The IARU Administrative Council meeting wrapped up earlier today, so I have a chance now to give you a few of the highlights of last week's Region 2 Conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Certainly from the ARRL Board standpoint, the #1 highlight is that our own Rod Stafford was elected President of Region 2. Rod has been working hard as Region 2 Secretary for the past three years, and a measure of the appreciation that the region's member-societies felt for his efforts is that he was unopposed for the Presidency. Current Region 2 President Pedro Seidemann, YV5BPG, did not seek re-election. The position of Secretary will be filled by Reinaldo Leandro, YV5AMH. Reinaldo served as Region 2 Secretary briefly in 2001 to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation. He is retired from the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs following service in a number of diplomatic posts, including Venezuelan Ambassador to several countries. The remainder of the Region 2 Executive is unchanged. Rod's term as Region 2 President begins November 15. Other highlights of the conference include the adoption of a strategic plan drafted by the Region 2 Executive Committee and the approval of a deficit budget for the next three years. The Conference authorized the Executive Committee to spend up to $25,000 per year on Amateur Radio education and promotion in order to address the problem of declining numbers and activity. Region 2 has more than $300,000 in the bank and can well afford to devote some of it to helping its member-societies reverse these downward trends. The decline in interest and activity was evidenced by poor attendance at the conference. Only 10 member-societies from North, Central, and South America were represented in person. Only two, Venezuela and Brazil, came to Trinidad from the South American continent. Rod clearly has his work cut out for him as he begins to rejuvenate the Region. ARRL had planned to propose to host the next Region 2 Conference in 2007 in Puerto Rico. However, LABRE, the Brazilian society, expressed a strong desire to host the conference. It was more important to them than to us, so Jim deferred to them and withdrew our bid. 73, Dave 9Y4/K1ZZ