CQ magazine is pleased to announce its 2016 inductees to the CQ
DX and Contest and Halls of Fame. The
CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame honor those amateurs who not only excel in
personal performance in these major areas of amateur radio but who also
"give back" to the hobby in outstanding ways.
CQ DX Hall of Fame
This
year, we induct not only two amateurs, but an entire ship's crew to the CQ DX
Hall of Fame. The 2016 inductees are:
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| CQ DX Hall of Fame inductee Nigel Jolly, K6NRJ (left), at the Dayton Hamvention with CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU (center) and DX Hall of Fame member Bob Allphin, K4UEE, who presided over the 2016 induction ceremony. |
Nigel Jolly, KC3HAE*, and the
Crew of the RV Braveheart –
Read the story of virtually any major DXpedition to sub-Antarctic islands in
the past 15 years and the chances are excellent that the team's transportation
was provided by the RV (Research Vessel) Braveheart and its owner,
Nigel Jolly, newly licensed as KC3HAE. Jolly, who recently earned
his U.S. General Class license, is responsible not only for getting operators
safely to and from their extremely remote destinations but for assuring their
safety while there, particularly in the face of fast-developing weather
extremes. It is safe to say that without Nigel Jolly, his crew and the
Braveheart, many of the biggest DXpeditions of the past 15 years simply would
not have taken place. (* Jolly subsequently applied for and received a vanity call. His new call sign is K6NRJ.)
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| Roger Balister, G3KMA (Courtesy G3KMA) |
Roger Balister, G3KMA – It seems there are award programs today
for just about anything and everything one can put "on the air," from
national parks and summits to castles and zoos. And it all goes back to islands
– the Islands on the Air (IOTA) program created by DX Hall of Famer Geoff Watts
for the Radio Society of Great Britain and administered since 1985 by Roger
Balister, G3KMA. Under his leadership, the IOTA program has blossomed
into one of the most popular award programs in amateur radio, growing from a
few hundred early participants to more than 10,000 today. Earlier this year,
RSGB turned over administration of the program to a new independent
organization, but Roger remains at the helm, with a new title of IOTA Managing
Director. Roger
is a very accomplished DXer in his own right, with 378 confirmed DX entities
(#3 in the UK on the DXCC Honor Roll), the highest UK score in the DXCC
Challenge and the #4/World position on the IOTA Honor Roll, with more than 1100
islands confirmed.
The
2016 inductees to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame are:
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Randy Thompson, K5ZD, presents
Contest Hall of Fame
plaque to Tod Olson, K0TO, at the Contest Dinner in Dayton, Ohio, 5/21/2016. Photo by N6TV. |
Tod Olson, K0TO – Tod is the founding editor of
the National Contest Journal and has
been a contester since he was first licensed as WN0IYP in the early 1950s. He
has been promoting contesting and mentoring newcomers for nearly as long, and
has served the amateur radio community as an ARRL Section Manager, Vice
Director, Division Director and International Affairs Vice President, a
position in which he represented the interests of amateur radio on an
international level. He did all this while maintaining a professional career as
a chemist and physicist at General Mills, where, among other things, he developed
methods of keeping cake mixes fresh on store shelves for months at a time.
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| Randy Thompson, K5ZD, presents Contest Hall of Fame plaque for Richard Strand, KL7RA (SK), to his son Jeff Strand and his wife Jyl Strand, at the Contest Dinner in Dayton, Ohio, 5/21/2016. Photo by N6TV. |
Richard Strand, KL7RA (SK) – If you've ever worked Alaska in a
contest, there's a good chance that KL7RA is in your logbook. A radio
astronomer taking advantage of the quiet of the northern latitudes for his
research, Rich Strand built and maintained highly competitive contest stations
in a very difficult environment and was, for many hams, their first (or only)
CQ Zone 1 contact. Rich also recruited and mentored new hams across Alaska and
made friends all over the world, as evidenced by the multiple nominations we
received after his untimely passing late last year, from locations far from
KL7-land, including Missouri, Texas and Tennessee.
Formal
inductions to the CQ Contest and DX Halls of Fame were conducted in conjunction
with the Dayton Hamvention® in May. Contest Hall of Fame presentations were
made at the Dayton Contest Dinner by CQ World Wide DX Contest Director Randy
Thompson, K5ZD; DX Hall of Fame inductions were conducted at the Dayton DX
Dinner on our behalf (and with our thanks) by noted DXer and CQ DX Hall of Fame
member Bob Allphin, K4UEE.