Dayton Hamvention (R) rescinds Amateur of the Year award for 2013?

[NE1LL]

It is with the deepest regret to announce we will not be awarding an Amateur of the Year award for 2013. We have received conflicting information from credible sources regarding the accuracy of the winning nomination. The General Chairman of Hamvention this year, Charles Kaiser received these reports and followed up to verify their accuracy. Unfortunately this changes the way we score for the Amateur of the Year award and since the competition was close with other nominees the outcome would have been different.

Based on all of this research the decision has been made by the Hamvention General Chairman not to award the Amateur of the Year for 2013. We feel it is imperative to preserve and protect the integrity of this prestigious award.

73 de ke4wle
R-
From the Hamvention Yahoo group
Gotta wonder why?

[N2CHX]

Hams being... less than honest? Noooooooooooooo! Say it ain't so!

[N8YX]

Are they accepting write-ins?

[NE1LL]

;)
Are they accepting write-ins?

[W3WN]

With all due respect to the Yahoo group & NE1LL, this sounded so incredulous... could it have been an April Fools post, I wondered?... I had to check it out.

So I went right to the Hamvention web site & the page on awards: http://www.hamvention.org/awards.php

It's verified.

Amateur of The Year - Withdrawn for 2013
It is with the deepest regret to announce we will not be awarding an Amateur of the Year award for 2013. We have received conflicting information from credible sources regarding the accuracy of the winning nomination. The General Chairman of Hamvention this year, Charles Kaiser received these reports and followed up to verify their accuracy. Unfortunately this changes the way we score for the Amateur of the Year award and since the competition was close with other nominees the outcome would have been different. Based on all of this research the decision has been made by the Hamvention General Chairman not to award the Amateur of the Year for 2013. We feel it is imperative to preserve and protect the integrity of this prestigious awardNow where's Paul Harvey when you need him?

(In other words, now it's time for... The Rest of the Story)

[W3WN]

Incidentally, FWIW, this is what Amateur Radio Newsline had to say about the previously announced Hamvention Amateur of the Year for 2013
I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, with word that the Dayton Hamvention has announced this years winners of its famed Hamvention Awards. The news was made public on the March 13th edition of Ham Nation by past Hamvention General Chairman Michael Kalter, W8CI, with a well known ham from Germany garnering the top spot:

--

W8CI: Our Amateur of the Year is Mustapha Landoulsi DL1BDF. He was actually born in Tunisia and has set up six amateur radio stations in Tunisia and has brought them into the IARU. He's worked tirelessly to help Middle-Eastrern countries and African counties in amateur radio. He also sped uo and organized the delivery of emergency medical equipment and medicine to African and other third world countries, and he is so well known throughout the world that his work actually embodies what amateur radio is about. He tries to bring peoples together from different countries and his heart is one hundred percent into amateur radio.http://www.arnewsline.org/storage/scripts/nsln1857.txt

[kb2vxa]

They wouldn't even consider Arnie Coro CO2KK and all the work he did advancing Amateur Radio in Cuba, oh no never. Remember the signature Cuban CW chirp? It is no more thanks to him and that's only ONE of his accomplishments.

[K7SGJ]

I guess it was too close to call between DL1BDF and K1MAN. Although I'm not in to awards and paper, and such, it is ashame that the tradition of this award has been pulled for this go round.

[Jeff K1NSS]

There must have some truth to the nomination. Couldn't he be The Ham of The First Ten or Twelve Weeks of 2013?

[VE7DCW]

I guess it was too close to call between DL1BDF and K1MAN. Although I'm not in to awards and paper, and such, it is ashame that the tradition of this award has been pulled for this go round.

Baxter missed being named award winner again!! incredible!! why his disaster jump teams are the stuff of legend in many circles! :dunno:

[XE1/N5AL]

Baxter missed being named award winner again!! incredible!! why his disaster jump teams are the stuff of legend in many circles! :dunno:
After he pays his big fine, Baxter might become known as the ham who contributed the most to Amateur Radio! :)


They wouldn't even consider Arnie Coro CO2KK and all the work he did advancing Amateur Radio in Cuba, oh no never. Remember the signature Cuban CW chirp? It is no more thanks to him and that's only ONE of his accomplishments.
Great point. Over the years, I wonder how many gazillion DX'ers Unlimited shows he has produced? Or, how many amateurs Arnie has encouraged to enter the hobby with his tutorials on building things "on-the-cheap", using commonly available items found around the house, like: broomstick antennas, cw transmitters using some components from burned-out compact florescent bulbs, etc. If only the ham community could look past global politics.

[W3WN]

After he pays his big fine, Baxter might become known as the ham who contributed the most to Amateur Radio! :)

They wouldn't even consider Arnie Coro CO2KK and all the work he did advancing Amateur Radio in Cuba, oh no never. Remember the signature Cuban CW chirp? It is no more thanks to him and that's only ONE of his accomplishments.
Great point. Over the years, I wonder how many gazillion DX'ers Unlimited shows he has produced? Or, how many amateurs Arnie has encouraged to enter the hobby with his tutorials on building things "on-the-cheap", using commonly available items found around the house, like: broomstick antennas, cw transmitters using some components from burned-out compact florescent bulbs, etc. If only the ham community could look past global politics.Did anyone nominate him?

Don't gripe at the Hamvention folks for not considering him, if nobody sent in a nomination. If no one thinks enough of Arnie to nominate him, they're not neccesarily going to go out looking for him.

So if you think he should be nominated... well, when the requests for nominations for next year's Hamvention aware are announced, don't wait on someone else to do it... send one in yourself!!

[kb2vxa]

"If only the ham community could look past global politics."
You're right in part but as stated below I don't think that has anything to do with Arnie. When it comes to global politics you should have heard the hams in the Arab countries hurling insults on 20M during the first Gulf War. I couldn't understand a word but the tone said it all, I had a fire extinguisher handy next to my receiver. Then there's US politics and Cuba, why the embargo when we trade with China? That's rather a double standard when it comes to Communism. Cuba has a lot to offer and we have a lot to offer Cuba, Washington cut off its nose to spite its face with that one. OK, enough politics, we have a thread for that.

You're right there, I wonder if ANYBODY nominated Arnie because his efforts and accomplishments are so little known outside Cuba. They probably would be if Canada hadn't slammed the door in his face almost literally. I wonder if they didn't eliminate Canada as a point of entry from or exit point to Cuba to/from the US just for him and a few fellow Cuban hams who were on their way here for a series of seminars. He was turned back from Toronto so obviously he didn't know as of his departure from Cuba, a rather strange coincidence considering the time frame it was enacted. Good thing a ham friend visited Havana and was Arnie's house guest before the ban, he told me a lot about Arnie and hams in Cuba and showed me LOTS of pictures of the city and its famous landmarks. BTW in an e-mail soon after Arnie had some rather unkind words for Canada and frankly I don't blame him.

[XE1/N5AL]

Did anyone nominate him?

Don't gripe at the Hamvention folks for not considering him, if nobody sent in a nomination. If no one thinks enough of Arnie to nominate him, they're not neccesarily going to go out looking for him.

So if you think he should be nominated... well, when the requests for nominations for next year's Hamvention aware are announced, don't wait on someone else to do it... send one in yourself!!
I sent in the CO2KK nomination a few days ago, for the 2013 Hamvention. It's probably way too late for this year; but under the circumstances, who knows. They did acknowledge receipt of the nomination. I'll keep an eye out for the 2014 nomination window.

[wa6mhz]

Thought I read where they were just not going to have a 2013 award this year. I would nominate Luis XE1L PostHumously