Howard Saxion WX7HS President
My interest in being a candidate for president is to continue to grow EARS so that it is the amateur radio club of choice in Lane County. This means appealing to the broad diversity of interests that encompass amateur radio and the greater community in which we live. This past year, the Club became invigorated as we were finally able to meet in person after more than 2 years of COVID precautions. I want to lead the Board to proactively engage you as an EARS member to better understand what you want from EARS. We need your ideas on monthly meeting program topics, ability to operate from the newly rebuilt club station, educational opportunities, and others.
My journey in amateur radio started when I read a newspaper article about severe weather and the role of hams assisting the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) to spot storms and tornadoes. My interest was further sparked by my XYL who was a radar software engineer for the NWS in Norman, Oklahoma. I passed the technician exam in 2001 and was assigned the call sign KD5NQR. I attended severe storm spotting classes conducted by the NWS and became active with the ARES group in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. In 2002, I passed the general, Morse code, and extra exams and was assigned the call sign AD5IJ. I remained active with ARES and dabbled with DX. I also became an ARRL volunteer examiner. My work responsibilities prevented me from spending much time with amateur radio. In 2013, I moved to Eugene and in late 2014 retired from my job. Since then, I have become more active with ham radio with current interests including chasing DX and Summits on the Air.
In 2018, I changed my call sign to WX7HS. My professional work was as a vice president and program/principal project manager for a large U.S. based consulting firm. My expertise focused on assisting the US Defense Department on air quality and other environmental issues. Since moving to Eugene, I have been appointed by the Eugene City Council to several city commissions and committees. I currently serve as a City of Eugene representative on the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency. Academically, I earned Ph.D. and MS degrees in environmental sciences from The University of Texas at Dallas.
Ann Eikenberry KJ7CWV Vice President
My first introduction to any two-way radio communication was through CB radio in the 70s and 80s. That initial introduction helped me later as I became a part-time radio Communicator while volunteering for SCCA and club races at Portland International Raceway. I graduated from the Springfield Citizen’s Police Academy in 2016 and completed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training in 2017. It was during those trainings that I became interested in HAM radio enough to realize that I at least wanted to know the language and how to use a radio enough to use it should I need to. I earned my HAM technician’s license in December 2018.
My interest in serving the club includes drawing in those who are on the edge— who may not come by all the technical knowledge naturally, but still want to learn; who want to be involved enough to keep their skills if ever needed; who want to use their HAM knowledge to be in a support role; who want to be involved, but feel embarrassed, overwhelmed, or like there isn’t a place for the beginner. I’m particularly interested in finding a means to provide education (with the help of our Extras, of course), being involved in emergency communications and disaster preparedness, and other things I don’t have the space to express here. In my professional life, I trained as an elementary teacher, and have worked as a mental health case manager for 29 years. I will try by hand at almost anything craft or skill that sounds fun (ask me about my experiences blacksmithing and welding sometime), but you’ll probably mostly find me spending time with my spinning wheel, crocheting, or baking.
Ken Vogeney KG7QPL Secretary
EARS Secretary: Ken Vogeney, PE, KG7QPL, Springfield Emergency Manager:
I graduated from the University of Idaho with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1985 and am a registered Professional Engineer in Oregon and California. I’ve worked in municipal engineering with the City of Springfield since 1997 and in the San Francisco Bay Area for the prior 10 years. I was Springfield’s City Engineer for 10 years, then became the City’s first fulltime Emergency Manager in 2015. I volunteered to become the EARS Secretary in 2017 and it’s been my privilege to serve the Club since then.
I earned my Technician ticket in 2015 and have slowly been working my way into VHF/UHF operating with my Baofeng UV–5R, Yaesu FT–70D, and Powerwerx DB–750X. My primary interests in Ham radio are in local area Emcomm, upgrading the Club’s shack, bunny hunts, and keeping our Club repeater (146.74) on the air. In addition to Ham radio, I enjoy several other hobbies, including walks with my wife, spending time with family, gardening, cooking/canning, home improvement, woodworking, camping in my 5th wheel, fishing, and …
Don Metheny AI7AD Treasurer
I discovered ham radio after I retired from project management and engineering in 2012. After we moved from Fredericksburg VA to Florence, I got interested in surviving the big one. That led me to attend monthly preparedness educational events at the fire station and to join the Florence Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). They used walkie-talkies (FRS Radios) to communicate between teams and my interest in radio grew. I transferred my CERT membership to Eugene/Springfield when we moved here in 2013 and I quickly realized the value of emergency communications via radio. I earned my tech license in April 2014. I joined both local radio clubs to learn more. I was inactive at first. There were few nets then but I participated in occasional events like walkathons, races, and parades.
In late 2019, I bought a used ICOM 7300 because the price was right. So now I needed to upgrade my license so I could put the horse back in front of the cart. I got my general ticket in early March of 2020 and with the pandemic looming, I raced to get my extra ticket a few weeks later. Now I had a horse and cart, but no hitching. I needed an antenna. A good nearby ham, N7JI, loaned me a portable 20-meter vertical which I used for almost 6 months while I built my own 10/20/40 parallel dipole. Building anything in a pandemic was a challenge and most of the parts were obtained online or using curbside pickup. The antenna build was a success and I’ve been on the HF air since. Meanwhile, I also became very active in some of the local nets and helped determine the architecture of the Eugene Emergency Community network which uses FRS, commercial, GMRS, and ham radios.
In addition to ham radio, I enjoy several other hobbies, including walks with my wife and our dog, traveling (pre-Covid), snorkeling, and hiking. I joined the Eugene/Springfield CERT team in 2013 and later became a CERT trainer and District Lead. I helped prepare the Emergency Plan for my church and helped write the disaster plan for the Southeast Neighborhood Association of Eugene. I am currently active in several groups advocating disaster preparedness and conducting educational efforts. I also volunteer for the Lane County Senior and Disabled Services program as a money manager for those who are unable to do that for themselves.
Last Updated on January 17, 2023 by Web Manager
