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July 21, 2026
Editor: Josh Johnston, KE5MHV
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Celebrating Victorian and Ham Club History |
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by Emily Boots, WB4EMY
Usually, when a group of hams are helping with a parade, they’re providing radio communications. But this time, the Richmond Amateur Radio Club (RARC) of Richmond, Virginia, was asked to participate in the town’s annual Victorian Day parade, celebrating the Bon Air Victorian Resort that was established in 1877 in Bon Air, Virginia.
The Bon Air Victorian Resort was conceived as a summer resort for city-weary Richmonders. They came in droves by way of the Richmond and Danville Railroad for a day of excursions at the resort. A dance pavilion, bowling alley, saloon, and bicycle and horseback riding trails were just a few of the amusements they discovered as they embarked off the train station.
RARC was founded in 1916, became an ARRL Affiliated Club in 1926, and has been meeting in the nearby Bon Air United Methodist Church for nearly 40 years. RARC member Emily Boots, WB4EMY, is also an organizer of the Victorian Day parade, and while observing the joint history, she felt it only fitting that RARC celebrate Victorian Day with the Bon Air Historical Society by joining them in their annual historical parade.
RARC had three units in the parade procession and had a hands-on demonstration booth at the festival that took place afterward. There was a lot of excitement about RARC’s participation, and it was a wonderful place to showcase and talk about the many facets of this amazing hobby.
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Members of the Richmond Amateur Radio Club pause for a photo during the festival after the Victorian Day parade. | | | |
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By Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VEC Manager
While amateur radio operators are generally diligent about updating and renewing their licenses, club licenses can sometimes be overlooked.
It’s important for clubs to periodically review their club license information to ensure everything is current.
Take a few moments to verify that your club’s mailing address and trustee information are accurate in the FCC license database. Also, confirm that the license is not approaching expiration.
All club license transactions (except for new vanity call sign requests) must be handled through an FCC-approved Club Station Call Sign Administrator (CSCSA) by completing a 605-C Form (Club Station Application). This form cannot be submitted directly to the FCC, and club transactions cannot be completed through the FCC’s website. The ARRL VEC is a CSCSA and can process these requests for your club.
Please refer to the appropriate instructions and club application form
to help you update or renew your club license.
Keeping your club license up to date helps ensure smooth operations and continued FCC compliance.
If you have questions or need help, please contact the ARRL VEC
department at vec@arrl.org.
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A Call for QST's "Club Station" Column Submissions |
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Clubs are the backbone of the amateur radio community. Whether you’re part of a special or general interest club, its members are the community that you serve. In the same way that every ham is different, each club is also different — not every club will offer the same programs and projects to their member community.
QST’s “Club Station” is a space for clubs to share their practical ideas about what’s helped lead them to their success. If your club has developed a creative way to get around common challenges, we want to hear from you!
If you’re interested in writing for “Club Station,” please follow the author guidelines that are tailored to this column. Additionally, you’ll find a Club Profile Form at the end of the author guidelines, which must be filled out and included with your submission. If this form is missing, your submission will not be considered complete.
www.arrl.org/qst-club-station-guidelines-and-profile-form
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LARC Celebrates 40 Years at the 2026 ARRL Field Day |
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During the last weekend in June, the Lenoir Amateur Radio Club (LARC), N4LNR, in Gamewell, North Carolina, participated in the 2026 ARRL Field Day, welcoming the community to experience amateur radio in a public setting.
Held at the Grace Chapel Fire Department, the event showcased how amateur radio serves the public through emergency preparedness, public service, and worldwide communications.
Visitors had the opportunity to see and operate a variety of stations, including the local Lenoir 2-meter radio, HF stations covering 10 through 80 meters, a QRP station, a CW station, and an FT8 station. One of the greatest highlights was watching many of our young visitors under the age of 18 interact with and contact radio operators from around the world using the N4LNR call sign. Over the course of the event, operators successfully reached stations throughout North America, Europe, Russia, and Australia.
In total, our signals traveled 81,178 miles over 24 hours.
This year’s Field Day was especially significant, as the Lenoir Amateur Radio Club was also celebrating its 40th anniversary. For 4 decades, the club has promoted amateur radio, provided community support for local events, and encouraged education and fellowship among radio enthusiasts throughout Caldwell County, North Carolina.
LARC would like to thank everyone who participated and volunteered – without them, this Field Day would not have been such a success!
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“On the Air Live” Offers Learning Opportunities for ARRL Members |
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What is your family’s backup plan when cell phones or internet are not available?
Join ARRL’s Education Specialist Wayne Greene, KB4DSF, for the next “On the Air Live,” as we explore the P.A.C.E. (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency) plan and how it can help families build a practical communications plan before a crisis happens. We’ll talk about where amateur radio fits, how to layer your options, and how to make the plan simple enough for the whole family to use.
“OTA Live”: The P.A.C.E. Plan for Family Communications
Tuesday, July 28 | 8 PM Eastern
ARRL Learning Center: learn.arrl.org
Pre-registration is required at learn.arrl.org.
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To ensure that all ARRL Affiliated Clubs are receiving information to support Year of the Club, ARRL Club News is now being sent to all club email addresses of record, club presidents, and club newsletter editors, as submitted in affiliated club listings.
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In an effort to maintain updated Affiliated Club Records, we will be reviewing clubs that have not updated their Affiliated Club listing and moving these clubs to inactive status. This includes updated emails and club contact information. One of the requirements of an affiliated club is to do annual club updates. Information on how to do your club update is found at: www.arrl.org/club-update.
We also encourage clubs to verify that their listed email is accurate and working.
This allows anyone who may be interested in your club or who may need to contact your club to have a simple email contact.
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How to Plan and Apply for an ARRL Hamfest or Convention |
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If your amateur radio club is planning to host a convention, hamfest, tailgate, or swapfest, please consider applying for it to be an ARRL-sanctioned event. To learn what it means to be an ARRL-sanctioned event, and to get some ideas on how to prepare for and conduct a hamfest or convention, visit
www.arrl.org/arrl-sanctioned-events.
To have your event sanctioned, complete the online application at
www.arrl.org/hamfest-convention-application.
Please send a copy of the application that returns to you to Steve Ewald at sewald@arrl.org.
The ARRL Hamfests and Conventions Calendar can be found online at
www.arrl.org/hamfests. In addition, the Convention and Hamfest Calendar that runs in QST each month also presents information about upcoming events.
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ARRL Home: www.arrl.org
Find an ARRL Affiliated Club: www.arrl.org/clubs
Find your ARRL Section: www.arrl.org/sections
Find a license class in your area: www.arrl.org/class
Find a license exam in your area: www.arrl.org/exam
Find a hamfest or convention: www.arrl.org/hamfests
Email ARRL Clubs: clubs@arrl.org
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ARRL Club News is published every month (12 times each year). ARRL members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member Data Page at
www.arrl.org/opt-in-out.
Copyright © 2026 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.
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