Rick Crockett

Faculty & Staff

Ever since Rick Crockett took a class for hams at his high school in the San Francisco area, he was hooked on amateur radio. “I stayed late every day working in the lab,” he said.

Today he is retired from General Motors and teaching ham radio certification classes at St. Charles Community College.

“Ham radio has been a big part of my life,” Crockett said. “It is a hobby, but it also gave me transferrable skills for work.” He explained that he has held several positions at the General Motors Wentzville Assembly Center from teaching electronics, to maintenance, programming and management before he retired. The job took him around the world, but he spent most of his time in the Wentzville center. He even worked shortly after his retirement training workers for skilled trades at GM through SCC’s Corporate and Community Development Division.

Ham radio provides broad and powerful wireless communications capability. According to the American Radio Relay League, amateur radio operators (or hams) have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the “Amateur Bands.” These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators. 

“I like helping new people get started. I love to see kids get into the hobby,” he said. In addition to teaching the ham certification classes, he also coordinates the judges for the annual Robotics Challenge for middle and high school students, hosted by General Motors Wentzville Assembly Center and the St. Charles Community College Workforce Development Department. 

Crockett lives in O’Fallon, Mo. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from Arizona State University. He and his wife have six children.

Last Updated: Jan. 27, 2014