[SFDXA] West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group 2013 Dayton Hamvention Club of the Year!

[Bill]

Congratulations West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group!

The Dayton Hamvention Club of the Year award is among the most
prestigious recognitions that an Amateur Radio Club can receive and
they are only the 4th club to be so honored in the 61 year history of
the Dayton Hamvention. This is an International Award with clubs from
around the world being considered. The last winner was the Deutsche
Amateur Radio Club of Germany.

The criteria the judging panel considers includes the club's
contribution in mitigating the effects of disaster situations, support
of public service events, amateur radio education and recruitment,
youth programs, years of service, number of members, and local media
coverage. The awards chairman Michael Kalter, W8CI, said that we
excelled in every one of the judged criteria and made special note of
our work with the South Florida Science Museum, youth recruitment, our
large ARISS contact, training classes and excellent media coverage.
After narrowing down the field of candidates on paper, telephone
interviews were conducted to make the final choice.

It should be noted that this award reflects the efforts of the entire
club, and no single individual or small group of individuals is
responsible for all of us being so honored. The 150 members of the club
all contribute something to the success as a group. Every single member
is important to the club and everyone makes a difference by the sharing
of their time and experience. It is this combination of people that has
made the club successful and worthy of such an honor.

This award also reflects favorably on the state of Ham Radio in Palm
Beach County. With about half of our 1600 square mile county densely
populated and some 3000 licensed Amateur Radio Operators, no single
club can meet the needs of all. We have about 10 active clubs in the
county, all serving different geographical or specific interest areas.
And unlike some areas where there is a lot of competition between
clubs, we have a lot of cooperation between clubs in Palm Beach County.
We are all united by our enjoyment of Ham Radio. We are all Hams first
and club members second. And we all work toward the common goal of
improving Ham Radio in Palm Beach County for everyone.

For more information on the West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group visit
our website at www.wpbarc.com

73,
Greg Sarratt, W4OZK
ARRL Southeastern Division Director

Jim Millsap, WB4NWS
ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director

www.southeastern.arrl.org