2020 Honors & Awards

THE SARNOFF CITATION Robert Rouleau and Norman Pearl — For exceptional contributions of a technical or non-technical nature to the advancement of electronic communications.

Robert T. Rouleau, VE2PY, started his career as an RF engineer at the Canadian Marconi Company. He became a founding partner of the Presud Group (Canada) and Sofran Corporation in the USA. Specializing in commercial real estate Pesud/Sofran built a CDN $400 million dollar portfolio consisting largely of shopping centers in Canada and the Southeastern U.S. While continuing as a partner in Presud, he founded Dataradio Inc. a firm specializing in high reliability wireless data communication products. He authored the book Packet Radio published in 1981, which outlined and explained the principles of digital wireless communication that serve as the basis of modern cellular systems. He took Dataradio from a two person start-up business to a segment leading firm with over 200 employees when it was sold to Calamp in 2006. He personally designed the communications system used by NASA on the successful 1995 Mars exploration mission. Mr. Rouleau served on the board of Canlyte/Genlyte until 2006 when it was acquired by Philips. He serves on the board of Stelvio Inc., a Montreal based software firm specializing in auto accident claim management, and on the board of iSentium LLC. Norman Pearl, VE2BQS, received a B.Eng. and M.B.A. He was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, and continues to reside there. He enrolled in “code and theory” courses at the Montreal Amateur Radio Club while in junior college, and obtained his Amateur Radio Operator’s license in April, 1974. He met Robert Rouleau, Fred Basserman, et al on the local 2M repeater, then moved up to 220 MHz where it was quieter. He became interested in personal computers and eventually packet radio while studying Electrical Engineering at McGill University. He obtained Amateur Digital Radio Operator’s Certificate number 8 in November 1978 (Dr. DeMercado already had certificate #1). The digital certificate was discontinued in 2000, and all holders were upgraded to 12WPM Advanced Amateur. He started Dataradio with Robert Rouleau in 1981 while completing his M.B.A. degree program. After demonstrating their first product at Telecom83 in Geneva, the company grew from two in Montreal to over 200 people, spread between Montreal, Quebec; Atlanta, Georgia; and Waseca, Minnesota. During most of that period, Mr. Pearl served as vice president of engineering, while the job evolved from hardware design and software, to training and technical support, sales, FCC/IC type approvals, system design, project management, etc. Mr. Pearl holds three U.S. and two Canadian patents for remote online diagnostics and an adaptive duty-cycle management method (to meet RF exposure rules). He currently operates a Marine Traffic AIS receiving station #1481 from his sailboat. He is district education officer with Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons (CPS-ECP) and an instructor / examiner for the maritime radio Restricted Operator Certificate.

THE VIVIAN CARR AWARD Emily Calandrelli — In recognition of an outstanding woman’s achievements in the wireless industry.

Emily Calandrelli, KD8PKR, is the star and Co-Executive Producer of Netflix’s pre-school series Emily’s Wonder Lab that features STEAM related children’s experiments and entertaining activities. Broadcast in all of Netflix’s 190 countries, “Emily’s Wonder Lab” was the first ever live-action Netflix original series for kids. Emily is also is an executive producer and an Emmy nominated host of FOX’s Xploration Outer Space and a correspondent on Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves The World. Named to Adweek’s “11 Celebrities and Influencers Raising the Bar for Creativity in 2017,” Emily is also an accomplished writer and speaker on the topics of space exploration, scientific literacy, and equality. Her chapter book series, The Ada Lace Adventures, center around an eightyear-old girl with a knack for science, math, and solving mysteries with technology; the series debuted in August, 2017. The second book in the series, Ada Lace: Sees Red, was included in the National Science Teachers Association’s list of best STEM books for 2018. Emily has presented on the importance of science literacy, the benefits of space exploration, and the challenges for women in STEM careers for clients including Google, Pixar, MIT, Texas Instruments, CERN as well as dozens of K-12 schools across the nation. Her first two TEDx talks, I Don’t Do Math and Space Exploration Is The Worst, have garnered over one million views on YouTube. Emily received a B.S.M.E.A.E. from West Virginia University, and an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics and an M.S. in Technology and Policy both from MIT. Through her work, she wants to make science and space exploration relatable, more welcoming, and more exciting than ever before in history.

