Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Marty Sullaway, KC1CWF, Named 2017 Young Ham of the Year


Marty Sullaway, KC1CWF, of Newton, Massachusetts, has been selected as the 2017 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year. Marty,15, is the son of Robert  Sullaway and Gail Schulman. CQ is a corporate co-sponsor of the Young Ham of the Year award.
2017 Newsline Young Ham of the Year Marty Sullaway,
KC1CWF

Marty was first licensed as a Technician in November 2014. He quickly worked his way to General earning his ticket in February 2015. He became an Extra Class operator this past February.

Marty is co-founder of the Eastern Massachusetts Contesting Club and trustee of its call sign KR1DX. Marty created the club to get more young people involved in amateur radio in the suburban Boston area. He has helped teach and mentor many young people, sparking interest in HF contesting. Marty is a member of the Yankee Clipper Contest Club and very active in the contest community. He currently serves on the American Radio Relay League Contest Advisory Committee. KC1CWF's efforts in contesting have netted many accolades, including the 2015 CQWW SSB USA "Rookie" plaque. His score of 1,312,305 operating from K1VR still stands as the CQWW rookie record.

Marty also is QSL manager for three stations in the Yukon and is a board member of the Clay Center Amateur Radio Club which promotes amateur radio at the Dexter/Southfield School in Brookline, Massachusetts. He runs his own podcast, presented at the 2016 Dayton Hamvention Youth Forum, and appears regularly on the W5KUB "Amateur Radio Roundtable" webcast. He even serves as a back-up studio when technical issues arise.
Marty also is involved in amateur radio public service activities, including serving as a net control operator for the Boston Marathon. He is also the owner of his own consulting company, "Newtown Mass Tech," where he handles such tasks as home computer installation to VOIP connections for clients throughout the Boston area.
Marty is entering his sophomore year at Meridian Academy in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, this fall where he has been active in the Model United Nations program for four years and has earned multiple awards, including best delegate. Marty is currently vice president of his  United Synagogue Youth chapter and is involved in an Israeli folk dance group.

His nominator, CQ Kit-Building Editor Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, described Marty as an "extraordinary young man," noting that "Marty has accomplished things at age 15 that many hams take years to do. And he is only beginning."

Marty will be recognized during the Huntsville Hamfest on August 19 in the Von Braun Center, Huntsville Alabama.

The Young Ham of the Year Award was inaugurated by William Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 1986. Upon his passing in 2015, Bill's name was added to the award as a memorial to his commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of young people to the amateur radio service.

In addition the Amateur Radio Newsline, CQ magazine and Yaesu USA are primary sponsors, along with Heil Sound Ltd. and Radiowavz Antenna Company.