AR Newsline Names 2007 Young Ham of the Year   

GRANT H. MORINE, W4GHM, NAMED RECIPIENT OF THE
2007 AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE? "YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR" AWARD
 
(Los Angeles, CA) -- Grant H. Morine (W4GHM), a 17-year-old from Wilmington, N.C., has been named the 2007 "Young Ham of the Year," according to ham radio operators and Award Administrator Bill Pasternak (WA6ITF) and Award Committee Chairman Mark Abramowicz (NT3V).  

Grant Morine was selected based on his commitment to Amateur Radio along with his work in public service and in promoting the hobby/service to others through the Boy Scouts of America program.  

The son of Bill (N2COP) and Pamela Morine, and the brother of Reid, W4RSM,  Grant was first licensed in June of 2001 at age 10 and holds a Technician class license. He was nominated largely based on a far-reaching public service project he spearheaded to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, which was to construct and donate thirty (30) 220 MHz. J-Pole antennas to the CARES (Carolinas Amateur Radio Emergency Services).  The antennas are indoor back-ups for the CARES network of hospitals in some of the storm-prone coastal Carolinas.  

To make this project a reality, Grant successfully solicited the donation of the needed raw materials from the Orchard Supply Hardware Company.  He then organized a group of three adults and ten scouts to assemble the antenna systems at his home.  After completion, each was tested for proper performance before being handed over to CARES managers in October 2006 for distribution to the needed locations.  Grant's antennas were recently proofed by CARES when they were utilized in test run in South Carolina.  

Antenna design and construction is not new to Grant Morine.  In 2006, he took First Place in the North Carolina Science Fair with an environmentally inspired project that he called "Can Homemade Antennas Made From Recyclable Materials Work As Well As Commercially Made Antennas?"  He proved that they could by designing and constructing a dual-band 2 meter and 70 cm antenna from a steel can, a soda can and a wire coat hanger.  Grant had previously won  county and regional science fairs in 7th and 8th grades, also using ham radio antenna projects.

Aside from ham radio, Grant has served as a Page in the North Carolina legislature in the summer of 2006; he was also appointed by County Commissioners in 2006 to serve on the Junior Crime Prevention Council of New Hanover County.  During his tenure he was the sole representative under age 18 on this government panel.  

Grant is currently in his senior year at the Lyceum Academy which is best described as a school within a school.  It was created in 1998 by educator Gordon Massengill at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina and trains Junior and Senior high school students in an accelerated college preparatory program.  (See https://www.edline.net/pages/Lyceum)

For his long-term future, Grant hopes to enroll in the United States Naval Academy, after which he plans to attend Duke University's School of Law with an eye toward a long-term career as a military Judge Advocate General (JAG).  

The 2007 Amateur Radio Newsline? "Young Ham of the Year Award" will be presented on Saturday, August 18th, 2007 at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville, Alabama. As the 2007 "Young Ham of the Year," Grant will receive -- courtesy of Vertex-Standard -- an expense-paid trip to the Huntsville Hamfest, along with a gift of Yaesu brand ham radio equipment.  CQ magazine will treat him to an expense-paid week at Spacecamp Huntsville, and will present him  with a variety of CQ products.  Amateur Radio Newsline? will provide Grant with a commemorative plaque at the award ceremony.  Once again, the cost of year's plaque has been underwritten by Dave Bell (W6AQ), President of DBA Entertainment Inc., Hollywood California.

The presentation of the award as a regular feature of the Huntsville Hamfest has been made possible through the generosity and kindness of the event's Planning Committee.  This year?s Huntsville Hamfest also hosts the 2007 ARRL National Convention.  In addition, the International Amateur Radio Union?s Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC-07) will take place in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest. (See http://www.hamfest.org)

This year's award ceremony will be co-hosted by Bill Pasternak (WA6ITF) and Don Wilbanks (AE5DW) of Amateur Radio Newsline? along with  representatives of corporate underwriters Vertex-Standard and CQ Communications, Inc.

Award Program Background

The Amateur Radio Newsline? "Young Ham of the Year" award program, (formerly the Westlink Report Young Ham of the Year Award ) is now entering its 21st consecutive year.  It is presented annually to a licensed radio amateur (Ham) who is 18 years of age or younger and who has provided outstanding service to the nation, his/her community or the betterment of the state of the art in communications through the Amateur Radio hobby/service.  It maintains a website will full information on the award program and background material located at http://www.yhoty.org.

Award Sponsors

The award program is jointly sponsored by the Los Angeles, California-based Amateur Radio Newsline? with corporate support from Vertex-Standard Corporation of Cerritos, California and CQ Magazine of Hicksville, NY.  

Since 1976, Amateur Radio Newsline? and its predecessor, the Westlink Radio Network, have been providing radio amateurs around the world with up-to-the-minute news at no cost to them. Amateur Radio Newsline? also sponsors the "Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project" that serves as a clearinghouse to match radio amateurs in need of educational assistance on the hobby with those able to aid them. (See http://www.arnewsline.org)

The awards two corporate underwriters are world leaders in their respective areas of Amateur Radio product support.  

Vertex-Standard Corporation is considered the trailblazer in the design, manufacture and distribution of high quality Vertex-Standard commercial two-way radio, monitoring and air-band communications equipment along with its Standard Horizon marine electronics line and Yaesu brand Amateur Radio equipment. The Yaesu name is known world-wide among ham radio aficionados and is synonymous with premium quality ham radio gear.  (See http://www.vertexstandard.com)

CQ Magazine and its sister publications, CQ VHF and Popular Communications, are published by CQ Communications, Inc., and are considered the trend-setting publications serving today?s modern radio amateur.  (See http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com)

Past Recipients

Past recipients of the "ARNewsline Young Ham of the Year Award" include Shawn Alan Wakefield, WK5P, of Bartlesville, OK (1986); David Rosenman, KA9PMK, of Muncie, IN (1987); Jonathan Binstock, NK3D, of Potomac, MD (1988); Erin McGinnis, KAOWTE, of Topeka, KS (1989); Mary Alestra, KB2IGG, of Staten Island, NY (1990); Richard S. "Sammy" Garrett, AAOCR, of St. Louis, MO (1991); Angela (Angie) Fischer, KBOHXY, also of St. Louis (1992); Kevin Boudreaux, N5XMH, of New Orleans, LA (1993); Allison Daneen Zettwoch, KD4CKP, of Louisville KY (1994); Adam Weyhaupt, N9MEZ, of Alton IL (1995); Toby Metz, KB7UIM, of Boise ID (1996); Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT, of Albuquerque NM (1997); Richard Paczkowski, Jr., KF4BIA, of Edgewater, FL (1998); Michelle Swann, KE4EZI, of Warner-Robins, GA (1999); Christopher Arthur, KT4XA, of Russelville, AL (2000); Patrick Clark, KC8BFD, of Elkwood, WV (2001); Josh Abramowicz, KB3GWY, of Reading, PA (2002); Jay Thompson, W6JAY, of Santa Ana, CA (2003); Andrea Hartlage, KB4IUM, of Grayson, GA (2004), and Rebekah Dorff, WG4Y, of Hoover, AL (2005), Catherine Ferry, NC8F, of Streetville, OH. (2006).