ARRL Life Member Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, of Bloomington, Indiana, is the 2021 recipient of the Carole Perry Educator of the Year Award. The award recognizes an outstanding individual contribution in educating and advancing youth in amateur radio. It was first awarded in 2018 to its namesake, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, in honour of her work as an educator teaching students about ham radio. Rapp was ARRL 2004 Professional Educator of the Year. He’s an Assistant Central Division Director and an ARRL VEC certified examiner.

An educational professional for more than 28 years, Rapp currently teaches chemistry at Bloomington High School South. He’s also the school’s amateur radio club sponsor and has introduced 3,600 students and parents to amateur radio through his involvement in the organization. Among his educational achievements, he was able to send an experiment involving protein crystallization to the International Space Station (ISS). He also mentored 2013 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year and ARRL William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship recipient Padraig Lysandrou, KC9UUS.

ARRL invites nominations for awards that recognize excellence in amateur radio educational and technological pursuits. Nominations are also open for the Hiram Percy Maxim Award, ARRL’s premier award to honor a young licensee.

The Yasme Foundation has announced the latest recipients of the Yasme Excellence Award. They are Brett Ruiz, PJ2BR, and Helena Ruiz, PJ2ZZ; Bob Wilson, N6TV; Jari Perkiömäki, OH6BG, and Jim Brown, K9YC. The Yasme Excellence Award recognizes individuals and groups who, through their own service, creativity, effort, and dedication, have made a significant contribution to amateur radio. This may be technical, operating, or organizational achievement.

Brett and Helena Ruiz have been active leaders of the VERONA Radio Club, Curaçao’s International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society, for more than 20 years. Their participation has included technical activities, disaster preparedness and relief, and training of potential radio amateurs. They serve as liaisons to government and international organizations, and contribute to important events, such as the Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC) and IARU conferences and meetings. Brett Ruiz is also active in long-distance VHF propagation and digital communication.