Dear AFCCE Members,

As we move forward into the 2018-2019 fiscal year I wanted to provide an update on some of AFCCE’s activities and encourage your active participation in AFCCE happenings and events.

The 70th Annual Meeting was held in June in Seattle, with over 50 members and guests participating. Some highlights included an inside tour of seven historic AM transmitter facilities at four sites on Vashon Island, the banquet at Palisade Restaurant at the Marina and the wonderful open house held through the courtesy of the Dawson family. We also wish to thank Steve Lockwood and his host committee for their efforts in making the Annual Meeting a great success. The staff at the Hotel Sorrento also deserve kudos for their support.

The 2017–2018 Annual Report was reviewed, edited, and approved, and a PDF copy of the final version will be included with my next communiqué.

Three new directors were elected by ballot of the membership, and I would like to welcome Sterling Davis, John George and Stephen Pumple to the board. John George has agreed to be Secretary as Bob Weller moves to the position of Treasurer attempting to fill the shoes of longtime treasurer Ron Chase. Thanks to Ron for his service as an officer and director over the past three years. Thanks to Steve Crowley and Marshall Cross for their years of service on the board.

Because of the change in eligibility for Full Membership, several members stepped up to make application and were elevated this past year. These members include the late Byron St. Clair, John George, Sterling Davis, John Collinson, Jorge Gonzalez, David Layer. New Associate Members include Stephen Pumple, Angela Gillespie and Bert Goldman. A new student member, Tram Le, was added and attended the Annual Meeting. Following the Annual Meeting, the incoming Board elected new officers. The new officers for the 2018–2019 term are (the board member’s class term is shown in parenthesis):

Officers
President – John Lyons (2019)
Vice President – Chris Horne (2020)
Secretary – John George (2022)
Treasurer – Bob Weller (2019)

Directors
Anne Goodwin Crump (2020)
Sterling E. Davis (2022)
Jon Edwards (2020)
Mark Fehlig (2019)
Stephen Pumple (2021)

The chairpersons of AFCCE’s standing committees for 2018–2019 are:
Admissions: Matt Sanderford
Rules & Standards: Steve Crowley
Permanent Arrangements: Chris Horne
Nominations: Ben Evans
Professional Ethics and Grievances: Mark Fehlig

I want to thank Bob Weller for his jumping from Secretary to Treasurer to help with financial continuity after the resignation of Ron Chase. I also want to acknowledge the work of John Reiser and Martin Doczkat for organizing the monthly luncheons and speakers, and dedicated efforts of Marshall Cross, Chairman of the AFCCE Scholarship Fund’s Scholarship Committee. We need to secure a replacement for Martin Doczkat as Program Coordinator especially with the September 21st meeting rapidly approaching. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact me ASAP by phone or e-mail.

Luncheon Meetings for 2018-2019

The first luncheon of the year will be held on Friday, September 21st at the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn. A speaker is needed.

10/10 (Wednesday) – Joint AFCCE/BTS Luncheon (Marriott Key Bridge)
10/11 (Thursday) – AFCCE Fall Social (Holiday Inn-Vantage Point Restaurant)
11/28 (Wednesday) – Luncheon Meeting (Holiday Inn Shenandoah AB)
11/28 (Wednesday) — FCC Reception, National Press Club
1/18 (Fri) – Luncheon Meeting (Holiday Inn-Dogwood)
2/22 (Fri) – Luncheon Meeting (Holiday Inn-Dogwood)
3/22 (Fri) – Luncheon Meeting (Holiday Inn-Dogwood)
5/17 (Fri) – Luncheon Meeting (Holiday Inn-Dogwood)

AFCCE/IEEE BTS Joint Luncheon

The 67th Annual IEEE Broadcast Symposium will be held October 10–12 in Rosslyn, just two blocks from the Holiday Inn. As is traditional, there will be a joint AFCCE/BTS Luncheon on Wednesday, October 10.

Fall Social

AFCCE’s Fall Social will be held on October 11th at the Vantage Point Restaurant, atop the Holiday Inn. The Social follows the last paper of the Broadcast Symposium. The Fall Social benefits our scholarship fund and raised over $11,000 last year. We are looking to eclipse that number this year.

AFCCE/FCC Staff Reception

The Annual AFCCE/FCC Staff Reception will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on November 28th from 4 to 7 pm. The FCC Reception is a popular event among FCC technical staff, and allows us to honor and celebrate with the recipient of the 2018 E. Noel Luddy Award. Please plan on joining us for this fun event.

AFCCE Scholarship Program

The AFCCE Scholarship Program administers over $60,000 in scholarship funds for tele-communications students for their baccalaureate or graduate degree programs. Applications are presently being accepted for spring semester (2019) awards. We thank all members of the Scholarship Committee for their hard work and also thank AFCCE member Tom Silliman for his work on the joint AFCCE/IEEE Jules Cohen Scholarship program and Mark Fehlig for his coordination with IWCE. [Maybe say something about expecting to launch a Byron scholarship, funded by NTA?]

FCC Comments

Our aim in filing comments is to provide information to help ensure that the FCC can make informed policy choices, not necessarily to advocate for specific positions. There are many issues before the FCC this year that may be suitable for AFCCE comment, but we need people who feel strongly about particular issues to draft comments. Participate!

