North Carolina Eagle Scout Named 2007's Young Ham of the Year

Grant H. Morine, W4GHM, a 17 year old from Wilmington, North Carolina, has been named the 2007 Young Ham of the Year (YHOTY), announced YHOTY Award Administrator Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, and Award Committee Chairman Mark Abramowicz, NT3V. Grant was selected based on his commitment to Amateur Radio, along with his work in public service and his promotion of the Amateur Radio Service to others through the Boy Scouts of America. Grant will receive his award as part of the Huntsville Hamfest, held in conjunction with the 2007 ARRL National Convention.

The son of Bill, N2COP, and Pamela Morine, and the brother of Reid, W4RSM, Grant was first licensed in June of 2001 when he was 10; he holds a Technician class license. His nomination told of the public service project that he spearheaded to earn the rank of Eagle Scout -- the construction and donation of 30 220-MHz J-pole antennas to the Carolinas Amateur Radio Emergency Services (CARES). The antennas are indoor back-ups for the CARES network of hospitals, located in some of the storm-prone coastal areas of the Carolinas.

To complete his project, Grant successfully solicited the donation of the needed raw materials from a local hardware store. He then organized a group of three adults and 10 Scouts to assemble the antenna systems at his home. After each antenna was completed, it was tested for proper performance before being handed over to CARES managers in October 2006. Grant's antennas were recently tested by CARES when they were utilized in a test run in South Carolina.

Antenna design and construction are not new to Grant. In 2006, he won first place in the North Carolina Science Fair with an environmentally inspired project that he called "Can Homemade Antennas Made from Recyclable Materials Work As Well As Commercially Made Antennas?" He proved that they could by designing and constructing a dual-band 2 meter and 70 cm antenna from a steel can, a soda can and a wire coat hanger. Grant won county and regional science fairs when he was in 7th and 8th grades using ham radio antenna projects.

Aside from ham radio, Grant served as a Page in the North Carolina legislature in the summer of 2006. He was also appointed to serve on the Junior Crime Prevention Council of New Hanover County in 2006 by the County Commissioners. During his tenure, he was the sole representative under age 18 on this government panel.

Grant is currently in his senior year at the Lyceum Academy. Grant hopes to enroll in the United States Naval Academy, after which he plans to attend Duke University's School of Law with an eye toward a long-term career as a military Judge Advocate General (JAG).

The 2007 Amateur Radio Newsline! Young Ham of the Year Award will be presented on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville, Alabama. As the 2007 Young Ham of the Year, Grant will receive a trip to the Huntsville Hamfest, ham radio equipment, various books and magazines and an all-expense-paid week at Spacecamp in Huntsville. Amateur Radio Newsline will award Grant with a commemorative plaque at the ceremony.

The presentation of the YHOTY award is a regular feature of the Huntsville Hamfest and has been made possible through the generosity and kindness of the event's Planning Committee. In addition to the 2007 ARRL National Convention, the International Amateur Radio Union's Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC-07) will take place at the Huntsville Hamfest. This year's YHOTY award ceremony will be co-hosted by Pasternak and Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, of Amateur Radio Newsline, along with representatives of corporate underwriters Vertex-Standard and CQ Communications, Inc.

The Amateur Radio Newsline "Young Ham of the Year" award program (formerly the Westlink Report Young Ham of the Year Award), is now entering its 21st consecutive year. It is presented annually to a licensed radio Amateur Radio operator who is 18 years of age or younger and who has provided outstanding service to the nation, his/her community or the betterment of the state of the art in communications through the Amateur Radio hobby/service.

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