Last week Joe Gadus, KD5KTX resigned as the Public Information Coordinator for the South Texas Section. I was sorry to receive this resignation as Joe has done a fantastic job in the Section both as a Public Information Officer and as the Public Information Coordinator.  During his tenure as PIC he pursued the creation of a new position in the section, that of  an Assistant PIC and signed up five excellent PIO's to fill those slots. With the five assistants in place to help him they, as a team, have grown the South Texas Section list of ACTIVE Public Information Officers to over 21. This is very likely the largest active group of PIO's in any single section in the league.  

Joe also was one of the very first to be recognized formally by the ARRL as one of three PIO's of the year last year.  His PR efforts within the section have been everything I could have hoped for in both a PIO and PIC.  I want thank Joe for his time and dedication to the position.

In finding a replacement for the PIC job I found myself with the enviable task of having several very qualified volunteers that have offered their services to the section. It made the decision a tough one as I would have felt comfortable in appointing any of them and knowing they will do a great job. 

Having said that, I would like to announce the appointment of Mike Manshack, AD5OG, as the new Public Information Coordinator for the South Texas Section.  Mike has been active as a PIO and as an Assistant PIC and has done a great job in recruiting new PIO's,as well as working with the local ARES and Clubs to get media coverage for their events. I feel comfortable that the entire PIO  team will continue to excel while working with Mike.

Please join me in congratulating Mike on his new role.

Lee, W5LHC
STX SM

The public information program for the South Texas Section has been steadily growing and improving.  The 97 counties are divided into 15 districts.  We now have five Assistant Public Information Coordinators (APIC)appointed for the different area of the section.  Their positions will coordinate all of the Public Information Officers within their areas.  Recently, Schuylar Crist coordinated the ARRL display for the Texas Homeland Security Conference in San Antonio.  We also had a display at the statewide competition for the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) held in Harris County and participated in the Greater Houston Hamfest in early March.  Mike Manshack, the APIC in the Beaumont area attended the local hamfest with a display.  There have been several articles written in local newspapers. 

Here are the Public Information Coordinator and Assistant Public Informatin Coordinators for the South Texas Section:

Joe Gadus, KD5KTX (PIC) STX   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Del Partridge, W5QQ (APIC) Districts 1, 14   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mike Manshack, AD5OG (APIC) Districts 2, 5, 9   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bennett McBride, KE5VDC (APIC) Districts 3, 4, 13, 15  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jim Wreyford, K5JSW (APIC) Districts 6, 7, 8  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Schuylar Crist, AE5SC (APIC) Districts 10, 11, 12 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Public Information Officers are section appointments subject to the approval of the Section Manager.  Section Manager, Lee Cooper has delegated the priliminary approval to the Public Information Coordinator (PIC).  We encourage all the clubs and ARES groups to nominate members for the position of Public Information Officer.  We do ask that all PIO's complete the ARRL PR-101 class within 90 days of appointment.  A good public relations program is necessary for clubs and ARES groups to grow.  Our goal is to promote amateur radio with positive messages.  This is how we grow the ranks of the amateur radio hobby, the ARRL, ARES and our local clubs.  Please contact the Assistant Public Information Coordinator in your area or district or send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text58495 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Gadus, KD5KTX
ARRL South Texas Section
Public Information Coordinator
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Home: 281.354.5594
Cell: 281.851.9165