Our Ham of the year for 2008 was born in California in the early 50's and has an older and younger brother. His older brother is also a licensed Amateur Operator.

He unexpectedly became interested in Ham Radio in 1990 while on the way to first see the Grand Canyon with the person he calls his `real' dad, Bob Wilkins, W7DZK. During the trip, they passed Fort Tuthill and saw antennas, so decided to detour and see what the antennas were all about. It was the Fort Tuthill Hamfest! As a result, our subject became so interested in Amateur Radio that he got licensed on September 3, 1991 and has been an active Amateur Radio Operator ever since.

More recently, our Ham of the Year has made (at least) the following contributions to our club over the past few years:

1.      VE Testing Leader - dedicated to add more licensed Amateurs to our ranks and promoting our hobby.

2.      Palo Verde Siren Testing - coordinating Volunteers for this important annual test.

3.      Board Member

4.      Webmaster for our club's web site.

5.      2007/2008 Program Coordinator, working to identify and schedule monthly meeting Programs.

6.       2006/2007 Teddy Bear Program: procuring and distributing more than 1,500 stuffed animal toys to Emergency Organizations to benefit children in distress.

7.       Chairing the Nomination Committee for 2008 club officers.

In 1997, our Ham of the Year first met his bride on the Internet in a "chat room" where his identity was "Gentle Giant". Her presence on the internet had been a direct result of a suggestion by her (grown) daughter.

This led Our Ham of the Year to book a flight to Eugene Oregon on July 5, 1997 to visit his Chat Room correspondent. Things worked out so well, that they were married on August 9 of that same year. It should be noted that our subject's "Mother in law" liked him for many reasons, including that he "gives good hugs".

I'll bet you think you know who I'm talking about, but even if you do, you're not completely right. Here's why:

Our Ham of the Year's `partner' in all this needs to also be recognized.

As previously described, these folks met on the Internet in a `chat room' in early 1997. She thought his Screen Name of "Gentle Giant" was warmly sensitive and often communicated with him, which ultimately led to his airline trip from Phoenix to Oregon in July, 1997 and their subsequent wedding on August 9, 1997.

After the wedding, and return to the Phoenix area, Our Ham of the Year tried and tried and tried to persuade his XYL to get licensed as a Radio Amateur, but she resisted for a long time. About three years later, she overheard him telling someone he had "given up" on her getting a license, which motivated her to "show him" that she could! She studied and studied; and finally went to one of the DeVry VE Test Sessions. Having always been nervous about taking tests, she had not been able to sleep at all during the prior night, and consequently fell asleep, head down on the desk, while taking her test at DeVry. It was VE Glenn Wade N7JWF, who awakened her to complete the test which she did, and ultimately passed!

This evening's dinner also was made possible by this same person's willingness to step forward to make the arrangements and work out the details for this Annual Event. Earlier this year, she also volunteered to become the club's Secretary after the previous Secretary asked to be relieved due to illness. We also should never forget that this person was the real "driving force" who volunteered the "Gentle Giant" to work with her on the Teddy Bear effort. Certainly he will never forget it!

These are the kind of people that make our club so unique! Please join me in honoring both David Morrill and Cindy Morrill as our 2008 Ham of the Year Team for the West Valley Amateur Radio Club.

Stan Swartz, K7PL0