 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
 Previous: Surfin': What on Google Earth! |  Next: Visiting the Åland Islands |
By Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM
Contributing Editor
June 26, 2006
Young hams (and some prospective hams) ruled at Dayton Hamvention 2006 in May.
Youth at 2006 Dayton Hamvention--An Overwhelming Success
 Young people like 12-year-old Garrison, KB3LEZ, found time to relax in the Dayton ARRL Youth Lounge at ARRL EXPO 2006. |
 Three-year-old Elizabeth Gordon -- one of the ARRL Youth Lounge's youngest visitors, sports the prizes she won for participating in the activities offered. [Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, Photos] |
 Crowds like this were commonplace in the ARRL Youth Lounge throughout the weekend of Dayton Hamvention 2006. |
 The ARRL Youth Dinner was also the place to be in Dayton on Saturday night. Young people and several parents overflowed the reserved room! |
 Although many squinted as they faced the sun for the obligatory "group photo," these young radio amateurs and Youth Dinner attendees managed smiles as they gathered outside the restaurant. |
 As usual, Carole Perry, WB2MGP's Youth in Amateur Radio forum drew quite a crowd. [Scott Hartlage, KF4PWI, Photos] |
The ARRL youth activities at Dayton Hamvention 2006 were a huge success. These included the ARRL Youth Lounge and ARRL Youth Dinner plus several on-site activities including hidden-transmitter hunts ("foxhunts") and just getting together. On Saturday of Hamvention, the ARRL Youth Lounge constantly buzzed with activity. Many younger radio amateurs and those interested in getting their tickets took advantage of the chance to socialize with their peers or munch on a snack. Among other highlights QSL card designing, scavenger hunts and crafting glow-in-the-dark Morse code bracelets.
Twenty-seven youngsters came out to Ryan's Grill Buffet & Bakery Saturday evening for the ARRL Youth Dinner, and the crowd overflowed the reserved room. An impressive number of adults also attended the Youth Dinner to show their support for young hams. Several young hams made lifelong friends during Dayton and were able to hang out with their new buddies during the weekend. One young ham went to a drive-in movie with a new friend, while others chilled back at their hotel.
A highlight of the dinner was the door prizes. These would not have been possible without the support of these generous donors: Amateur Accessories, Batteries America, Cedar City Sales, Icom, Lightblasters, LogWindow, RadioShack and The SignMan. Many thanks!
Another successful youth endeavor was the "Youth in Amateur Radio" forum, organized by Carole Perry, WB2MGP. Once again, quite a crowd showed up to hear members of the rising generation of Amateur Radio speak on a wide variety of topics, including youth contesting, youth-run hamfests and ARRL youth activities.
The final tally indicates that 86 young people from 20 states and two foreign countries, ranging in age from three to 22, participated in one or more of the ARRL youth activities. An impressive 52 of these youth are Amateur Radio licensees, and the rest are well on their way. All of the young folks who attended seemed to have a great time, and the feedback from all involved in the weeks following Hamvention has been extremely positive.
In a survey of youth who attended the ARRL Youth Activities at Dayton this year, many indicated that the experience inspired them to do something more with Amateur Radio. Most said they plan to keep in touch with others they met at Dayton. All said that they'd love to see the ARRL Youth Activities return again next year.
A special thanks to youth volunteers Michael Braun, N3CA; Ben Mills, N4CV, and Rebecca Rich, KB0VVT, for spending a large portion of their time in the ARRL Youth Lounge helping out.
ARRL Assistant Section Managers for Youth -- a Growing Trend
While in Dayton, I learned that Emily Stewart, KC0PTL, is the ARRL Kansas Assistant Section Manager for Youth. And just this week, we learned about the Arkansas ARRL Youth Leadership team consisting of Assistant SM for Youth Brogan Collins, KD5WKA; Public Information Officer, Official Bulletin Station and Webmaster Skot Covert, KE5EJQ, and PIO Jon Reed, KE5DKR. "There are about 12 to 15 youth hams in the state of Arkansas that we know of," Covert said. He figures there are a few more he and his team aren't yet aware of. Visit the Arkansas ARRL Youth Web site for more information.
