ARMS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

DAVID HOFF, WB9GGK

 

This week we turn the ARMS Member Spotlight on David Hoff, WB9GGK, from Barron, Wisconsin. David was first licensed in 1971 and currently holds an Advanced Class license. He's an oldtimer in ARMS as he joined up in 1972.

David credits his oldest son, Brent (WB9GGL), for getting the two of them started in ham radio. As a United States Coast Guard engineman, David was required to learn blinker light and, of course, Morse Code. When his son heard about ham radio and the Morse Code, he asked to learn it too. As David says, "The rest is history."

With his Yaesu FT757 GXII transceiver and 20-meter attic dipole, David enjoys CW, contesting, DX, nets, and QRP among other things. He especially enjoys the fellowship of the ARMS Christian Fellowship.

David shares a great story about his CW. He says, "Of late my CW was when I was coming out of heart surgery and was on a breathing tube. My XYL was holding my hand and I wanted her to know I was OK (in my mind) so I tapped out code on her wrist. She knew at once what I was doing but my youngest son, Bard, copied and told the rest of the gathered family what I was sending. So if this happens to you, it's a great way to communicate when your mouth is full of tubes."

After leaving the U.S. Coast Guard, David worked at a municipal electric utility. He spent nineteen years as chief engineer and eleven years as administrator for the combined electric, water, and wastewater utilities.

David has been married to his wife, Marjory, for fifty-three years. Marjory is a wonderful Christian lady who stuck with David during the years he was in the North Atlantic patrol. And, when he volunteered for Antartica, she was on the dock when he returned. Together they have four sons, three of whom are licensed hams (he working on his grandsons). Two of his sons are electrical engineers, one is a missionary pastor in a church-planting ministry, and one is the senior editor and general manager of a weekly newspaper.

David and Marjory attend and are members of First Baptist Church of Barorn, Wisconsin. He testifies, "The Lord has been precious to me for as long as I can remember. It was at Bible Camp I learned to trust Him as Savior and made Him Lord of my life at my High School (secular) baccalaureate address.

Psalm 107:23-23 (NKJV) are David's favorite Bible verses. "Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord and the Wonders of the sea." He says, "As an ol' sailor who sailed from Greenland and Iceland waters to the Antarctic, I can attest to His Wonders." Indeed!

In closing, David adds, "I've appreciated the radio communication and the eyeballs over the years." He calls them "precious times."

[ POSTED ON 06-JAN-2007 ]