01/11/2021

Orlando HamCation[1]¨ has announced that ARRL Life Member Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, of Bloomington, Indiana, is the 2021 recipient of the Carole Perry Educator of the Year Award. The award recognizes an outstanding individual contribution in educating and advancing youth in amateur radio. It was first awarded in 2018 to its namesake, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, in honor of her work as an educator teaching students about ham radio. Rapp was ARRL 2004 Professional Educator of the Year. He's an Assistant Central Division Director and anARRL VEC certified examiner.

An educational professional for more than 28 years, Rapp currently teaches chemistry at Bloomington High School South. He's also the school's amateur radio club sponsor and has introduced 3,600 students and parents to amateur radio through his involvement in the organization. Among his educational achievements, he was able to send an experiment involving protein crystallization to the International Space Station (ISS). He also mentored 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year and ARRL William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship recipient Padraig Lysandrou, KC9UUS.

Rapp got his license when he was 5 years old, and, at the time, was touted as the world's youngest ham. Now 50, he's the host and founder of the amateur radio podcast Ham Talk Live! He's also a member of AMSAT and was the youngest person to both join and be eligible for membership in the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA). He contributes to the "Next-Gen Contesters" column for NCJ. Orlando HamCation has been sponsored by the Orlando Amateur Radio Club since 1946. HamCation 2022 will be held February 11 - 13, 2022.


[1] http://www.hamcation.com/

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