Former ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Joseph A. “Joe” Ames, W3JY, of Paoli, Pennsylvania, died on March 5. An ARRL Life Member, he was 57. Ames served as EPA SM from 2014 until 2016. He was one of the founders of Radio Relay International, an independent traffic-handling organization.

A ham since 1977, Ames devoted many years to amateur radio public service organizations including Delaware County and Chester County ARES/RACES, and as an emergency communications instructor and Volunteer Examiner. He served as Section Traffic Manager in the 1980s, and was once president of the Carbon County Amateur Radio Club. He previously served the ARRL Field Organization with appointments as Assistant Section Manager in Eastern Pennsylvania, Official Emergency Station, and Official Relay Station. In 2015, he was elected as the Eastern Area Staff Chair of the ARRL National Traffic System, and net manager of the Eastern Pennsylvania Emergency Phone & Traffic Net.

Ames was a member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA), Chapter 166. His QCWA profile includes, “Joe was introduced to radio by his father, Joe Sr., who patiently and lovingly guided and supported him from childhood short-wave listening during the long winters of the early 1970s through the CB heyday and to his first ham radio station.”