At its recent Regional Conference in Bulgaria, International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 awarded the Region 1 Roy Stevens, G2BVN, Memorial Trophy to Gaston Bertels, ON4WF. IARU Region 1 recognized Bertels for his many years of serving first as chairman of the Eurocom Working Group and then of the Amateur Radio Space Exploration (ARSPEX) Working Group. Bertels, who is 87, has said that he will be stepping down as chairman of the ARSPEX working group. For many years, Bertels has chaired Amateur Radio on the International Space Station — Europe (ARISS-EU). Region 1 conference delegates gave Bertels a standing ovation when the award was announced. The trophy is awarded to a radio amateur who has best exemplified the work and dedication of Roy Stevens, G2BVN in international radio.

The IARU Region 1 Medal was awarded to several radio amateurs for their meritorious service and their valued contributions to and support of Amateur Radio. Recipients are past IARU Region 1 President Hans Blondeel Timmerman, PB2T; Hani Raad, OD5TE; Andreas Thiemann, HB9JOE; Panayot Danev, LZ1US; Nikola Perčin, 9A5W; Michael Kastelic, OE1MCU, and Martin Harrison, G3USF.

In September, IARU Region 1 named Mitchel Mynhardt, ZS6YH, as the first recipient of the Region 1 Outstanding Ham Youth Award. Mynhardt received the 2013 award at the Radio Technology in Action Symposium in Pretoria, South Africa.

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 is a federation of Amateur Radio national member societies in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Northern Asia.