When ARRL Treasurer Jim McCobb, K1LU, announced last year that he would retire after more than three decades of volunteer service to the ARRL, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, appointed a search committee to find a suitable replacement. The committee received many resumes from League members, and after interviewing several applicants, selected Rick Niswander, K7GM, of Greenville, North Carolina. At the 2012 ARRL Annual Meeting, Niswander was elected by the Board of Directors as the sixth Treasurer of the ARRL.

Niswander -- an ARRL Life Member -- has been the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance for East Carolina University since 2010, where he is the senior executive responsible for all financial, administrative, and operational activities at the university. Prior to that appointment, he served as ECU’s Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs and Dean of its College of Business. He is also a Professor of Accounting at the university. Niswander is also the Executive Treasurer for the ECU Foundation, the ECU Medical Foundation, the ECU Alumni Association and the Pirate Club. A Certified Public Accountant since 1981, he holds a BBA in Accounting from Idaho State University and a PhD in Accounting from Texas A&M University.

“I am very excited to have been elected ARRL Treasurer,” Niswander said. “The ARRL has been an integral part of my ham radio life since I was first licensed in 1967 and has been critically important to the success of our hobby for almost 100 years. I am looking forward to playing a role in our future success as we start our second century. I am confident that my professional accounting and finance experiences in business and academia provide me the foundation to be able to work collaboratively with the Board of Directors and the ARRL staff to make a positive difference for the ARRL and its members. We all owe a big debt of gratitude to Jim McCobb, K1LU, who served the ARRL and its members with distinction for over 30 years. I have some big shoes to fill.”

Niswander has a history with the ARRL: In the early 1970s before attending Idaho State, he worked at the ARRL Contest Desk and as a DXCC Assistant. His Amateur Radio interests include CW operating, contesting and DXing. Upon graduation from Idaho State, Niswander held a series of increasingly responsible positions in public accounting, retail/wholesale oil and gas, and real estate development, including serving as Vice President for Finance for a private real estate company in Arizona, where he was responsible for treasury functions, including banking relationships, cash management and debt management.

“At the most fundamental level, for almost 100 years, the ARRL has been at the forefront of keeping Amateur Radio relevant, not only with respect to ourselves, but also with respect to society. That is an amazing accomplishment. The ARRL has been a part of my ham radio life for as long as I can remember; tens of thousands of other hams can say the same thing. The ARRL is integral to the core of what it means to be a ham, in the fullest sense of that word. The ARRL is, indeed, a very special organization. I am extremely proud to have been a ham and to have been associated with the ARRL. Starting as a high school student, working in Newington on the Contest Desk, becoming a Life Member many years ago and as an active contester for decades, Amateur Radio and the ARRL have been important parts of who I am.”

Niswander is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs. The AICPA serves the CPA profession nationally regarding rule-making and standard-setting, and serves as an advocate before legislative bodies, public interest groups and other professional organizations. Niswander has served as a member of the AICPA Council (the organization’s governing body) and as a member of its Board of Examiners and Strategic Planning Committee. He has served as Chairman of the Board, Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Association of CPAs. He is currently on the NCACPA’s Investment Committee. Niswander is also a member of the American Accounting Association.

“I am excited about the experience in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors that Rick is bringing to the ARRL Board,” said President Craigie. “In today’s economy, many non-profit organizations are struggling. The ARRL is not. We are in good financial condition today in no small measure because of the combined expertise of volunteer members of the Board such as our past Treasurer Jim McCobb, K1LU, and the Headquarters staff who manage the business side of the League. Rick’s professional qualifications and his personal love for Amateur Radio make him exceptionally well-suited to help us build the financial stability we have now into something even better for the future of our League.”

According to the Article 33 of the ARRL By-Laws, the ARRL Treasurer shall:

• Upon consultation with and subject to the general supervision of the Administration and Finance Committee, shall provide for the investment and reinvestment of the surplus funds of the League in any bonds or stocks or other securities as would be selected by a trustee with the care of a prudent investor.
• Make a report at all regular meetings of the Board of Directors and shall attend meetings of the Board.
• Serve as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee.
• Have the authority to sign checks and other legal documents on behalf of the League as required in his role as manager of the League’s investment activities.
• Furnish a bond satisfactory to the Board, the expenses of such bond to be borne by the League.

“As ARRL Treasurer,” Niswander said, “I am proud to give back to this extraordinary hobby and to work with the Board of Directors, Headquarters staff and scores of other hams to honor our history, strengthen our present and collectively plan for our future.”