Note: the following post includes updated information and bios.
Two nominations have been received for the position of RAC Director for the Ontario South Region. Following a review of the documentation submitted and taking into account the constitutional and election process requirements, the Election Committee determined that the nomination papers were complete and in order for Philip A. McBride, VA3QR/VA3KPJ and Igor Slakva, VE3ZF/VA3YDX. Their updated bios are included below and are also available on their websites.
The Committee recommended a Ballot by Mail pursuant to Article 6 (Method of Election) in the RAC Constitution, for the Director for the Ontario South Region.
Last week, an initial batch of ballots were distributed by RAC volunteers to RAC members in postal codes L, M and N. Unfortunately, due to an administrative error the ballots contained incorrect bios. Please make sure that you have the updated information by reading the bios provided below and on the websites provided.
The second and remaining batch of ballots, with the correct information, will be sent out next week when RAC Headquarters reopens after summer vacation.
The closing date for the return of ballots to RAC Headquarters at the address provided below has been extended until Friday, September 29 by 12 noon to allow time to fix a production error in the initial ballots that were sent out.
Sukwan Widajat, VA3WID
RAC Corporate Secretary
Philip A. McBride, VA3QR/VA3KPJ
Amateur Radio has been my passion for more than half of my life. First licensed in 1994, I currently hold my Advanced + Morse Code Operator Certificate. I have been a supporter of RAC since shortly after joining my first Amateur Radio club in 1995, and am currently a Maple Leaf Member. Previous to being elected to the RAC Board of Directors, I have served as both Emergency Coordinator and Assistant Section Manager in the RAC Field Organization.
The past two years have been very eventful for me. Aside from my responsibilities as a Board member, I was the licensee and sole Canadian member of the 2016 CY9C St. Paul Island DXPedition which garnered 64,000+ QSOs. I also had the honour and privilege to operate the commemorative TM100VIMY station at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France this past April. Emergency and Disaster Communications remain one of my primary focuses in Amateur Radio.
I am a RAC Certified Emergency Coordinator, and an active member of the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio System. Locally, I’m an active member of the Guelph Amateur Radio Club, and I host the VE3YAP APRS Digipeater, and Layer-2 Ontario APRS I-Gate and Server.
During my first term as Ontario South Director, I have spent as much time as possible meeting and getting to know the Amateurs in my constituent area, and have worked to solve whatever problems that have been brought to me by the membership.
Additionally, I have brought my 17+ years of business experience to the RAC Audit and Finance Committee, where I help to manage the finances of the organization and ensure continued stability and viability.
Finally, I have worked with my counterpart in Ontario North-East to ensure that Amateur Radio operators in Ontario retain the ability to operate mobile under Ontario’s Distracted Driving regulations. At time of writing, we have had a very enlightening and productive meeting with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and are anticipating a positive and permanent resolution on this matter.
I look forward to being able to continue the important work that RAC does for the Canadian Amateur Radio community and represent the RAC members in Ontario South.
For more information please visit my website at: https://va3qr.ca/racvote2017/
The closing date for the return of ballots to RAC Headquarters has been extended until 12 noon on Friday, September 29, 2017. Please send the ballots to:
RAC Corporate Secretary
Radio Amateurs of Canada
720 Belfast Road, Suite 217
Ottawa, ON K1G 0Z5
Igor Slakva, VE3ZF/VA3YDX
I was born on November 17, 1962, in Donetsk, Ukraine. I got the SWL call sign UB5-073-3135 in 1978, few years later I became a consistent “Top 3” SWL’er in the USSR.
After high school and Civil Engineering Institute I served in the Soviet Army (1983-1985) as a radio operator. After the military, in 1985 I got the call sign UB3IDX; after getting independence in Ukraine my call sign was changed to US1IDX. For contest operation I have used call sign US1I. Since 1985, I facilitated the largest communal organization, as the Director of SWL section, Donetsk DOSAAF division and was the President of the SWL Donetsk Radio Club, which bolstered more than 4,000 members.
I started my next education in the Donetsk Polytechnic University in 1985 and completed it with a Master’s degree in Computer Sciences in 1990. In 1990, I joined the Amateur Radio Club UR3IWA, and I became its President a few years later. Around the same time, I organized multiple teams of performance-oriented members for participation in the National USSR and European Contests; for many of which we finished in the finalist bracket.
From 1992 until 1999, I worked in the First Ukrainian International Bank as a Head of the IT Technical Support Group, where I was responsible for the global banking network across Ukraine. I immigrated to Canada in 1999. Currently, I live in Stoney Creek, Ontario and for the last 12 years I`ve been employed as a Network Analyst at Smith Detection. My job primarily consists of overseeing the security, functionality and maintenance of Smith’s corporate computer network across Canada.
I got the call sign VA3YDX in 2002. At the present time I am active on the air as a VE3ZF and VE2IDX. During the last 15 years, I have organized over 40 DXpeditions to the Caribbean and the Canadian North. I have organized multiple teams who were winners and record holders in the RAC Canada Day Contest, RAC Winter Contests and Ontario QSO Party. I have also established two national Canadian records from Zone 2 (Northern Quebec) in CQ WW DX Contest with the call signs VE2IDX and VC2X. My current primary objective in Amateur Radio is the formation of new teams to operate and finish in the first place of the National, North American and World Wide competitions. I am a member of Radio Amateurs of Canada, the Manitoulin Amateur Radio Club and Contest Club Ontario.
Excluding Amateur Radio, my supplementary hobbies include skiing, kickboxing, photo-video and public speaking presentations. I make it a point to live an active, healthy lifestyle and occupy myself with sports.
For more information please visit my website at: https://www.ve3zf.com/