A better AFCCE requires your help. AFCCE needs its members to work on committees doing everything from helping draft comments on proposed regulations to helping coordinate the Annual Meeting. If you ask some on the board how you can help, I guarantee that you will be rewarded with meaningful tasks. So, please ask. Send me or another board member an e-mail or talk to us at a luncheon about getting involved. You don’t have to be local to DC, either. There are lots of areas where AFCCE can and should contribute, but we need members willing to help. AFCCE’s ability to serve its members and our industry is limited only by the amount of time and talent offered by its members.

Please let me or another board member know if you have any suggestions to improve AFCCE or its functions. I look forward to seeing you at one or all of our upcoming events.

Very truly yours,

President
(2017–2019)

AFCCE President’s Letter 2018

AFCCE held its 70th Annual Meeting last weekend in Seattle.  The meeting included a tour of five historic AM transmitter sites on Vashon Island, just west of the city.

The group picture below was taken on KVI Beach next to the KVI 570 tower.

2018 AFCCE Annual Meeting group picture

The Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers joins in celebrating the life of one of our longest active members, Dr. Byron St. Clair, who passed away May 20th at age 93 after a brief illness.

Dr. Byron St. Clair – picture courtesy of the ATBA

AFCCE President John Lyons said, “I had the pleasure to sit and speak with with Byron over the last several years discussing his time in NY while attending Columbia for his BS and MA in Physics. He reminisced about living on the waterfront and his enjoyment of education.  I will always remember the look on his face and the thrill in his voice as he walked around the broadcast facilities at One World Trade Center and 4 Times Square as we toured both facilities during the 2017 Annual Meeting.”

We will all stand to toast Byron at our Annual Meeting next month in Seattle.

The National Translator Association, will be establishing The Byron W. St. Clair Memorial Scholarship Fund along with the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE). The fund will provide scholarships for promising undergraduate and graduate students at accredited U.S. universities and colleges interested in broadcast engineering. The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, through its membership, has also agreed to provide funding for the NTA/AFCCE scholarship fund.

Dr. St. Clair was director of research and development for Adler Electronics, founder and president of EMCEE manufacturer and installer of TV translators.  Later he took his knowledge west to Colorado, and beginning in 1967 founded and was president of Television Technology Corp. in Arvada and later Larcan-TTC Inc. During his three decades in running TTC the company became the best-known supplier of TV translators.

Dr. St. Clair was inducted into the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance Hall of Fame in 2014, and received the Jules Cohen Award from the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS) in 2017. He was also President Emeritus of the National Translator Association and was the recipient of the SBE Chapter 48 Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.  He received his PhD from Syracuse University in Physics.

He leaves behind Julie, his wife of 71 years, and daughter Susan Hansen of Arvada, Colorado as well as his son-in-law, two grand children and a brother.  A memorial service is planned for a date in June to be established.

It’s time to renew your membership for 2018. Please visit the AFCCE web page at https://afcce.org/renew-your-membership/ to renew your membership.  Fees are unchanged from last year ($180/$140 for Full/Associate membership, respectively, with reduced fees for government, life, and student members).  The online application is the preferred method for renewing your membership since the entire process is electronic, including payment by credit card.

You can also download the renewal form here and mail it in, along with your payment.  Note that some of the information in the PDF renewal form information is not current – Student dues are now $20/year.

Please continue to support AFCCE’s work as a professional association and please join us at our monthly luncheons and social functions.

Happy New Year!

Bob Weller

AFCCE Secretary 2017-2018

Rodolfo (“Rudy”) Bonacci was presented with the E. Noel Luddy Award for years of meritorious service to the telecommunications industry. Bonacci is Assistant Division Chief, Engineering, in the Audio Division in FCC’s Media Bureau. The award was presented November 30 at the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers’ annual FCC Reception, held at the National Press Club by AFCCE President John Lyons.

In his introduction of this year’s honoree, James Bradshaw, Deputy Division Chief, Engineering, in the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau, recalled the time from when Rudy joined the FCC to the present day and Bradshaw told anecdotes on Bonacci’s career and spoke of his prestige within the FCC.

Addressing the crowd of AFCCE members and guests, and FCC colleagues, Bonacci thanked the AFCCE for bestowing the award and expressed admiration for his colleagues, noting several whom he thought better deserved the honor than himself.

Rudy Bonacci joins an distinguished list of previous Luddy award winners that includes notables such as John Reiser (the first E. Noel Luddy awardee, pictured here with Bonacci and Lyons), Jules Cohen, Ann Gallagher and Julius Knapp.

The E. Noel Luddy Award (since 2000) is presented annually by the AFCCE Board of Directors. Its winner is frequently, but not always, an FCC employee who has provided notable and exemplary service to the telecommunications industry. Noel Luddy was a lifelong radio enthusiast who was in charge of all communications throughout the South Pacific during World War II. He served for many years in several engineering capacities with RCA. With Dielectric’s acquisition of the RCA broadcast antenna business, he joined Dielectric as a consultant, serving as a liaison to broadcast station engineers, consulting engineers and the FCC. He is well known for his years of service on the AFCCE Board of Directors and was recognized numerous times for his contributions to the association and the broadcast industry. Dielectric continues to fund the E. Noel Luddy Scholarship in Noel’s honor.

The Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers is a membership organization comprised of engineers and other professionals engaged in telecommunications engineering. Its website notes that its main objective is to aid and promote the proper federal administration and regulation of those engineering and technical phases of communications which are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.