==> AN ERA COMES TO A CLOSE AS RILEY HOLLINGSWORTH, K4ZDH, RETIRES

[fgentges at mindspring.com]

tacoistas,

I recall when Riley Hollingsworth first took over the enforcement job. 
Certain spots on 75 meters had become a bit of a no-mans land where a 
few unruly hams pretty much made operation there on phone an unpleasant 
experience.  Once he came on board he let a few of these people know the 
rules were back in effect.

One particularly bad group had pretty much taken over one frequency by 
force and dared anyone to take it over.  They used bad language that 
made the radio into an adults only hobby.  Hollingsworth let them know 
by suspending one of the group.  Overnight, they got the message and 
word spread far and wide that there was a new sheriff in town.  What a 
difference this one person made.

Hopefully, the FCC won't let things fall into the previous state when he 
is gone.  We are bringing a new generation of hams along that do not 
need to have their radios tuning averted from bad practices and language.

Frank K0BRA

Andre Kesteloot wrote:
> ==> AN ERA COMES TO A CLOSE AS RILEY HOLLINGSWORTH, K4ZDH, RETIRES 
> 
> On Thursday, July 3, Special Counsel for the Spectrum Enforcement
> Division of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH --
> the man who has come to embody Amateur Radio Enforcement -- said goodbye
> to the FCC as he retired and began his life as a private citizen. In
> May, Hollingsworth announced he would definitely retire; he had
> contemplated retiring in January 2008, but cited "several issues on the
> table that I want[ed] to continue to work through with the amateur
> community." While his successor has not yet been named, he was quick to
> point out that the FCC's Amateur Radio enforcement program will
> continue.
> 
> Hollingsworth said that he has "loved" working for the FCC and has
> "always had great jobs, but this one involving the Amateur Radio Service
> has been the most fun and I have enjoyed every day of it. I've worked
> with the best group of licensees on earth, enjoyed your support and
> tremendous FCC support and looked forward every day to coming to work.
> The Amateur Radio Enforcement program will continue without missing a
> beat, and after retirement I look forward to being involved with Amateur
> Radio every way I can. I thank all of you for being so dedicated and
> conscientious, and for the encouragement you give us every day." 
> 
> Saying it has been a "privilege to work with and for the Amateur Radio
> licensees and the land mobile frequency coordinators," Hollingsworth
> said that he is "extremely fortunate to work for two wonderful groups of
> people: Those at headquarters in the Enforcement Bureau, and for the
> Amateur Radio operators." 
> 
> Before joining the FCC, Hollingsworth, a South Carolina native,
> graduated from the University of South Carolina and Wake Forest
> University School of Law. While in high school, he worked as a disc
> jockey for WRHI, an AM station in Rock Hill, South Carolina. "It's a
> funny thing," Hollingsworth said. "They once held a beauty pageant in
> Rock Hill and nobody won!" In the mid-1970s, he was a "Nader's Raider"
> and worked on brown lung disease in the North and South Carolina textile
> mills.
> 
> "Basically I'm just an ordinary guy caught in the cross-hairs of radio
> history," Hollingsworth said. "But I am proud of the fact that the
> digital clock on my VCR has been blinking for 4 years." 
> 
> Hollingsworth told the ARRL he was "so very impressed" with the young
> people who are involved with Amateur Radio: "To the very young Amateur
> Radio operators I have met who have dreams of being scientists and
> astronauts and communications engineers, we will be pulling for you; I
> have a strong feeling we won't be disappointed."
> 
> Calling the Amateur Radio Service a part of the American heritage,
> Hollingsworth explained that he is "going to stay as actively involved
> in it as I possibly can. Thank you all for working tirelessly to provide
> the only fail safe communications system on Earth and for helping this
> country keep its lead in science and technology. What an incredible gift
> it has been to work with you every day, and how fortunate we are to love
> the magic of radio! Every gift of lasting value comes with
> responsibility. We must never forget what we owe for our spectrum
> privileges. I will continue working with you in every way I can to
> ensure that Amateur Radio lasts a thousand years. "
> 
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