THE JAY KITCHEN LEADERSHIP AWARD Michael T.N. Fitch — In recognition of achievement of a high level of success leading a wireless association.

Michael T.N. Fitch’s parents owned and operated the only radio station in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a daytime AM station. His began while working at KGLN part-time. He earned a B.S.E.E. at Purdue University, Indiana and a J.D. from Columbia University in New York City. He advanced from staff attorney to bureau chief and senior legal and international advisor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He also served as a presidential exchange executive from the FCC at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh. Subsequently, he moved to the U.S. Department of State as an office director and deputy assistant secretary of state in the Communications and Information Policy Bureau. He represented the U.S. government and commercial interests in global negotiations at International Telecommunication Union World Radio Conferences. He led U.S. delegations to ITU, Intelsat, and Inmarsat conferences. In 1996, Mr. Fitch became vice president of regulatory affairs and spectrum management for Hughes Communications, a part of Hughes Electronics, in Los Angeles. He served as a member of the board of directors and served as chairman of the board of the Satellite Industry Association. When Hughes Space and Communications was acquired by Boeing, he continued his telecommunications responsibilities as well as some new programs involving Homeland Security. At Boeing, he was vice president of the U.S. ITU Association. From 2005-2012, Mr. Fitch was president and CEO of WIA–The Wireless Infrastructure Association, succeeding Jay Kitchen. He led a successful legislative effort that resulted in collocation by right at many wireless towers and sites in the U.S. He is currently senior counsel at the law firm Keller and Heckman LLP, working on wireless communications issues. He is an officer and member of the board of directors of the California Wireless Association and a Fellow in the Radio Club of America.

BARRY GOLDWATER AWARD Bob Bruninga — For unique contributions to the field of amateur radio.

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, a senior research engineer at the U.S. Naval Academy, implemented the earliest ancestor of APRS on an Apple II computer in 1982. This early version was used to map high frequency Navy position reports. The first use of APRS in Ham radio was in 1984, when Bruninga developed a more advanced version on a Commodore VIC-20 for reporting the position and status of horses in a 100-mile (160 km) endurance run. During the next two years, he developed the Connectionless Emergency Traffic System (CETS). Following a series of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exercises using CETS, the system was ported to the IBM Personal Computer and in the early 1990’s the name was changed to the Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) which continued to evolve into its current form. As GPS technology became more widely available, “Position” was replaced with “Packet” to better describe the more generic capabilities of the system and to emphasize its uses beyond mere position reporting. Mr. Bruninga has stated that APRS was not meant to be vehicle position tracking system, and should be interpreted rather as “Automatic Packet Reporting System.” Mr. Bruninga’s first project when he became a Ham in 1963 was building a generator for Field Day for his ARC5 Radio set. He later built an electric car which could also serve as a field power source as his senior project at Georgia Tech in 1970. In 2019, he wrote the ARRL book Energy Choices. Now, all his energy is from solar, and all the family cars are Electric, and each one has the energy to power his home during a power outage. He is excited to have lived long enough to see this transition to clean power.

THE JACK POPPELE AWARD John Schadler — For important and long-term contributions to the field of radio broadcasting.

John Schadler is Vice President of Engineering for Dielectric. He has been with Dielectric 33 years. He received his B.S.E.E. from Penn State University and began working for Dielectric Communications in New Jersey, formerly the Radio Corporation of America’s Antenna Division. He obtained his M.S.E.E from Drexel University. His research and development achievements focus on unique TV, MobileMedia, FM, Cellular, Wireless and many other special bi-directional and broadcast antenna designs. Mr. Schadler has 44 issued and multiple pending patents. In 2005, he was named as one of SPX’s Master Inventors. He is also the author of numerous technical papers as well as the “VHF and UHF Television Antenna Test Range Measurements” chapter in the National Association of Broadcasters Engineering Handbook, 11th Edition.

U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN GEORGE P. MCGINNIS MEMORIAL AWARD CTRCM John A. “Gus” Gustafson, USN (Ret.) — For service and dedication to the advancement and preservation of U.S. Naval Cryptology, as nominated by the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA).

