Ham of the Year Award

MSUARC Amateur Radio Operator of the Year Award

The MSUARC “Ham of the Year” award is presented to a club member who has served with great distinction throughout the year. As a permanent keepsake, the winner is usually given a plaque. Previous year’s award winners are listed below with their year of receiving.

Selection Process

Basic eligibility requirements:

Licensed Amateur radio operator.
Active MSUARC member for minimum of six months.
Have not received this award for past five years.

Selection Criteria:

The “Ham of the Year” should “stand out” in each of the following general areas, by being commendable in one or more of the examples given. Note: “Ham of the Year” signifies the Amateur that the club is recognizing this year; accomplishments of more than the past year are considered.

Individual Preparedness:

Upgraded license; CPR & First Aid trained; Weather-Spotting trained; message-handling trained; installation of capable personal stations (base, mobile, portable, multiband & multimode, emergency-power).
Regular activities with MSUARC: regular participant in club meetings, foxhunts and other club operating events; Field Day operator and worker; Hamfest Committee worker; club officer; NCS; participant in skywarn nets; communications provider in community events (parade, foot race, etc).
Club & Amateur Radio support “above and beyond the norm”: exceptional service in an operating event or club activity or emergency; as an especially effective leader; as a visible good example or “ambassador” of Amateur Radio to the community; for leadership or very-active participation in a related volunteer service such as ARES, MARS, DES, etc.; or for exceptional donation of effort or resources to MSUARC.

Selection Procedure

In the October MSUARC meeting, these criteria are to be presented and the procedures discussed, and amended if necessary.
A “Ham of the Year” Committee will be appointed by the President, to consist of two or three previous recipients of this Award; preferably the two or three immediately preceding selections. If less than two previous recipients are available or able to serve, the President will appoint Committee members as needed from the general club membership. The Committee will manage all remaining aspects of the Award selection and presentation.
Following the discussion of procedure, verbal nominations for selection will be taken from the floor. Each nominator will be limited to one nomination.
After nominations have ceased, general discussion will be invited to support the qualifications of each nominated individual in view of the criteria cited above. Nominators may speak in support of any nominee in the ensuing discussion.
A secret preliminary ballot will then be conducted, each active Club member in attendance voting for one nominee. The Committee will tally the votes and report the top three vote recipients in alphabetical order, without reporting the number of votes each received. If there are less than four nominations, then this step will be omitted.
In the November MSUARC meeting, secret balloting of the three finalist nominees will be conducted, each active Club member in attendance voting for one. The Committee will tally the final votes, the recipient and numbers remaining secret. In case of a tie for first, a runoff of the top two will be conducted.
The recipient will be announced at the annual MSUARC Christmas party. The recipient will be presented a plaque prepared by the Committee, and will be awarded honorary MSUARC dues payment for the following year.

Past Recipients:

1997 – William Call, KJ4W

1998 – William Slayman, KY4NU

1999 – Ivan Wrablic, W9IC

2000 – Billy Miller, KB9RPO

2001 – John Hart, KO4ZE

2002 – Whipple Walker, N4STW

2003 – Mark Garland, K4SDI

2004 – Randall Winchester, WD4HVA

2005 – Rich Beam, K4ADW

2006 – Valerie Barrett, KG4OCJ

2007 – Matt Freeman, WX4MET