WLSAR Board Members
President - Douglas Nelson, AAØAW:
Doug currently serves as the ARRL ARES, Minnesota Section, DEC for the Northeast District of Minnesota.
Doug lives in the Gary-New Duluth neighborhood of Duluth MN in St Loius County with his wife, Cheryl.
Treasurer - David Miller, WØNWO:
Dave is currently the ARRL ARES, Wisconsin Section, EC for Douglas County in Wisconsin.
Dave lives in Hermantown MN with his wife, Mary.
Secretary - Jeffrey Nast, KCØMKS:
Jeff currently serves as the ARRL ARES, Minnesota Section, EC for Lake County in Minnesota.
Jeff lives in Knife River MN with his wife, Diane. They have two sons, one of which will be married in May 2023. Jeff attended Lakewood Community College (White Bear Lake, MN) in 1976 with a focus in Biology. He graduated in 1978 from Dunwoody Industrial Institute (Minneapolis MN) in Electrical Construtcion, Electronic and Digital Controls. Jeff has retired from 42 years in the Computer Industry. He spent 20 years at IBM in large mainframe (water-cooled) systems as a CE/PSR/SEOS. He also spent 22 years at Essentia Health as a Systems Administrator for AS/400, AIX (Unix), Storage and Backups.
Jeff is very active in Duluth and surrounding communities. He serves as president for the North Shore Photo Club and volunteers at Anchor Point Church in Duluth running the Sound Board. He is also the Team Lead for ASRT - Arrowhead Skywarn Response Team, NWS - National Weather Service in Duluth Liasion for Lake County. He is also a Member of ARAC - Arrowhead Radio Amatuers Club, MWA - Minnesota Wireless Association, Spirit Valley Amateurs, Northeast MN Packet Group, and Lake County RACES/ARES. He also volunteers at local race events, such as Grandma’s Marathon Net Control Lead, Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon, MN Voyageur Trail Ultramarathon, NorthShore Inline Marathon, Wild Duluth Races and John Beargrease Cub Run.
One of Jeff’s favorite sayings is “I have more hobbies than time.” Hobbies include, but not limited to, Amateur Radio, Photography, Beekeeping, Wine Making, Hunting, Kayaking, Fly Fishing, Travel/Camping, Hiking, Backpacking, Woodworking...
Since 2005, Jeff has served as the only Net Control operator for the weekly Northland Weather Group Net. You will also hear him on local repeater systems, Fusion C4FM, DMR, Packet, Winlink and HF. Another favorite saying of his is “Don’t sit around and wait to have a good day, get our there and DO a good day!” Jeff is also the webmaster for this website.
Trustee - John Cavanaugh, KCØAFE:
John currently serves as the ARRL ARES, Minnesota Section, EC for Carlton County in Minnesota.
John lives in Cloquet MN with his wife, Kora. They are the parents of two children and have six grandchildren.
John retired from Minnesota Department of Transportation in the Summer of 2016, where he served as a Training Coordinator, a position he has held since 1990.
John graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in Geography. John also holds an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies, Associate of Science Degree in Weather Technology as well as a GIS certificate from UW Superior.
John served 21 years in the Minnesota Air National Guard as both a meteorological technician, and as a training Non-Commissioned Officer. John retired from the military in 1995, but presently serves as an active volunteer for the Minnesota National Guard Youth Camp.
John is also an active volunteer in the Northland community. He has worked with the Cloquet School system as a theatre technician and a guest lecturer. He enjoys being a Boy Scout Leader for Troop 171 in Cloquet and a volunteer on the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad.
John’s interests and hobbies include sailing, camping, Amateur Radio (KC0AFE), bicycling, and history. John is an avid fan of Star Trek, astronomy and aviation.
John’s philosophy at work and at home is to have fun and help people in the process.
Member At Large - Raymond Barnes, KEØZN:
Ray currently serves as the ARRL ARES, Minnesota Section, EC for Southern St Louis County in Minnesota.
Ray lives in North Star Township, Lost Lake Area near Duluth MN with his wife, Deborah.
Grant Writer - Diane Saunders, K0DSL:
Diane was first licened for Amateur Radio in 1968, then again in 2014. She is currently an ARES member in the Carlton County, St. Louis County, Lake County MN and Douglas County, WI groups. Diane is also member of the Arrowhead SKYWARN Response Team (ASRT) in Duluth MN. Diane has experience with digital and voice communication and computers. Diane resides in Duluth Minnesota.
Diane is a retired Respiratory Therapist, 21 years. She worked in acute and critical care medicine in Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well on a National Disaster Medical System Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MN-1 DMAT), 12 years. Diane wore two hats on the team, RT and Documentation Unit Leader. Diane was also a former Emergency Medical Technician-Basic, City of Middleton, WI, 12 years. Previous training in Hazardous materials Response-Technician level. Previous training in high angle, high level technical rope rescue. Minnesota-Certified Emergency Manager. Diane was a member of Highlands County, FL ARES with experience in amateur radio hurricane response.