Anchorage ARC VEC Chairman Turns Over Reins
After 25 years of stellar service as Chairman of the Anchorage ARC VEC, Jim Wiley, KL7CC is turning over the reins to Kent Petty, KL5T.
Jim has been the catalyst for numerous innovations in our local VEC program as well as nationally. He has built permanent teams in multiple Alaskan communities, has certified hundreds of VEs, and the program has processed thousands of applicants and test-takers for new or upgraded licenses. He led the effort for remote testing when it was not possible to place a team of VEs on the ground, and has been a member of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC). Jim helped implement the changes to testing protocol as a result of license restructuring (remember those 5 classes of license?), as well as elimination of Morse code testing (Jim built equipment used for Morse code evaluations back in the day). Finally, Jim improved license filing timeliness by allowing our remote test-site leaders to submit test session results directly to the FCC; most times on the same day of testing! All in all, Jim has led the Anchorage ARC VEC through dramatic updates and changes to amateur radio license testing in Alaska for a quarter century.
Kent Petty, KL5T (that’s me) has worked with Jim over the years with the program. I’ve mostly been involved behind the scenes, with focus on our actual interface with the FCC relative to file submission and responses, and have trained most of our remote test site leaders on proper file submission procedures. Thankfully, Jim is not disappearing into the woodwork and has agreed to help me get my feet on the ground to try to keep this program on track.
Thanks Jim for all your efforts. I’m sure that I speak for a broad group of folks in this sentiment.
73,
Kent, KL5T
