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WAS PRETTY TENSE AT FIRST.  AS SOON AS THE TOP OF THE HOUR HIT, WE WERE
GOING RAPID FIRE, MAKING CONTACTS LEFT AND RIGHT, VIOLETTA SAID.  WHILE ALL
CONTACTS WERE MADE ENTIRELY BY THE TEAM, TIM STOOD BY TO ENSURE THE STATION
CONTINUED WORKING PROPERLY AND THAT THE OPERATORS HAD REGULAR MEALS WHILE
THEY OPERATED AROUND THE CLOCK.  K3LRS LONGTIME FRIEND TIM JELLISON, W3YQ,
ALSO STEPPED IN FOR COACHING SHIFTS TO GIVE DUFFY THE CHANCE TO COOK AND
SLEEP.  THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, EACH TEA

TEAM EXUBERANCE ENERGIZES YOUNG HAMS ALLISON MCLELLAN FOURTEEN YEAR OLD
VIOLETTA LATHAM, KM4ATT, WAS ONLY 9 WHEN SHE FIRST GOT HER AMATEUR RADIO
LICENSE AND SHE QUICKLY MADE A NAME FOR HERSELF AS AN ACTIVE YOUNG
CONTESTER.  FIFTEEN YEAR OLD DAVID SAMU, VE7DZO, GOT HIS LICENSE MORE
RECENTLY, BUT WAS SOON EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE RADIO BANDS, LOGGING OVER
15,000 CONTACTS SINCE 2017.  WHEN THE TWO TEENAGERS PARTICIPATED IN THE
2018 DAVE KALTER MEMORIAL YOUTH DX ADVENTURE TO CURACAO, COLLABORATING AND
LEARNING WITH THEIR FELLOW YOUNG HAMS, THEY WERE INSPIRED TO FOSTER A
SIMILAR COMMUNITY IN NORTH AMERICA.  ALONG THE WAY, VIOLETTA HEARD AN OLDER
HAM QUOTE, YOUTH AND EXUBERANCE IS NO MATCH FOR OLD AGE AND TREACHERY.
INSPIRED TO TURN THAT SENTIMENT AROUND, TEAM EXUBERANCE BEGAN TO TAKE
SHAPE, READY TO PROVE THAT YOUTH CAN HOLD THEIR OWN IN AMATEUR RADIO.  MEET
THE TEAM FOLLOWING THE 2018 DAVE KALTER MEMORIAL TRIP, VIOLETTA CONTACTED
DX ENGINEERING CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER TIM DUFFY, K3LR, TO TELL HIM ABOUT
THE IDEA OF FORMING AN ALL YOUTH CONTESTING TEAM, AND THAT SHE WANTED TO
USE HIS RENOWNED STATION AS A BASE.  TIM STARTED CONSTRUCTION ON HIS K3LR
STATION IN WEST MIDDLESEX, PENNSYLVANIA, IN 1987.  WHILE HE STARTED OUT
WITH THE SIMPLE GOAL OF BUILDING A SPECIAL SPOT FOR COMPETING ALONGSIDE
FRIENDS, TIMS STATION GREW IN SIZE, POWER, AND REPUTATION IN THE AMATEUR

RADIO CONTESTING COMMUNITY.  IT NOW HAS 11 OPERATING POSITIONS, 26 BOOMS,
164 TRANSMITTING ELEMENTS, 11 HOME BREW 1,500 W AMPS, AND 13 ICOM IC 7851
AND IC 7850 TRANSCEIVERS.  SURPRISED AND EXCITED, TIM IMMEDIATELY AGREED TO
HAVE AN ALL YOUTH TEAM COMPETE FROM K3LR, AND THE TWO STARTED SERIOUSLY
PLANNING WITH THE AID OF DX ENGINEERING TEAM MEMBER TERI GRIZER, K8MNJ.
THE TEAM LINEUP FORMED LITTLE BY LITTLE TIM SUGGESTED SOME YOUNG HAMS WITH
CONTESTING EXPERIENCE, SOME OF WHOM VIOLETTA AND DAVID ALREADY KNEW AND HAD
OPERATED WITH, AND THOSE YOUNG HAMS KNEW OTHERS THAT THEY THEN INVITED.
EVENTUALLY, THEY GATHERED SIX SOLID TEAMMATES FROM ACROSS THE US, CANADA,
AND HUNGARY, COMBINING A MYRIAD OF RADIO SKILLS AND BACKGROUNDS.  MARTY
SULLAWAY, NN1C, BELIEVES TEAM EXUBERANCE IS THE FIRST SERIOUS CONTESTING
TEAM IN NORTH AMERICA THAT IS COMPRISED ENTIRELY OF YOUTH.  A WELL KNOWN
VETERAN OF SEVERAL WINNING CONTESTING TEAMS, 17 YEAR OLD MARTY QUICKLY TOOK
ON A CO LEADER ROLE AFTER HE JOINED TEAM EXUBERANCE EARLY LAST YEAR.  ALSO
ON THE TEAM ARE 19 YEAR OLD TOMI VARRO, HA8RT, A HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY
STUDENT, PROGRAMMING ENGINEER, YOUNGSTERS ON THE AIR YOTA CREW MEMBER, AND
‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