda will be published about one week before ARESCON, once the conference agenda has been finalized.

An ARESCON webpage has been added to the Section website which contains information about ARESCON, which will include a conference schedule, list of presentations, and any slide presentations or handouts, once they are finalized.  The ARESCON webpage can be found at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfarescon.

If you plan to attend, please fill out the registration form at https://arrlwcf.org/wcfaresconregistration/.   If you plan on attending the ARESCON Luncheon, please indicate that option on your registration form so we will have a headcount and know how much pizza to order.  If you have suggested topics or questions you’d like us to cover, send an email to Dave Rockwell, Section Emergency Coordinator, at w4pxe@arrl.net.

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ERIC OWEN KD4MZM AND TOM BENTLEY W1HFR ARE SILENT KEYS.

Eric T Owen KD4MZM, became a Silent Key on March 8, 2026.  Owen was 62 years old at the time of his passing.  Owen, a resident of the Sarasota area, had served as an ARRL Technical Specialist for a number of years, and was active on HF and HF digital modes.   For the full obituary please go to https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/fl/sarasota/eric-owen-21218928.

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THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR FOR APRIL 2026 IS PUBLISHED.

The April 2026 issue of THE WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR, is now available for download on the WCF ARES COMMUNICATOR page located at https://arrlwcf.org/home/wcf-ares-communicator.  This issue features guest columnist Clayton Parrot KJ4RUS, Radio Officer for Pinellas County Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), on how the role of ARES is still important and how ARES can best prepare to serve.  Also the monthly ARES reports for 2026 are listed as well.

All issues will be archived on this page for current and historical reference.

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DUWAIN HUNT W8JJV RECIPIENT OF THE 2025 FLORIDA CERT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD.

In August 2025, Duwain Hunt W8JJV, was named the recipient of the 2025 Florida Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Distinguished Service Award . This honor recognizes individuals for their exceptional contributions to the growth and development of CERT and Emergency Management communities in Florida.

Hunt first became an amateur radio operator in 1964. He was introduced to amateur radio by Francis Burton K8JRC. Burton was the teacher of his Math Class at Huff Jr. High School in Lincoln Park, MI, who had an amateur radio station set up in his classroom.  Hunt was very thankful to Burton and Bill Pearson for inspiring a life long interest in communications and Amateur Radio. Hunt is very heavily involved in encomm, and hopes to finish his state certification for deployment with ARES in the State of Florida.  Hunt has been an active contributor to the CERT program for almost a decade, not only in Charlotte County, where he is a regular instructor in both CERT basic and in advanced training, but throughout Southwest Florida. Hunt is also AUXCOM trained, an ARRL Official Emergency Station, an ARRL Technical Specialist and an ARRL Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Charlotte County ARES.

Hunt also enjoys building battery packs for use in the field, and serves as net control for numerous nets in his area on 2 Meters and 70 CM on a regular basis. Hunt even now has a Zenith Trans-Oceanic SW Radio (1955) just like the one he had when he was a kid and loves it!

The ARRL West Central Florida Section congratulates Duwain Hunt W8JJV on earning the 2025 Florida Community Emergency Response Team Distinguished Service Award.

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SPRING 2026 ARRL WCF SECTION ARES MEETING RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE

On Saturday March 21, 2026, at 1900 EDT, the Spring 2026 ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Meeting was held via Zoom.  The video recording of the meeting is now available for viewing on the Section YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/@arrlwcf.

Also on the Section YouTube channel are the presentations from each TECHCON since the 7th Annual TEHCON in 2021, and now there are playlists for each TECHCON since 2021.  There is now another playlist for Section ARES Meetings that were recorded.

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THE WCF PRESSER FOR MARCH/APRIL 2026 IS NOW PUBLISHED

THE WCF PRESSER for March/April 2026, issue #70, 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/.  In this issue you will find several features articles and many thanks to those authors who submitted them.

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.

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12th ANNUAL TECHCON VIDEOS AND PAPERS NOW AVAILABLE

The 12th Annual TECHCON was held on Saturday February 28, 2026 with about 35 to 40 in attendance personally.  However, there is a “silver lining” in this cloud.  Russ Delaney N4RTD, Assistant Section Manager, has processed all the videos, added the speaker slides to them, and they are now available for viewing on the ARRL West Central Florida Section YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@arrlwcf.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager and Technical Coordinator, has added the links to the slide presentations developed by all our presenters and they are available on the 12th Annual TECHCON webpage at https://arrlwcf.org/wcf-special-events/wcftechconference/.

Later in the year, the 12th Annual TECHCON webpage will be archived for historical and future reference and will always be accessbile via the TECHCON webpage.

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CHRISTINE DUEZ K4KJN APPOINTED AS ASSISTANT SECTION MANAGER

On Saturday February 14, 2025, Darrell Davis KT4WX appointed Christine Duez K4KJN as an Assistant Section Manager – Served Agencies Liaison.  Duez had previously served in several cabinet positions including Section Youth Coordinator, Section Emergency Coordinator, and most recently as Public Information Coordinator.  Duez has served as Emergency Coordinator for Polk County ARES since July 2020.

Darrell Davis KT4WX, Section Manager of the ARRL West Central Florida Section, made the following comments about the appointment of Duez as an Assistant Section Manager, “Christine is a skilled communicator, and is an excellent people oriented person.  She will do very well as a liaison between various served agencies such as Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, and other served agencies.”

Duez in her professional career, served in numerous capacities as an American Sign Language interpreter since 1989 and holding certification with the national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf since 1989.  Duez has obtained an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences during her professional career and retired from Polk County Public Schools as an ASL interpreter for Southwest Middle School in Lakeland.  Duez still does part time work as an ASL interpreter in retirement.  Duez other interests include playing the piano for the Spanish ministry of her church, participation in Toastmasters (an organization that helps people build leadership and public speaking skills), growing flowers at home, and traveling.

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