Dayton Hamvention® has named its 2015 award winners. Three radio amateurs and a club will be honored during the annual ham radio gathering, which takes place May 15-17.

Named as Amateur of the Year was Tim Duffy, K3LR. Hamvention’s Special Achievement Award will go to Tom Medlin, W5KUB, and the Rev George Dobbs, G3RJV, will receive the Technical Excellence Award. Hamvention will pay tribute to the Orlando Amateur Radio Club (OARC) as Club of the Year.

“On behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) and Hamvention® 2015, I would like to congratulate this year’s award winners,” Hamvention® Chairman Jim Tiderman, N8IDS, said. “Their outstanding contributions and many years of devotion to the Amateur Radio Service are recognized and appreciated.”

Amateur of the Year: Tim Duffy, K3LR

A ham since age 12, Duffy, of West Middlesex, Pennsylvania is ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Manager. A top-tier Amateur Radio contester, he is the founder and chairman of the successful Contest University (CTU), which has trained many radio amateurs in the art and science of radiosport since the first CTU in Dayton in 2007. More 3700 contesting enthusiasts have attended CTUs in eight countries.

Since 1984, Duffy has moderated the Hamvention Antenna Forum, and he’s involved in scheduling many contesting-related activities during Hamvention, including the Contest Super Suite, the Contest Dinner, and the Top Band Dinner. He has served on the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee and on the CW World Wide Contest Committee.

Duffy was the 2010 recipient of the Radio Club of America (RCA) Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award.

Special Achievement Award: Tom Medlin, W5KUB

The Special Achievement Award recognizes the 14 years of service that Medlin has provided through his W5KUB.com live webcasts of ham radio events. From his start as “Helmet Cam Man,” he has grown his webcast offerings to cover all aspects of Amateur Radio, from Hamvention to ARRL Field Day, vendor tours, technical discussions, and special events such as the K6H operation from the Last Man Standing TV show sound stage in Hollywood. Medlin recently inaugurated a weekly live video talk show, Amateur Radio Roundtable. The W5KUB.com viewer base is estimated at some 50,000 people around the world.

“The webcast benefits viewers who cannot personally attend Amateur Radio events, due to age, health, distance, time, or money,” the Hamvention announcement said. Through vendor and manufacturer donations, W5KUB.com has awarded prizes to his viewers valued at more than $10,000 annually. Licensed in 1964, Medlin is a retired electrical engineer and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Technical Excellence Award: The Rev George Dobbs, G3RJV

An icon within the QRP community, the Rev Dobbs has helped many Amateur Radio operators to build their own equipment, and he writes a monthly practical column, “Continuing the Practical Way” for Practical Wireless magazine as well as the QRP column for the Radio Society of Great Britain, (RSGB) journal, Radio Communication. He is the author of QRP Basics and jointly compiled the International QRP Collection for the RSGB.

Dobbs was licensed in 1962, and from the start he used almost all home-built equipment. In 1972 he founded the G-QRP Club, now the largest QRP club in the world, and he still edits the club’s journal SPRAT. Now retired as a Church of England cleric, Dobbs and his wife Jo-Anna, G0OWH, live in Wales.

Club of the Year: Orlando Amateur Radio Club (OARC)

The Orlando Amateur Radio Club (W4PLB) is the largest and oldest Amateur Radio club in Central Florida with a membership base of more than 300. An ARRL Special Service Club, it sponsors the annual Orlando HamCation®, the second largest ham radio gathering in the US.

“The members of the Orlando Amateur Radio Club take great pride in planning for the future of Amateur Radio and preserving the history of technology,” the Hamvention announcement said. “They do this by recruiting, training, and helping committed hams to carry on the tradition of Amateur Radio.”

The club actively supports Orange County ARES® and SKYWARN, as well as several community service agencies. It conducts ham radio license training and testing for all ages, and it publishes a monthly e-newsletter.

The world’s largest Amateur Radio gathering, Hamvention is expected to attract more than 25,000 visitors to the greater Dayton area this year. More information is on the Dayton Hamvention website.