So, we have five ARRL Sections with ASMs for youth activities: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas and South Carolina! If your ARRL Section does not have one, consider approaching your Section Manager to designate you to serve in this capacity. If your ARRL Section already has an ASM for youth activities, please let me know.
First Female Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship Winner
 Mellissa Ann Meye, KB0WZA, the 2006 Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship winner. |
Congratulations to 17-year-old Mellissa Ann Meye, KB0WZA, of Camdenton, Missouri, this year's Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship winner. The ARRL Foundation administers this generous academic grant. An active ham, Meye began a radio club at her school and has even inspired several faculty members and the school's principal to study for their Amateur Radio licenses. Sixth in her class, she plans to attend the University of Missouri-Rolla to major in petroleum engineering.
Twelve Young People Earn Licenses as a Result of Extra Credit Incentive
At A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas, California, Science Department Chair Karl Beutel,
KE6MAO, has adopted a new approach to encourage his eighth graders to earn
their Technician Amateur Radio licenses. After Norm Goodkin, K6YXH, gave a
classroom presentation on ham radio and provided the students with study
materials, Beutel offered extra credit to any student who passed the
examination and got a license.
 The brand-new hams at A. C. Stelle Middle School, including Karl Beutel, KE6MAO (center of front row) their science teacher, and the granddaughters of Norm Goodkin, K6YXH: Eliana, KG6GMQ, and Mikaylah, KG6WTB (just behind Beutel). "Karl, Elly and Mikay are 'old timers' -- Karl since he was in high school and the girls since they were 9 -- the rest (ages 13 and 14) were licensed in the past two weeks, as part of Karl's extra credit project," Goodkin reports. (Note that the girls far outnumber the boys here -- Ed) |
"The thing that makes this unique is that very little classroom time was taken up with the training -- it was truly a self-education project," said Goodkin, who led the VE Team. Even so, 12 new hams came out of the project.
The Volunteer Examiner team was able to arrange a test session that fit into a normal class period, but some of the students didn't need that much time and wrapped up the exam in as little as five minutes. Goodkin hopes the students will become involved in public service, especially Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), now that they are licensed. "This is really all about recruiting," he said.
New Ideas to Involve Youth in Amateur Radio
John Guzman, KB1ILU, recently contacted me about the idea of having an all-youth DXpedition. For starters, he thinks it'd be a good idea to do the first one -- a bit of a trial run, you might say -- somewhere in the US. At this point, though, he's is in the beginning stages of planning one and is looking for input from other young hams as well as from those willing to sponsor such a venture. If interested, contact Guzman via e-mail using the subject line of "Youth" in your message.
Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, approached me at Dayton about the need for more activities and support for college-aged Amateur Radio operators after he noted a scarcity of college students at Hamvention this year. So, if you're in college or college-bound and interested in networking with other college-aged ham radio operators or in helping Frissell with his idea, contact him via e-mail.
If you have other ideas or suggestions to get other members of Amateur Radio's younger generation more active or involved, let me know. Your ideas could appear in a future column.
Kids Day
Did you participate in Kid's Day on June 17? If so, let me know about your experience, and send along any pictures that you might have.
Congratulations to . . .
 Jimmy Fagan, KE7IDC [Tom Fagan, WB7NXH, Photo] |
Next Month...
Next month we'll feature a couple of young hams who manage to incorporate ham radio into their school work. We'll also hear about one school's creative approach to involving youth in ham radio.
Remember to . . .
New to Amateur (Ham) Radio?
But most of all, get involved. No excuses!
Final Comments
Thanks again to all of those who continue to contribute to this column. Your input is always welcome. It was great to see many of you at Dayton, too. 73 until next time.
Editor's Note: Seventeen-year-old Extra-class
operator and ARES Member Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, resides in Grayson, Georgia. Her Amateur Radio activities include public service, kit building, hamfesting, and
operating SSB, CW and digital modes. Amateurs with youth-related news and
photos are invited to contact Andrea via
e-mail with the subject line "Youth Column."
| Previous: Surfin': What on Google Earth! | Next: Visiting the Åland Islands |
