Because:
- I have so much fun operating from lighthouses,
- Michigan (my home state) has the most lighthouses of any state in the U.S. (the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society lists 203 sites in their database),
- and I would like to promote operating from Michigan lightouses,
I’m proposing the Michigan Lighthouse Award. The purpose of this award is to get people on the air and get them to visit some of these lighthouse sites. Maybe they’ll also be motivated to join some of these lighthouse societies and help out with lighthouse preparation. (I am a member of the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse Society and the Alcona Historical Society, which is working to preserve the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse.)
Here’s a mockup that I came up with this morning. It’s derived from a State of Michigan lighthouse map. Each lighthouse is numbered, and I plan to put the list on the back of the certificate. (If you have some skill at graphic design, and would like to help out with this award, please get in touch.)
To qualify for the award, you’d have to make at least five contacts from at least five different Michigan ARLHS lighthouse sites. I’m thinking that there will be a PDF version that can be downloaded from this website, and if someone wanted a printed version, then there will be small charge for printing and mailing.
To be honest, I don’t qualify for the award yet, myself. I have only activated four different lighthouses, including the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse, Lightship Huron, Tawas Point Lighthouse, and the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse. I plan to visit the Belle Isle Lighthouse, which is actually the closest one to me here in Ann Arbor, before the summer is over.
Let me know if you have any interest in this award, especially if you already qualify for it. I’m going to go ahead with this one way or another.