A three-way race has shaped up to fill the ARRL Southwestern Division Vice Director’s chair. The candidates are Edward J. “Ned” Stearns, AA7A, of Scottsdale, Arizona, who served in the position briefly more than 10 years ago; Lawrence “Grant” Hays, WB6OTS, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Frank Westphal, K6FW, of Chino, California. The ARRL Board Ethics and Elections Committee has reviewed the petitions received for all three candidates and certified them as eligible to run.

According to his candidate statement, Hays, an ARRL Life Member and a licensee for more than 50 years, has been active in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), the National Traffic System (NTS), and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), as well as in Army MARS. He is a veteran CW, voice, and digital traffic handler and served as NTS Pacific Area Staff RN12 net manager and digital hub. He has taught licensing classes and is a Volunteer Examiner.

Stearns, a radio amateur for nearly 54 years, said in his candidate statement that he is a recently retired RF systems engineer who credits his Amateur Radio background for his career success. Stearns said he considers ARRL the best hope to maintain the Amateur Radio Service and access to its spectrum. He served as Southwestern Division Vice Director in 2005-2006. Since then he has given talks and demonstrations about Amateur Radio to clubs and groups.

In his candidate statement, Westphal, an ARRL Life Member, said he wants to give something back to Amateur Radio, which started him on his professional career managing the communications division of a public safety agency. He has been licensed since 1975 and has been active in MARS and RACES. He is a past president of the Tri-County Amateur Radio Association and has been an active Volunteer Examiner since the program began.

All ARRL members living in the Southwestern Division as of March 10 may vote and will receive ballots in the mail. Ballots will be mailed by April 1 and are due back at noon (ET) on May 19 and will be counted that day at ARRL Headquarters.