ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has appointed Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, as Central Division Vice Director. He succeeds Kermit Carlson, W9XA, who became the Division’s Director upon the resignation of Dick Isely, W9GIG, on July 16. Luetzelschwab said he plans to bring lots of energy to the job and to be visible to Central Division members.

“It is an honor to serve and give back to the Amateur Radio service for all that it has given me over the years,” Luetzelschwab said. “I am looking forward to working with Director Carlson, whom I have known for a number of years, and I would like to give a big ‘thank you’ to retired director Dick Isely for his friendship and many years of service. I hope to emulate his visibility and approachability.”

Luetzelschwab has been a radio amateur since 1961. His interests include propagation, DXing, antennas, vintage equipment, and contesting. He served as National Contest Journal (NCJ) editor from 2002 until 2007 and, until 2015 contributed the “Propagation” column to the bi-monthly publication and articles to other Amateur Radio publications. Luetzelschwab received The Bill Orr, W6SAI, Technical Writing Award for 2013 for his article “The Sun and the Ionosphere,” which appeared in the March 2013 issue of QST and won the March QST Cover Plaque Award for the same article. His website offers considerable information on propagation and related subjects. He’s been on several DXpeditions and is at the top of the DXCC Honor Roll.

Luetzelschwab holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University. He retired in 2013, after 41 years as an RF design engineer. His wife Vicky is AE9YL.