‰  NOW 18 WPM transition file follows‰

One incumbent Section Manger overcame a challenge to win his bid for
a new term of office, while two SM candidates who ran unopposed will
assume office this summer. All new 2 year terms of office begin on
July 1.  Ballots in the two person race in the ARRL Utah Section
were counted on May 19 at ARRL Headquarters. Incumbent Section
Manager Mel Parkes, NM7P, received 342 votes, while Pat Malan,
N7PAT, of South Jordan, garnered 280 votes. Parkes, of Layton, has
served as the Utah Section Manager since 1999.  The Maryland/DC
Section will have a new Section Manager starting in July. Marty
Pittinger, KB3MXM, of Owings Mills, was the only nominee for the
post, now held by Jim Cross, WI3N, who decided not to run for
another term. Cross has been the Maryland/DC Section Manager since
January 2006. Pittinger is currently the Affiliated Club Coordinator
in Maryland/DC. He also serves as a Public Information Officer,
Official Relay Station, and Net Manager.  A new Section Manager also
will be taking the reins in the West Texas Section.  Ron Harden Jr,
KB5HGM, of Baird, was the sole candidate for the position. He has
been serving as Affiliated Club Coordinator and as an Emergency
Coordinator in West Texas. Incumbent Bill Roberts, W5NPR, decided
not to run for another term. He has been Section Manager since 2011.
Five sitting Section Managers faced no opposition in the spring
election cycle and will begin new 2 year terms on July 1. They are
Peter Stohrer, K1PJS, New Hampshire, Richard Krohn, N2SMV, Northern
New Jersey, John Bigley, N7UR, Nevada, Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, Rhode
Island, and Dan Pruitt, AE6SX, San Joaquin Valley.  Massachusetts
Institute of Technology professor Dava Newman, KB1HIK, has been
sworn in as the deputy administrator of NASA.  President Barack
Obama appointed Newman last October, and the US Senate confirmed her
appointment on April 27. The swearing in took place on May 15 in her
MIT office in Cambridge. Newman is Apollo Professor of Astronautics
and Engineering Systems and the director of the Technology and
Policy Program at MIT. She started her official duties as NASAs new
deputy administrator on May 18 at the agencys headquarters in
Washington, DC.  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, ex KE4IQB, said
hes long admired Newman. Her talents and skills as an educator and
technological innovator will bring a new energy to our NASA
leadership team, and Im ecstatic to have her on board, he said.
Newman had been on the MIT faculty since 1993. Her research has
included modeling human performance in low and microgravity
conditions, examining the dynamics and control of astronaut motion,
and the development of assisted walking devices for the physically
handicapped. Possibly her most prominent project has been the
development of the BioSuit, a skintight spacesuit that would give
astronauts unprecedented comfort and freedom in exploration of
planetary surfaces and extra vehicular activity.

‰  END OF 18 WPM transition file ƒ