Mark Torigian K8MST is a retired attorney, former general counsel for Hyundai Motor Company, and now a driving force behind establishing strong governance principles with the newly formed Parks on the Air board. Licensed in 2021 after decades of putting off the hobby, Mark dove headfirst into ham radio—and POTA—during the pandemic, first as a hunter, then as an activator with hundreds of parks under his belt. In just a few years, he went from newcomer to board member of one of the fas...
Mark Torigian K8MST is a retired attorney, former general counsel for Hyundai Motor Company, and now a driving force behind establishing strong governance principles with the newly formed Parks on the Air board. Licensed in 2021 after decades of putting off the hobby, Mark dove headfirst into ham radio—and POTA—during the pandemic, first as a hunter, then as an activator with hundreds of parks under his belt. In just a few years, he went from newcomer to board member of one of the fastest-growing programs in amateur radio. With nearly 50 million QSOs logged, 84,000 registered operators, and 85,000 parks across 236 DX entities, POTA isn’t just thriving—it’s reshaping the hobby. Mark brings something different to the table: four decades of legal and corporate governance experience. At Hyundai, his mission was program integrity—building rules, systems, and internal controls that could withstand explosive growth. Now he’s applying that same mindset to POTA. Not to burden activators and hunters with red tape, but to strengthen the foundation behind the scenes: bylaws, board structure, financial oversight, data privacy protections, and clearer rules that eliminate ambiguity. “If ten hams interpret a rule and you get twenty-five answers,” he says, “we need to fix that.” Behind the curtain, a 21-person volunteer development team led by James Linden, VE3JLN, is rewriting the IT backbone—modernizing a decade-old cloud-based system that now processes more than a million QSOs a month. Add to that the financial reality: roughly $5,000–$6,000 per month just to keep the servers running. No corporate sponsor bankrolls this operation. It’s volunteers, modest book royalties, and community donations keeping the engine alive. And yet, the spirit remains intact. Mark tells the story of operating Winter Field Day at minus 15 degrees—three antennas up in an hour—proving that POTA is more than a game. It’s training. It’s readiness. It’s community. His pledge? Make it better without breaking what already works. Stronger governance. Greater transparency. Seamless improvement. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio. A special thank you to DX Engineering for standing behind operators everywhere—from Parks on the Air activators to dedicated DXers and contesters—with equipment and expertise that keep stations on the air. Your support helps ensure this global community continues to grow and thrive.
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