2017 Hamvention® Awards Announcement Frank J. Beafore / WS8B – Chairperson February 27, 2017 I am pleased to announce the following winners of the Hamvention Awards 2017. These prestigious awards are presented every year to honor radio amateurs who have made major contributions to the art and science of our avocation. The winners are: Club of the year: Clark County Amateur Radio Club – W7AIA The Clark County Amateur Radio Club (CCARC) was established in 1930 and serves Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon. They have been an ARRL Affiliated Club since 1932 and are an ARRL Special Service Club. The club is active in community service. Using the club call sign W7AIA members participated in 8 Public Service activities in 2016 and tallied over 1500 hours of volunteer service. CCARC is actively growing a youth program. Activities include supporting the Boy Scouts of America and sponsoring a Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) station in 2016. The club is also working to establish a Communications Explorer Post in Vancouver as well as licensing teens within a local trade school. In 2016, the CCARC licensed 95 new hams. ‘Ham Basics’ classes are held periodically for new licensees and the club offers a dynamic Elmer program. The club hosts monthly interest meetings such as the ‘Digital Group’ which is an open forum to discover and explore the many types of digital modes. This meeting typically draws hams from other areas. The CCARC created the pioneering EYEWARN ® program ( www.eyewarn.net ) to provide visual situation reports to Emergency Managers. This program encourages all hams in the county to “report what they see, where they are” in a disaster.