Time has clouded our memories so our recollections might not be extremely accurate…but we tried. Over the past 50 years, LIMARC has had so many members who have worked tirelessly to make the club prosper. We have written briefly about some members but know there are many more who have been great assets to the club.

Irwin Dresner, W2TRP (sk), was a prominent engineer. One of his talents was to analyze oil heating systems. During the OPEC embargo, LIMARC’s Energy Net was a great clearing house for efficiency alternatives and energy savings. Lew, N2RQ and Irwin, worked as a team. Lew was net control and Irwin was the main resource. This net was similar to what Dick Knadle, K2RIW does with the tech net. Selma Dresner, WA2SHC (sk), Irwin’s wife, would monitor the .85 repeater. She handled a great deal of traffic and would get help to those who needed it. Selma would take the public service reports on the info net every week. She was a very cheerful and kind lady

Other notable husband/wife members include George Tranos, N2GA, and Diane Ortiz, K2DO. Both served on the board and both served as President of LIMARC. George also served as Section Manager for New York-LI. They are both active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Rich Rosner, N2STU and Nancy Rosner, N2TKA, served on the board. Rich was also Membership Chairman and Nancy was the club’s Webmaster. Rich received a special award for his work in understanding BPL and its effects on amateur radio.

Lew Malchick, N2RQ, board member and Education Chair and xyl Alice,WB2IJY, is the 50th Anniversary Co-Chair. Lew became Membership Chairman of LIMARC when Earl retired from that position. While chairman, LIMARC peaked out at over 600 members. At that time all records were on paper. Lew was also the net control of the Energy Net and net control of the Info Net. He was Field Day chairman several times and co-founder with Marty Smith, KA2NRR (sk), of the School Club Roundup. Lew has served on LIMARC’s board of directors as well as holding many other positions.

At our 50th Anniversary, Joe Gomez, W2BMP, was President of LIMARC and Education Co-chair and xyl Ceil, W2CTG, Log Editor and 50th Anniversary Co-Chair.

Lew Reinberg, W2BIE, (sk), and Elaine, W2ECR were also members. Lew was a board member and would constantly monitor the repeaters. Lew had the distinction of working every DX entity when he finally worked Scarborough Reef. His son, Steven currently has Lew’s call sign. Elaine attended many board meetings and was the official Chanukah candle lighter at our holiday party.

Jeff Forkos, N2ION, and Karen, KB2KQZ. Jeff has been the Bowling Party and Picnic Chairman for many years. He also has helped many LIMARC Members with their antennas and towers, and assists Nassau County ARES with the use of his repeaters.

Neil Goldstein, W2NDG, is on the Board of Directors, He is an IT professional at Sloan-Kettering and is a great resource on computer technology. His wife, Jill, KD2CHE, assists at the LIMARC Meetings.

Rudy Oudshoorn, WA2NUB, worked at JFK Airport for Swiss Air. Rudy was involved with the Technical Committee, and antenna installations. The 450 repeater from Manny, stayed in his garage. His dad, Henri WB2JKG (sk), was also a ham. Mella Oudshoorn, WA2UJP (sk), Rudy’s wife, would monitor the repeaters with him. Mella created a fun type of column for the LIMARC Log. She signed her name as MiniVolt.

Bill Capitman, WB2CUK, has been running the Swap and Shop Nets for many years. He and his wife Gail, KA2RYE attend just about every hamfest on the east coast.

Karl Johnson, N2RLD, assists with supplying radios and equipment for the NYC Marathon, has served on the LIMARC board of directors. His wife Jane K2JAN has served LIMARC on the Audit Committee as well as Secretary.

Manny Marcel, WB2BON, a self-taught engineer, was good at getting things done. He maintained the LIMARC repeaters. He was a Technical Committee Chairman who built circuit boards and components for the repeater system.

Steve Schuck, WB2WAK, became Manny’s assistant on the technical committee. Manny’s own repeater was the .805 repeater – WB2BON. When Manny relocated, Steve, WB2WAK became the Technical Committee Chair and the 146.805 repeater became WB2WAK.

Earl Granger, W2NXZ (sk), was an officer, Log editor, and the Membership Chairman for many years. He was also our connection to the Islip Speedway, where LIMARC would hold its hamfests once a year. His friend, Lila, also a ham, was a champion at flying light airplanes.

Jean Chittendon, WA2BGE, (sk), was a former Secretary of LIMARC. She was one of the few selected ham radio operators in the country who was invited by the Chinese government to visit China, when the Chinese government wanted to open up amateur radio in China.

George Gluck, WA2WKV (sk), held a number of offices in the club. He was Director of LIMARC. He was instrumental in getting ARES started, especially in LIMARC. George was the DEC for many years.

Duke Harrison, K2MZ, was on the board. When LIMARC was computerizing the roster, Duke provided computer resources from his company to do so. He was also part of interference hunting.

George Cavaliere, WB2HPI, who worked for one of the major television networks, was our resident videographer. George is always ready to help out whenever he can, whether it is for Field
Day, setting up displays, ARES, or any emergencies.

