*** NOTE: This information is NOT for disclosure beyond ODV (explanation below). There is a new ham in Congress. New Mexico Section Manager Ed James KA8JMW was contacted this morning by Congressman Steve Pearce (R, NM-2) who passed through Albuquerque this morning and asked if he could take his ham exam. The backstory is that Congressman Pearce reached out to Ed and I last July wanting to learn more about ham radio, equipment, the ham community in his part of New Mexico, etc. PSC members may recall that the Congressman returned one of our first phone calls in the middle of our July PSC meeting at HQ and I let him go to voicemail (hey, I was leading an important League meeting at the moment...). Ed and I have remained in touch with him on and off since then, letting the relationship stoke at its own pace rather than being pushy. A few weeks ago he called us up when he was passing through Albuquerque and asked to meet over coffee to chat more about ham radio. This was our first in-person meeting. He, his aide, Ed, and I chatted for a good hour about licensing, antennas, etc. We made sure he walked away with the latest issue of QST and a Technician study guide. This morning his aide reached out, without any prior notice, with news that the Congressman just arrived in Albuquerque and wanted to take the exam if possible. We scrambled to whip up VEs and, three hours after first hearing he was in town, he was sitting down taking his Technician license exam. He missed only one question. Congressman Pearce requested that this news NOT be distributed or announced publicly until FCC issues his callsign and he first gets to introduce himself to the world with his callsign through his outlets, so please keep any word of this confidential in the interim. Ed and I will obviously remain in touch with him going forward. On top of great news happening in the Senate, I thought you'd be interested in a really neat and beneficial development on the House side. 73, Brian N5ZGT