[CCF] CQ WW Director K5ZD

[Jukka Klemola]

NEWS RELEASE

For more information, contact:
Richard Moseson (W2VU)
Editor, CQ Amateur Radio
   (516) 681-2922 / w2vu at cq-amateur-radio.com
Randy Thompson (K5ZD)
   k5zd at cqwpx.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 1, 2012

Randy Thompson, K5ZD, Named Director of CQ World Wide DX Contest

(Hicksville, NY) October 1, 2012 -- CQ Contest Hall of Fame member and
WPX Contest Director Randy Thompson, K5ZD, has been named Director of
the CQ World Wide DX Contest, effective immediately. Randy succeeds
Bob Cox, K3EST, who retired in September after 35 years at the helm of
the world's most popular amateur radio contest.

Thompson, 53, has been a ham since age 13. He is an accomplished
contester, having multiple wins in the CQ World Wide DX Contest and
the CQ WPX Contest, among others. He has also competed in four World
Radiosport Team Championships. In addition, Randy is a past editor of
the "National Contest Journal" (a post he has held three separate
times) and a co-founder of the eHam.net website. He is a longtime
member of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and an instructor at K3LR's
Contest University. He has been Director of the CQ WPX Contest since
2008, coincidentally the same year in which he was inducted into the
CQ Contest Hall of Fame.

"The CQ WW is the biggest event on the contest calendar," commented
Thompson. "I am honored to be involved and follow in the giant
footsteps of K3EST. With the great conditions we are seeing on the
bands, this year should be the biggest CQ WW ever! The first order of
business is to have the team ready for the new 5-day log deadline and
faster results reporting."

CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, said Thompson's appointment marks the
start of a new chapter in the history of CQ World Wide DX Contest,
adding "The CQ management team looks forward to working with Randy as
CQWW Director. His four years as WPX Contest Director have already
demonstrated his ability to successfully and creatively guide a major
contest, and we are totally confident that he will take the CQWW to
even greater heights."

Thompson's appointment to the directorship of the CQWW creates a
vacancy for director of the CQ WPX Contests. Anyone interested in
taking on the challenge of leading a major contest should contact
Randy at <k5zd at cqwpx.com>.