Ed Pores, WA2ZBV, (sk) was a salesman of test equipment. He made trips to Egypt where he would collect Egyptian antiquities. He would bring back his finds to club meetings and do some interesting presentations.

Woody Gerstener, WB2IAP (sk), was the editor of the LIMARC Log as well as Section Manager of the ARRL. He was a retired court officer.

Jay Rosensweig, N2FP (sk),formerly WA2APJ ,was a television repairman. Back in the day when people had their TV’s repaired, Jay was a visitor to many of our homes. He was an active member of the club as a former President and was also on the board of directors. He was involved with field day, hidden transmitter hunts, and LIMARC bowling parties.

Bob Mauro, KZ2G, (sk), did not let polio dampen his spirit. His wheel chair was ham radio friendly. Bob was an accomplished author.

Helen Reed, K2AIU, (sk), had a scholarship started in her name after her passing. Ralph Reed, (sk), Helen’s husband, worked for Motorola. Two of their children also became hams. Their youngest daughter, a biologist, worked in the Antarctica on a research project.

Bruce Shapiro, W2NYP, formerly WB2CUN, worked for the broadcast industry. He did a live report from his car on the Avianca airplane crash while he was on his way to work. He also broadcasted the audio from the shuttle on 147.375, which was formerly in Plainview.

Rich Friedman, N2HH, (sk), was a lawyer at LILCO. He helped the club with legal issues.

Steve Mendelson, W2ML, (sk), (marathon leader), formerly WA2DHF, was an audio man for two major television networks. He was also the frequency coordinator for the NY Jets at their home games. He also had been in Naval Intelligence. Steve was a technical genius who was involved with the Olympics, the NYC Marathon, Field Day, and many other LIMARC events. He went to Nicaragua with the press, when the Pope visited that country. He told us of the teenagers there who were walking around with automatic weapons. When Steve got off the plane in the US, he kissed the ground.

Ed Piller, W2KPQ, (sk), was a professional in the military electronics field and a ham radio operator since 1937. He was a senior staff engineer with the Radio Receptor Division of General Instrument Corporation in Hicksville, as well as working at NBC for more than 10 years. He participated in the LIMARC VHF-FM mobile communications program using repeater techniques. He felt that this system would cover Long Island and much of the Metropolitan NY area with reliable mobile communications. Ed was also a promoter of amateur television.

Harry Dannals, W2HD, (formerly W2TUK) was a founding member of LIMARC, ARRL VP, and ARRL President.

Maurice Gutman, W2VL, (sk), a Major during WW II, received a Bronze Star for his leadership in communications support contributing to the rescue of 255 downed American planes and their pilots. He also made significant contributions to the establishment of communications stations in support of the invasion of Europe.

Kevin Kane, N2MEI, (sk), lost his life while trying to make sure that a burning building had been evacuated by all the tenants.

Mel Granick, K2SG, was an award winning radio personality on CBS. He has been on the Contest Committee for a countless number of years and has done a number of presentations to LIMARC about contest logging.

Andy Kirshenbaum, WA2CDL, was a Technical Committee Chair. His goal was to provide seamless communications from Montauk to Manhattan. He has been involved in all aspects of club activities, including ATV and direction finding. He has repaired many radios for club members over the years.

Don Kane, WB2BEZ, was an electrical engineer for Underwriters Lab and has worked for the LIRR among other jobs. Don has been on the Field Day committee and has been a Field Day Chair for a number of years. He has made many safety presentations at LIMARC as well as presenting at HRU.

Richie Cetron, K2KNB, was President of LIMARC from 2008 through 2013. He is also Webmaster, Public Information Officer for ARES, as well as Section Affiliated Club Coordinator. He is on the leadership team of HRU and involved in many activities of the club such as the Cradle of Aviation events, Field Day, and the Mini Field Day in front of the Levittown Library. Richie has been our supplier of shirts, coffee cups, and other LIMARC gear for many events. He is currently the Co-Chair for the 50th LIMARC Anniversary Celebration.

Ken Gunther, WB2KWC, has been a member of the club for over 40 years. He has been Secretary of LIMARC, is on the Board of Directors, and runs the Computer Net twice a month. Ken takes care of computer logging for Field Day and has done so starting from when he would type paper logs onto his Apple II.

Jerry Abrams, WB2ZEX, has been Membership Chairman and Treasurer for many years. He assists LIMARC in getting equipment from flea markets, online auctions, as well as working on Field Day. Jerry is there whenever needed. He is also on the HRU Planning Committee.

Lou Guidice, NY2H, has been on the Board of Directors for many years. He is also the Director of the Green Sky Project5

Bill Kawka, KC2SYL, in addition to serving as a Director, is co-chair of the 50/50 and participates in out hamfests, Field Day, and special events stations. He comes to the club with a great deal of board experience.

