SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX001   
   ARLX001 Former RAC President Earle Smith, VE6NM (SK)   
      
   ZCZC AX01   
   QST de W1AW     
   Special Bulletin 1  ARLX001   
   From ARRL Headquarters     
   Newington CT  February 28, 2012   
   To all radio amateurs    
      
   SB SPCL ARL ARLX001   
   ARLX001 Former RAC President Earle Smith, VE6NM (SK)   
      
   Earle Smith, VE6NM, of Grand Prairie, Alberta -- who served as   
   President of the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) from 2004-2007 --   
   passed away Friday, February 24. He was 81. An active radio amateur   
   since 1948, first licensed as VE1SA, Smith enjoyed meeting amateurs   
   from all over Canada and the world.   
      
   "Earle was well respected by Amateur Radio operators both within   
   Canada and internationally," said current RAC President Geoff   
   Bawden, VE4BAW. "He was a gentleman and friend to all hams and a   
   strong advocate for Amateur Radio and for the Radio Amateurs of   
   Canada. All who knew Earle respected him as a leader, a friend and a   
   force for good in the Amateur Radio community. We will miss him."   
      
   Smith served as Northwest Alberta Director of the Amateur Radio   
   League of Alberta (ARLA), and later as the Assistant Director for   
   Northwest Alberta for the Canadian Radio Relay League (CARL), as   
   well as various executive positions with the Canadian Amateur Radio   
   Federation (CARF). He worked on the merger of the CARF and CRRL to   
   form Radio Amateurs of Canada. Before becoming RAC President, Smith   
   served as RAC Director for Alberta, the Northwest Territories and   
   Nunavut. As RAC President, he served as the RAC Delegate Team Leader   
   to several IARU Region 2 conferences.   
      
   Smith was born in rural Nova Scotia; at age 17, he enlisted in the   
   Royal Canadian Air Force, serving 21 years. Upon retirement from the   
   military, Smith joined ATCO, an energy company in Alberta. After 24   
   years with ATCO, he retired once again and began a new career as a   
   truck driver for the petroleum exploration and drilling industry,   
   driving in Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.   
   While Smith said he did not consider himself an "Ice Road Trucker,"   
   he did make several trips up the MacKenzie River in the Northwest   
   Territories.   
      
   "Earle's devotion to Amateur Radio and his down-to-earth   
   friendliness earned not only respect, but also affection from those   
   who had the good fortune to know him," said ARRL President Kay   
   Craigie, N3KN. "Earle's passing is a loss to Amateur Radio in Canada   
   and to the whole ham radio family."   
      
   Smith was a Life Member of the RAC, the Quarter Century Wireless   
   Association (QCWA, Chapter 151), the Society of Wireless Pioneers   
   (SOWP), and a member of the ARRL and of several amateur clubs across   
   Canada. Smith noted that he was proud to be the sole Canadian   
   recipient of the prestigious Azteca Award from the Federacion   
   Mexicana de Radioamateur Experimentadores (FMRE), for services   
   rendered to Amateur Radio in Canada and Mexico. "It was a privilege   
   for me, while serving as RAC President, to visit every Canadian   
   Province and Territory while meeting many amateurs," he said on his   
   QCWA bio. "I've also attended several QCWA National conventions and   
   enjoy meeting so many enthusiastic amateurs."   
      
   "Earle also held the call VE8BY, and to 6 meter enthusiasts, that   
   call means 'The Baffin Island Beacon,' which was located on 50.050   
   MHz," explained ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave   
   Patton, NN1N. "Earle's love of Northern Canada and 6 meters combined   
   to give the rest of us a unique operating thrill -- hearing a signal   
   from Baffin Island. As well as seeing Earle when he attended ARRL   
   Board meetings on behalf of RAC, I had the pleasure of attending   
   conferences with him in Mexico at FMRE events. Earle instantly   
   earned friendship and rapport with our counterparts in Mexico, and I   
   could tell that he would be liked and respected by anyone he met.   
   Earle was a 'Ham's Ham' and a 'Man's Man' and I will miss him."   
   According to his QCWA bio, Smith said his favorite band was 6   
   meters; he sponsored two 6 meter beacons: VE8BY at Iqaluit and   
   VE6ARC near Grande Prairie.   
      
   "Earle Smith was one of the most passionate Canadian amateurs you   
   could meet," IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, told the ARRL. "A   
   loyal supporter of the Amateur Service in Canada and   
   internationally, he was a true friend of the IARU. I had worked with   
   Earle at Radio Amateurs of Canada and valued his calm demeanor and   
   his ability to form a consensus on difficult issues. His leadership   
   within RAC was second to none. He will be missed not only in Canada,   
   but by his many friends around the world."   
      
   The RAC has set up a website at http://earlesmith.rac.ca/ for   
   friends and colleagues to leave their remembrances and condolences.   
   A memorial service is planned for Thursday, March 1 at St Paul's   
   United Church in Grand Prairie.   
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
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