The weather cooperated and great fun was had by all  at the Bismarck Hamfest which was hosted by the Central Dakota Amateur Radio Club.  Attendance was good as I'm sure the weather helped.  The club put on a great breakfast and lunch so if you left hungry, it was your fault.  Lots of good discussion surrounding the National Parks on the Air operating event during the ARRL Forum.  Chris Stallkamp, WØADZ, Section Manager from South Dakota made the trip up as well.  Thanks to the hams from the Central Dakota ARC for putting another great event!

L to R:  Kent Olson, KAØLDG, Dakota Division Director, Lynn Nelson, WØND, ND Section Manager, Chris StallKamp, WØADZ, SD Section Manager, & Matt Holden, KØBBC, Dakota Division Vice Director.

ARRL Forum hosted by Lynn Nelson, WØND, ND SM

A chilly morning brought lots of hams out to the "Cabin Fever Reliever" again this year.  I left Fargo with -20° on the truck thermometer to see it reach a balmy -14° by the time I made it into St. Cloud.  The St. Cloud ARC had hot coffee ready for all the bargain shoppers when the doors opened.   The club also had great chili and chili dogs to keep the stomachs full.  Attendance was very good and a lot of hams dropped by the ARRL booth to visit.  Thanks to the St. Cloud ARC for putting on yet another great hamfest (sorry, I lost my photos or I would have posted them)!

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has appointed Matt Holden, KØBBC, to serve as Dakota Division Vice Director, effective February 4. An ARRL Life Member who lives in Bloomington, Minnesota, Holden succeeds former Vice Director Kent Olson, KAØLDG. Olson became the Dakota Division Director when former Director Greg Widin, K0GW, was elected as ARRL First Vice President at the ARRL Board of Directors’ Annual Meeting in mid-January. Holden, 46, will serve out the remainder of the current term of office, which ends on January 1, 2017.

Holden belongs to several clubs and currently serves as the president of the Bloomington Amateur Radio Association. He is ARES Emergency Coordinator for the City of Bloomington and a Minnesota Section Public Information Officer. He is an information technology professional with Delta Air Lines.
Holden also is active with the Bloomington Communications Group, the Twin Cities DX Association, the Minnesota Wireless Association, and the Northern Lights Radio Society.
Holden enjoys operating remotely from stations in Maine, New York, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. He also is an HF and VHF contester and DXpeditioner, and he is active in the US Islands Award Program (USISL) program.