CTRCM John A. “Gus” Gustafson, USN (Ret.) is a U.S. Navy veteran who served for 30 years as a cryptologic technician. He retired in 1984 as master chief petty officer. He filled many positions during his career, including command master chief at the Naval Security Group Activity, Adak, Alaska. A few years after his retirement, the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA) requested him to volunteer and establish a cryptologic display at what is now the Center for Information Warfare Training in Pensacola, Florida. In the late 1990s the display opened, documenting the history of communications intelligence activities. A few years after the opening, the base command required the space occupied by the display for classrooms. John directed the movement of the entire display to a new location. He continued to serve as a docent at the cryptologic display since its opening.

THE RALPH BATCHER MEMORIAL AWARD Eric P. Wenaas, Ph. D. — For significant work in preserving the history of radio and electronic communications.

Eric P. Wenaas, Ph. D., has had a lifelong interest in the history of radio since he collected his first antique radio and made his first two-tube radio when he was ten years old. He attended Purdue University where he received B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering. He received his Ph. D. in Engineering Sciences at the State University of New York (SUNY-Buffalo). His career as a senior-level scientist in the defense industry with a focus on nuclear and space radiation effects on electronics eventually led him to become the CEO of JAYCOR, a defense company located in San Diego. After retirement, Dr. Wenaas began to research the history of early wireless technology, repeated key experiments of early radio pioneers, authored a wellreceived book on the history of Radio Corporation of America, and wrote over forty articles that appeared in the AWA Journal and AWA Review. He served as editor of the prestigious AWA Review for a four-year period ending in 2019 and continues to write a “Books and Literature” review column for the AWA Journal. He also writes book reviews for the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine and is working a new book on early American vacuum tubes used in radio.

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RCA SPECIAL SERVICES AWARD Ernie Blair — To recognize an RCA member who has performed significant work to advance the goals and objectives of the Radio Club of America.

Ernie Blair, WA4BPS, is the CEO and Director of Wireless Infrastructure for the Huntsville-Madison County (HMC) 9-1-1 System. He oversees Alabama’s largest 9-1-1 center, providing communications for all local law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS agencies within Madison County, Alabama. In 2012, he completed a $12 million IP based P25 radio infrastructure for local public safety agencies and is now promoting P25 interoperability throughout Alabama. He envisioned and implemented a partnership with SouthernLinc for a public safety broadband LTE data network which now serves Madison County. Most recently, he completed the construction of a $14 million world-class 9-1-1 communications center. Ernie has led HMC 9-1-1 for over 23 years, serving in various NENA, APCO, AAND, Alabama 9-1-1 Board, and Alabama First Responder Wireless Commission leadership roles. He is a Fellow and Director in the Radio Club of America. Lt. Col. Ernie Blair is the Commander of the Huntsville Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, having received numerous awards and commendations including Southeast Region Inspector General of the Year in 2018, several Commander’s Commendation Awards, and a Meritorious Service Award. He is active on the HF and VHF amateur radio bands.

RCA PRESIDENT’S AWARD Ron Jakubowski — For service and dedication to the Radio Club of America.

Ron Jakubowski, K2RJ, Ronald J. has served as the Radio Club of America Treasurer since 2011, and he is a member of the Executive Committee. He is retired as Chief Engineer–RF Systems at Bird Technologies, TX RX Systems, where he assisted Public Safety customers with major performance issues. He also served on the TR-8 land mobile technical committee of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) as chair of TR-8.11, Antenna Systems and vice-chair of TR8.18, Systems Compatibility. Previously, he was Systems Engineering Manager of Antenna Specialists, which became Allen Telecom; and he was Senior Engineer at Harris-RF Communications in Rochester, New York. He is a Life Senior Member of IEEE and participated and wrote several papers for the Vehicular Technology Society and conferences. He is still active in the Canaveral Section. He now resides in Cape Canaveral, Florida with his wife of 49 years, Kathleen. Ron is also retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of Major. He received his commission through ROTC and spent his active duty with the Communications Systems Agency at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He is currently active as a volunteer in Brevard County, Florida RACES and is treasurer of the Brevard Emergency Amateur Radio Services. He also remains active as a 51-year member of the Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS). He is a Life Member of ARRL. In addition to technical pursuits, he serves as a Ruling Elder in Grace Bible Presbyterian Church in Cape Canaveral and is also Stated Clerk of the Florida Presbytery. Ron is a graduate of Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a degree in Electrical Engineering.