Owing perhaps to grand coincidence, the 100th birthday of the ARRL — the actual day — will fall on Sunday, May 18, the final day of Dayton Hamvention® 2014. On that date a century earlier, Amateur Radio pioneers Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence Tuska, founded the American Radio Relay League. On Sunday, May 18, at 9:15 AM in Room 1 of Hara Arena, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, will host a party, complete with a cake, to wish the ARRL a happy 100th birthday.

Dayton Hamvention is a Regional ARRL Centennial Event. W100AW/8 will be on the air from Hamvention as a special event station.

ARRL EXPO in the Ballarena will be the nerve center of the League’s Hamvention presence, which will include booths highlighting various League activities. Visitors can pick up a free Centennial Coin, while supplies last. The ARRL Store will offer for sale various ARRL publications and all manner of gear — don’t forget ARRL Field Day supplies (T shirts, hats, mugs, posters)! Visitors who join ARRL or renew their League memberships at ARRL EXPO will receive a free gift. Join or renew for 3 years and take home a free ARRL Centennial Edition Handbook. ARRL Dayton 2014 buttons also will be available for free.

ARRL EXPO exhibits will include the ARRL Laboratory’s “Get Your Handheld Radio Tested!” as well as the Youth Lounge and activities aimed especially at younger visitors. Representatives from ARRL Headquarters and many volunteers will be on hand for DXCC card checking and to answer questions about ARRL contests and awards, the Centennial QSO Party, the QSL Service, Logbook of The World, the ARRL Second Century Campaign, ham radio and Scouting, and more.

ARRL EXPO also is the place to meet and network with ARRL Field Organization volunteers from around the country. The ARRL Ohio Section will serve as the host for visitors.

The League will sponsor several forums throughout Hamvention weekend. On Friday, May 16, at 2:30 PM in Room 5, the League will present the video “ARRL at 100 — A Century of Ham Radio.” A discussion will follow about the ARRL Centennial celebration and ways hams can help to promote Amateur Radio in their communities. Attendees will receive a complimentary ARRL historical timeline. A repeat presentation will take place Saturday at 10:30 AM in Room 3.

The popular ARRL Member Forum will take place on Saturday at 1:15 PM in Room 3. ARRL Great Lakes Division Director Jim Weaver, K8JE, will moderate. National and local League officials will be on hand to discuss key areas of member interest. At more than 163,000 members, the League is the world’s largest national Amateur Radio association.

The League also will sponsor two antenna-related forums on Saturday at Dayton. Starting at 9:15 AM in Room 5, The ARRL Handbook and The ARRL Antenna Book Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, will host “Getting Started with Antenna Modeling.” The discussion will focus on how to use antenna modeling software to design simple antennas, based on the EZNEC antenna modeling program. Saturday afternoon at 2:30 in Room 3, Silver will present “Impedance Matching 101,” an overview of impedance matching for amateur applications — what it is, and why it’s necessary.

The ARRL will be marking its Centennial throughout Hamvention weekend, too. It’s a good time to learn more about the ARRL National Centennial Convention, July 17-19 in Hartford, Connecticut.