The recipient of the 2018 Philip J. McGan Award for outstanding efforts in public relations on behalf of Amateur Radio was presented on December 3 in South Carolina. E. Gordon Mooneyhan, W4EGM — the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club — received the award plaque in a presentation by ARRL Roanoke Division Vice Director Bill Morine, N2COP.

Mooneyhan was credited with adapting and applying “innovative strategies to emerging social media” in promoting Amateur Radio and events. In presenting the award, Morine noted that Mooneyhan was selected from among 512 PIOs for his innovative campaigns incorporating traditional and social media.

Mooneyhan expressed gratitude to the club for its support and to the media for considering his news releases as an opportunity to inform the public about Amateur Radio.

The award’s namesake, journalist Philip J. McGan, WA2MBQ (SK), served as the first chairman of the ARRL’s Public Relations Committee, which helped reinvigorate ARRL’s commitment to public relations. The McGan Award is presented in his memory to the radio amateur who best exemplifies the volunteer spirit of Phil McGan.