SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX005
ARLX005 ARRL Midwest Division Director Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, SK

ZCZC AX05
QST de W1AW  
Special Bulletin 5  ARLX005
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  September 6, 2006
To all radio amateurs 

SB SPCL ARL ARLX005
ARLX005 ARRL Midwest Division Director Wade Walstrom, W0EJ, SK

ARRL Midwest Division Director Robert W. "Wade" Walstrom, W0EJ, of
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died August 31. He was 59. An ARRL Life and
Diamond Club member, Walstrom was elected in 1999 to succeed
retiring Midwest Division Director Lew Gordon, K4VX. He won a third
term (2006-2008) last fall.

"Wade's sudden and unexpected passing is deeply shocking to all of
us who worked with him during his many years of service to the
ARRL," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ.

A former three-term Iowa Section Manager and a member of the ARRL
Executive Committee, Walstrom was an electrical engineer and
recently retired Rockwell-Collins project manager. He'd previously
chaired the ARRL Board of Directors' Volunteer Resources and
Programs and Services committees, and he'd served on the Membership
Services and Election and Ethics committees.

Walstrom was instrumental in the effort to end interference to
Amateur Radio from a broadband over power line (BPL) pilot project
in Cedar Rapids. He not only worked with local radio amateurs but
co-authored a technical report that pointed out BPL's harmful
interference in the amateur bands and the inadequacy of "notching"
techniques. Copies of the report went to each member of the FCC.

An active and serious DXer and contester, Walstrom was a member of
the Eastern Iowa DX Association, QCWA, AMSAT and the Cedar Valley
Amateur Radio Club.

Walstrom was a graduate of South Dakota State University. He
received his PhD from Iowa State University.

ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, worked with Walstrom on
the Volunteer Resources Committee, which, in 2003, revised the rules
and regulations governing the ARRL Field Organization.

"He could always find the right words when I got stuck for how to
phrase something," Craigie recalled. "It was a pleasure to work with
him, and I am very sad that there won't be any more opportunities
for us to benefit from his intelligence and good sense."

ARRL Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, said he was
shocked and saddened to learn of Walstrom's untimely death. "He was
a very fair and intelligent individual," Fallon said. "I think I can
speak for all of us on the Board when I say we admired him and the
values he stood for."

ARRL Midwest Division Vice Director Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, has succeeded
Walstrom as the division's Director. ARRL President Joel Harrison,
W5ZN, will appoint someone to fill the now-vacant Vice Director's
seat.

Survivors include Walstrom's wife, Solveig, and their sons Robert
and Steve, KC0LGE. An ARRL delegation represented the League at a
memorial service September 5.
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