Friday, May 18, is the deadline to submit nominations for ARRL’s annual Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award. The award celebrates efforts on the part of an individual ARRL member to boost awareness and understanding of Amateur Radio’s services and benefits to the public. The ARRL Public Relations Committee will recommend a winner, if any, to the ARRL Board of Directors, which will announce the Award recipient at its July meeting.

The Award’s namesake, journalist Philip J. McGan, WA2MBQ (SK), served as the first chairman of the ARRL’s Public Relations Committee, and helped reinvigorate the League’s commitment to public relations. The McGan Award recognizes a radio amateur who has demonstrated success in Amateur Radio public relations and who best exemplifies McGan’s volunteer spirit.

Activities for which the McGan Award may be presented include efforts specifically directed at focusing the media’s and the general public’s attention on the value of Amateur Radio. This may include such traditional methods as generating media coverage of a specific event, or such non-traditional methods as hosting a radio show or being an active public speaker.

The award is given only to an individual who must be an ARRL member in good standing at the time of nomination. The nominee must not be compensated for any public relations work involving Amateur Radio — including payment for articles — and may not be a current ARRL Officer, Director, Vice Director, paid staff member, or member of the selection committee.

Check out the specific criteria for nomination and nomination form, or contact ARRL Communication Manager Dave Isgur, KC1JMX, to obtain a form. The names of past McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award winners have been posted on the ARRL website.