One of the greatest privileges of being an ARRL Affiliated Club is getting the news that one of our very own is being honored with a prestigious award. Sam Lovett KI5RSV is being awarded the 2023 Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Youth Award.
Hiram Percy Maxim was born September 2, 1869 and lived 66 years, credited as being one of the pioneers of American radio and one of the co-founders of the American Radio Relay League. Here is a little excerpt from Wikipedia:
He created the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in 1914 as a response to the lack of an organized group of “relay” stations to pass messages via amateur radio. Relaying messages allowed them to be sent farther than any single station’s reach at the time. He originally had the amateur call signs SNY, 1WH, 1ZM, (after World War I) 1AW, and later W1AW, which is now the ARRL Headquarters club station call sign. His rotary spark-gap transmitter “Old Betsy” has a place of honor at the ARRL Headquarters. The ARRL presents an annual award named for Maxim to a radio amateur and ARRL member under the age of 21.
(From the ARRL website) The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award is given annually to a licensed radio amateur under the age of 21. The nominee must be a current ARRL member. The nominee’s accomplishments and contributions to both the community of Amateur Radio and the local community should be of the most exemplary nature. These activities may include:
Participation or leadership in organizational affairs at the local or national level (for example: local radio club, ARES, net control, participation in civic groups);Technical achievement (for example: built a radio, put up an antenna, etc);
Operating record (for example: nets, disaster drills, contests, Sweepstakes, etc);
Recruitment and training of new amateurs (for example: helped teach a license class, JOTA, etc);
Public relations activities (for example: create a ham radio Web page).
The award is intended to provide a tangible reward to those deserving young amateurs who contribute their time, skills and energies daily through their commitment to Amateur Radio. As models for their peers, and inspirations to us all, these fine young people are highly visible boosters of Amateur Radio awareness. We must continue to recognize and encourage their hard work and contributions at every opportunity. The prize consists of a cash award of $1,500 and a suitably engraved plaque.
Congratulations to Sam KI5RSV.