SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX013   
   ARLX013 QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK)   
      
   ZCZC AX13   
   QST de W1AW     
   Special Bulletin 13  ARLX013   
   From ARRL Headquarters     
   Newington CT  August 21, 2012   
   To all radio amateurs    
      
   SB SPCL ARL ARLX013   
   ARLX013 QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK)   
      
   QST Managing Editor Joel P. Kleinman, N1BKE, of Meriden,   
   Connecticut, died from injuries received during a house fire. He was   
   64. Kleinman was responsible for the coordination, organization,   
   control and completion of all aspects of QST's editorial content   
   each month. Kleinman's wife Jayne survived the fire, but is   
   currently in the intensive care unit of a local hospital.   
      
   "Joel was obsessed with making QST the best Amateur Radio magazine   
   it could be, but he pursued that obsession with uncommon dignity and   
   kindness," said QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY. "He was the quiet man   
   behind the scenes, shouldering much of the burden that comes with   
   creating 164 pages of new content every month. Joel set a high   
   standard for all who may follow him."   
      
   After graduating from the University of Montana with a MA in   
   Journalism, Kleinman came to ARRL's Club and Training Department in   
   June 1976 to lead a program aimed at introducing students to space   
   science using Amateur Radio satellites. It was in this capacity that   
   he contributed to the five-part series "Getting to Know OSCAR from   
   the Ground Up" that was published in QST in 1977. Less than year   
   later, Kleinman moved over to the ARRL's Production Department as an   
   editorial assistant before becoming the ARRL Features Editor, then   
   Editorial Supervisor, then Editorial/Production Supervisor. In 1988,   
   he became Book Team Supervisor, where he was responsible for the   
   development and editorial integrity of ARRL books and other media.   
   He was named as QST Managing Editor in April 2001.   
      
   Kleinman was not licensed prior to beginning his career at ARRL   
   Headquarters: "When I came on board, I didn't know much about ham   
   radio," he remarked in a "Behind the Diamond" feature in the June   
   1979 issue of QST. "But it was made very clear to me that I soon   
   would -- and I did!" Before long, Kleinman had written such QST   
   articles as "The Lure of 2 Meters -- Part 1," the OSCAR articles and   
   "Network Hams: A Hobby Becomes a Career," which focused on hams who   
   worked at ABC, CBS and NBC: "It's not often that a person gets to go   
   on behind-the-scenes tours of the headquarters of all three   
   broadcast networks in two days."   
      
   "With the passing of Joel Kleinman, N1BKE, we have lost not only a   
   respected professional colleague, but also a friend," said ARRL   
   President Kay Craigie, N3KN. "The shocking circumstances of his   
   death sharpen the sadness we feel. The ARRL sends our deepest   
   sympathy to all of Joel's friends and family. I would like to thank   
   the many amateurs who have expressed condolences through social   
   media and by other means. Although you may not have known Joel   
   personally, you feel his loss as a member of the extended Amateur   
   Radio family. Your kindness and words of comfort are sincerely   
   appreciated."   
      
   According to the Meriden Record-Journal, David Chester -- who lives   
   across the street from the Kleinmans -- and about 20 others who were   
   in his backyard at the time of the fire were the first responders to   
   the blaze. "It was crazy," Chester told the newspaper. "Somebody   
   smelled smoke, and most everyone went over there immediately."   
   Others immediately ran into the house to save Jayne Kleinman. "Steve   
   [one of Chester's friends] said he saw her legs and pulled on them,"   
   Chester said. "The other two grabbed her from her back, and together   
   they brought her out onto the front lawn."   
      
   Meriden Assistant Fire Chief Mark Finnegan told the Record-Journal   
   that the Meriden Fire Department received a call around 5:15 PM on   
   August 18, reporting a fire on the second floor of the single-family   
   home. The fire was contained to the second floor of the home, and   
   was put out by firefighters within 10 minutes.   
      
   Firefighters were able to locate Joel Kleinman in a bedroom on the   
   second floor and paramedics treated him at the scene, but he died   
   later at a local hospital. "When they got to the top of the stairs,   
   the guy told me they saw [Jayne's] foot and they grabbed her foot   
   and dragged her down the stairs," Meriden Fire Chief James Trainor   
   told the Hartford Courant. "I guess they tried to go back in but it   
   was untenable. There was so much smoke he just couldn't make it."   
   Trainor said that the fire was in an upstairs room and may have been   
   burning for a while before rescuers arrived.   
      
   "Joel was a gifted writer and editor," said ARRL Chief Executive   
   Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "Amateur Radio is the richer today   
   because he chose to devote his talents to the work of the ARRL."   
      
   Kleinman was a former president of the Newington Amateur Radio   
   League (NARL) and a member of the Quarter Century Wireless   
   Association (QCWA). Funeral arrangements are pending.   
      
   The ARRL is collecting condolence messages to forward on to Joel's   
   family. If you would like send a message, please email it to,   
   news@arrl.org.   
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
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