When I teach ham classes, I try to stress all of the principles of amateur radio as expressed in Part 97, including,
(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur’s unique ability to enhance international goodwill.
As I was thinking about that the other day, it occurred to me that the ARRL should have an award recognizing hams who actually do “enhance international goodwill.” So, I searched the ARRL website and found that we actually do have one – the ARRL International Humanitarian Award.
Unfortunately, this award is not getting the attention it deserves, imho. The web page does not list any of the previous winners, and while I did find some calls for applications in back issues of the ARRL Letter posted on the website, the winners were rarely mentioned. One Letter mentioned the 1999 winner, another mentioned the 2003 winner, a third mentioned the 2008 winner. Perhaps those were the only years the award was given. I’m not sure.
Also, in each of the Letters that I viewed, there was a link to the page describing the award. Unfortunately, all of those links connected to the page on the old website and are now no longer good.
At any rate, here’s this year’s official call for nominations:
Nominations are open for the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award. The award is conferred upon an amateur or amateurs who demonstrate devotion to human welfare, peace and international understanding through Amateur Radio. The League established the annual prize to recognize Amateur Radio operators who have used ham radio to provide extraordinary service to others in times of crisis or disaster.
A committee appointed by the League’s President recommends the award recipient(s) to the ARRL Board, which makes the final decision. The committee is now accepting nominations from Amateur Radio, governmental or other organizations that have benefited from extraordinary service rendered by an Amateur Radio operator or group.
Amateur Radio is one of the few telecommunication services that allow people throughout the world from all walks of life to meet and talk with each other, thereby spreading goodwill across political boundaries. The ARRL International Humanitarian Award recognizes Amateur Radio’s unique role in international communication and the assistance amateurs regularly provide to people in need.
Nominations should include a summary of the nominee’s actions that qualify the individual (or individuals) for this award, plus verifying statements from at least two people having first-hand knowledge of the events warranting the nomination. These statements may be from an official of a group (for example, the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, a local or state emergency management official) that benefited from the nominee’s particular Amateur Radio contribution. Nominations should include the names and addresses of all references.
All nominations and supporting materials for the 2010 ARRL International Humanitarian Award must be submitted in writing in English to ARRL International Humanitarian Award, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 USA. Nomination submissions are due by December 31, 2010. In the event that no nominations are received, the committee itself may determine a recipient or decide to make no award.
The winner of the ARRL International Humanitarian Award receives an engraved plaque and a profile in QST and other ARRL venues.
I’ll continue to work on getting the folks at HQ to get the links straightened out and the previous winners posted. Please feel free to e-mail your ARRL directors and have them ask HQ to do the same.
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