Jerry Eisenberg, K2CFG, (sk), was Assistant Director for the Bureau of Audio Visual Instruction for the NYC School System. It subsequently was known as the Office of Media and Technology. In the early days of LIMARC, Jerry literally built the UHF Repeater. He was Net Control for the LI Marathon for many years, and did so from his basement in Merrick. He was also net control for many other activities. When providing communications for the Boy Scout Encampment at Eisenhower Park, where there were over 10,000 scouts, there was a severe thunderstorm warning. People were beginning to panic but Jerry knew exactly who to call to find out the path of the storm. He then was able to calm the people.

Al Bender, W2QZ, was past President of LIMARC as well as VE Exam Committee Chair. He is the trustee of the W2VL repeaters.

Frank Fallon, N2FF, is a RTTY Contester. He was one of the leaders of a group called RADIO that would testify for zoning hearings before PRB1. Frank was also a Hudson Division Director for a number of years following Steve Mendelson. Frank was also a Director of LIMARC.

Sid Wolin, K2LJH, (sk), was an engineer and past President and Vice President.

Norm Wesler, K2YEW, (sk), was an engineer. His company did the lighting on a number of the city bridges as well as the commemorative light display for the World Trade Center. He was President of LIMARC and a musician who used to play at LIMARC parties. At times he would hire musicians to play at the parties. His wife, Etta W2ETA is also a ham. A memorial fund was set up in Norm’s name. He also was the host of the memorable Morning Show. Norm, along with George Tranos, N2GA ran LIMARC’s licensing classes enabling many to get their licenses.

Lloyd H. Mills, WB2ZIT, (sk). He and Norm were known for the Morning Show, which would provide great entertainment for the morning drive time. They would “sell” items such as antenna wax to help one’s signal get off the antenna better. Everything they “sold”, cost $19.95.

Eric Spiegel, KE2EJ, is Chief Engineer for WLIW. He currently serves as Technical Committee chairman and has contributed greatly to increasing the capabilities of our repeater system.

Bernie Hunt, K2YO, a member of the Technical Committee, has been instrumental in expanding our computer control systems.

Jim Mezey, W2KFV, is currently the Section Manager for New York-LI. He formerly served as DEC for Nassau County. He also serves as a volunteer fireman and as a Nassau County Fire Commissioner.

Art Altarac, WA2KXE, was past President and Secretary of LIMARC.

John Wilson, KD2AKX, is on the Board of Directors as well as actively working with the Technical Committee. He is the ADEC for Nassau County ARES.

Les Ostrick, K2TGW, is the main auditor for LIMARC and Parliamentarian. He also served on the Board of Directors for many years.

Jay Marcucci, KC2YSK, is the Bylaws Committee Chairman and past Vice President. He is a Supervisor in the Westbury School District.

John Reiser, W2GW, is a DX’er and a QSL Card Checker for WAS and DXCC.

Ed Muro, K2EPM, served a number of terms as Vice President.

Rob Biamonte, WB2OMW, was a President who relocated to Pennsylvania. He is now W3OMW.

Bob Batchelor, W2OSR, serviced highly sophisticated scientific equipment. Bob has served as Director, Secretary, and Vice-President, and is a member of the Technical Committee.

Dave Akins, AK1NS, is a master-locksmith and expert on commercial locks. He has served as a Director and will now be taking on the role of Vice-president. He is DEC of Nassau County ARES as well as the President of ARCECS.

Stephen Greenbaum, WB2KDG, has served on the LIMARC Board for four years. He assists LIMARC at the hamfests, as well as being Treasurer of HOSARC and their Hamfest Chairman.

Tim Cregan, N2RDB, has served as Nassau County DEC, and Emergency Coordinator for ARCECS.

Andy Kaufman, KB2AZG, has been our Field Day Chairman for the past few years.

****************************************

Hudson Division Assistant Director and Award Recipients.
NYC, LI Section
(8 Ass’t Directors out of 17 are LIMARC members):

Rick Bressler K2RB, Richie Cetron K2KNB, Mel Granick KS2G, Lew Malchick N2RQ, Diane Ortiz K2DO, Nancy Rosner N2TKA, Rich Rosner N2STU, and George Tranos N2GA.

ARRL Hudson Division Award Recipients:
Past Recipients of the ARRL HudsonDivision Awards

Amateur of the Year Award
Richard Cetron 2020
Richie Cetron K2KNB, 2012
George Tranos, N2GA, 2011
Nancy Rosner, N2TKA, 2010
James Mezey, Jr., W2KFV, 2009
Robert Todaro, N1XL, 1998

Grand Ol’ Ham Award

Sid Wolin K2LJH (sk) 2012
Diane Ortiz K2DO 2009
George Gluck WA2WKV (sk) 2008
Lew Malchick N2RQ 2005
Norm Wesler K2YEW (sk), 1998

Technical Achievement Award

Joe Gomez W2BMP 2014
Richard Knadle Jr. K2RIW 1998

Special Recognition Award

Steve Mendelsohn W2ML (sk) – 2011
Richard Rosner N2STU – 2008

LIMARC is an ARRL Affiliated Club as well as an ARRL Special Service Club.