02/16/2016
Retiring ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, took the opportunity
as keynote speaker at the Orlando HamCation[1]? banquet on February 13 to
deliver his valedictory. HamCation hosted the 2016 ARRL National Convention
February 12-14. A sometimes-emotional Sumner, who steps down on April 1 8, told
his audience about the role that Amateur Radio has played in his life, and he
expressed optimism that it will mean as much to future generations as it has to
him and to his.
"I am passionate about Amateur Radio," Sumner said. "Our challenge is to
explain our passion, how to convey it to younger generations that have grown up
at a time when instant global communication is taken for granted. Can we do it?
Can we explain the allure of acquiring the knowledge and skill to communicate
anywhere on - or in orbit around - the planet without relying on any
infrastructure whatsoever. I believe we can."
Over the course of his remarks, Sumner spoke far less about himself than of the
various radio amateurs who were significant influences on his life and his
career, and who made substantial contributions.
One of his paragons was Nobel laureate Joe Taylor, K1JT, who developed the
WSJT[2] software suite that spawned the popularity of JT65, JT9, and other
"weak-signal" modes. At World Radiocommunication Conference 2012, Taylor
received the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) gold medal -
introduced as a radio astronomer who got there through Amateur Radio. "If you
think we don't have respect, I can tell you we do," Sumner said. "It was
probably the proudest moment I've had in Amateur Radio."
Taylor turned his interest in Amateur Radio into his field of radio astronomy,
Sumner observed, and he was able to turn his knowledge of radio astronomy back
to Amateur Radio through his various contributions.
Taylor and Russell Hulse won the Nobel Prize in physics for spotting a binary
pulsar generating what they determined to be gravitational waves, just as
Einstein had predicted decades earlier. Last week, in a landmark discovery, US
scientists observed gravitational waves. Some news accounts mentioned Taylor's
and Hulse's earlier work.
"Think about that: 1.3 billion years ago this thing happened, 42 years ago Joe
Taylor theorized that it would happen eventually, and now it has been
observed," Sumner said. "So Joe Taylor gets mentioned in the same sentence as
Einstein."
Sumner reminded his older-skewing audience of about 250 that radio is part of
the natural world. "I believe that in every generation there will be people who
want to understand how their world works, including how radio waves propagate,"
he said, calling radio amateurs "the sailors of the electromagnetic waves."
Sumner noted that in 1982 when he became ARRL's General Manager he had
experienced everything Amateur Radio had to offer, but his attitude has since
changed. "Amateur Radio is expanding just like the universe," he said. "It is
not possible for one person to be doing everything there is available to do in
our avocation. It's going in so many different directions."
The ARRL CEO said Amateur Radio's attraction today is different from what it
was when most of the audience members were young. "There are so many
possibilities."
Sumner speculated that somewhere that evening, a young person tinkering with an
Arduino or a Raspberry Pi in a ham radio project could one day become the next
Joe Taylor. "And I hope that my career has contributed to their being able to
do in the future and to have the same opportunities that we have enjoyed," he
said.
"I have cherished the privilege of being able to turn a passion into a career
and to not have lost the passion along the way," Sumner said, speaking of his
lengthy tenure at ARRL Headquarters, including 34 years guiding the
Headquarters staff. "And I can tell you, I have never wanted any other job." He
said defending Amateur Radio spectrum has been the main focus of his years at
ARRL.
Sumner reminded his listeners of the ARRL's mission: "To advance the art,
science, and enjoyment of Amateur Radio. It's a three-legged stool," he said.
"Please continue to support the mission of the ARRL."
"Thanks again, and see you on the air!" he concluded. He received a standing
ovation.
Before Sumner spoke, International Amateur Radio Union (IARU[3]) President Tim
Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, presented him with the IARU's prestigious Michael J. Owen,
VK3KI, Memorial Award. Owen, a towering figure in the IARU, died in 2012. Ellam
cited Sumner's "skill, diplomacy, and encyclopedic knowledge" of Amateur Radio,
and his role on the international scene, starting with his service at the
watershed World Administrative Radio Conference in 1979, which yielded the
so-called "WARC bands," 30, 17, and 12 meters. Sumner has traveled to more than
60 countries in connection with his ARRL and IARU responsibilities, which
include 17 years as IARU Secretary. Ellam said that Sumner, "knows more about
Amateur Radio than anyone else."
Word of the award, endorsed by the IARU Administrative Council last fall, was
kept from Sumner, Ellam said, until he had an opportunity to present it to the
ARRL CEO in person. Sumner called Owen "a dear, dear friend" and "a very
special person."
[1] http://www.hamcation.com/
[2] http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/
[3] http://www.iaru.org/
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