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 Previous: SEDSAT-1 Satellite to Launch October 25! |  Next: Former ARRL Staffer Lee Aurick, W1SE, SK |
Dan Henderson, N1ND |
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 21, 1998--Dan Henderson, N1ND, says he's not a big-time contester, but he enjoys competing on a casual level. He also feels that his broad view of the hobby gives him the perspective he needs to be the League's new Contest Branch Manager. The 43-year-old Asheville, North Carolina, native joined the HQ staff this fall (September 30 was his first day) promising to make the Contest Branch "more responsive, more timely, and more accurate." He says he'll also seek better ways for contesters to transfer logging data to ARRL HQ.
What Henderson says he will not attempt is to "mess with successful contests."
His philosophy is that contesting is beneficial on more than one level "as a means of promoting enthusiasm" within the hobby.
Henderson's "Yankee" call sign really has more to do with his alma mater in Indiana than with New England. It stands for "Number One Notre Dame." (The license plate on his car says "IAMFORND.")
A ham for approximately 27 years now, Henderson says his parents enrolled him in an Amateur Radio class as a "bored high school kid." He got his first (of several) Novice licenses in 1971 (he was WN4YMV and WN4QQN among others; as one ticket expired, he'd retake the test and get another). "I didn't own a microphone for the first 18 years I was licensed," he said. One might think Henderson's disinclination to upgrade suggested that he was not serious about the hobby. But he took Novice-hood very seriously. "My first WAS has a Novice CW endorsement," he said. "I worked enough DX as a Novice to earn DXCC."
Once beyond his serial-Novice phase, he progressed to Extra within six months. Henderson, who was WA4QQN for about 20 years, has served as an AEC, SEC and DEC for more than 15 years and was active in developing VE exams in the early days of the WCARS/VEC. Over the years, he says, he's been very active in local club activity with an emphasis on Elmering and public service.
Before coming to ARRL Headquarters, Henderson--who holds undergraduate degrees in history and secondary education--taught high school in North Carolina and West Virginia and at the college level in North Carolina, Vermont, Georgia and Alabama. In addition to his coursework at Notre Dame, he has bachelor's degrees from Appalachian State University plus an MA in political science from the University of Vermont and has completed some PhD work at the University of Georgia.
Henderson says his favorite operating event is the ARRL International DX Contest CW, and he's in the process of joining the Yankee Clipper Contest Club. But he'd like to see some entry-level events, "maybe an Elmer-type contest" as a replacement to the old Novice Roundup that pairs new hams with experienced hams to build interest among newcomers.
Dan Henderson welcomes your comments and suggestions. Contact him at dhenderson@arrl.org, or call him at 860-594-0232.
| Previous: SEDSAT-1 Satellite to Launch October 25! | Next: Former ARRL Staffer Lee Aurick, W1SE, SK |
