​About Us

2019 Officers and Board of Directors

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​Richard Siff, W4BUE  President (2019/2020), Director
​Ed Gibbs, KW4GF  Vice President, Director
James Stallings, KN4JRD  Secretary, Director
Bill Mellema, N3WM  Treasurer, Director
Michael Baxter, WB4BAX  Director
Lucas Dunham, KM4KSO  Director
Duane Ettwein, KJ4YKG  Director
William Fairing, W1ATA  Director
Steve Nowak, KE8YN  Director
Richard Palmieri, KM4WAA  Director
Robert Smith, KJ4EZH  Director
Mike Vaillancourt, KM4GIY  Director

Our Founder

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​Richard L. Siff ("Rich"), W4BUE has been a radio amateur for more than 50 years.  He is the founder and a past president of the K4AMG Memorial Amateur Radio Club.  He is currently an active member of the Board of Directors.  There is nothing he likes better than being an "Elmer", a mentor, to young people seeking to become hams.  Rich has introduced literally hundreds of young people to the joys of amateur radio.
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​Aside from the K4AMG Memorial Amateur Radio Club, Rich is also a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) and its local Chapter 119, the Old Old Timers Club (OOTC), a Life Member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and a Life Member of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT).    Rich earned prestigious awards for WAS (Worked All States), WAC (Worked All Continents), and DXCC (100 Countries) on 160 meters.  An avid contester, he was #8 in North America and #10 in the world on 160 meters for the CQWW event.

Who Are We?

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K4AMG is a 501(c)3 charitable organization designed to mentor the youth in our community in electronics and wireless communications through the use of amateur radio.  Our organization began mentoring youth in the Chesapeake, VA area in 2007 as a group of conscientious parents looking for a way to get youth interested in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  The Chesapeake Public School System had a Radio Broadcasting class at that time that taught students the operation and management of a broadcast radio station.  The class had the added privilege of having the city’s public radio station, WFOS 88.7 FM, within the classroom area of the class.  The relationship between the class and the radio station provided a theoretical training environment for the students.  However, the class lacked a practical exposure to electronics and wireless communications.  Our group worked with the school’s administrators and demonstrated how a hobby in amateur radio could provide this practical exposure and at the same time promote the school’s STEM objectives.  The school district offered our group the opportunity to come into the broadcasting class on a volunteer basis and with us came the amateur radio practical solution we demonstrated.
Through working with the broadcast radio class, the group saw that promoting a hobby in amateur radio could be used to bridge the way to promoting the STEM disciplines.  Since that time the club has grown and in 2012 incorporated into a formal club and received our 501(c)3 status.  The club has formed two high school amateur radio clubs within the Chesapeake School District.  We work with the youth in these clubs in getting their amateur radio license by providing mentoring and reference material for the test, monetary assistance paying for the test, and equipment to get them on the air once they get their license.  Beyond the radio clubs, our club works with youth groups, attends festivals, and sets up field day like operations promoting the hobby of amateur radio.  The club can provide these services through monetary and equipment donations from amateur radio enthusiasts like yourself concerned about our youth as we are.
Promoting the STEM disciplines was and is our goal.  Since our beginning we have learned and promoted the concept of amateur radio being more than just a hobby.  It is a hobby rooted deep in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  We demonstrate how a proficiency in specific areas of the STEM fields is required to pass the FCC amateur radio test.  We show that amateur radio operators must demonstrate proficiency in such areas as
  • Science to measure, analyze, and explain complex electronic circuits and electromagnetic wave propagation
  • Technology to connect a transceiver with a computer and/or mechanical devices to communicate with people throughout the world using all modes of communication
  • Engineering to design and maintain antenna systems
  • Math to solve Ohm’s Law, power, and complex impedance equations.
The information required to pass the test sounds difficult.  It is difficult but K4AMG members have been mentoring youth as young as 8-years old and preparing them to pass the test.  However, it is more than just passing a test.  We believe the exposure to the STEM subjects gives our students a competitive advantage over their peers.  A hobby it may be, but we hope to open a world of electronics and wireless communications to them that can help prepare them for future careers.
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K4AMG 501 (c) 3 Statement