Nominations are open for the 2013 George Hart Distinguished Service Award. The ARRL Board of Directors established the award in 2009, to be given to an ARRL member whose service to the League’s Field Organization is of the most exemplary nature.

The Award’s namesake, George Hart, W1NJM (SK), was a long-time Communications Manager at ARRL Headquarters and chief developer of the National Traffic System (NTS). He died earlier this year at age 99. An ARRL Charter Life Member, Hart spent more than four decades as a member of the ARRL Headquarters staff and continued to be an active amateur and regular Field Day participant in his retirement. In 1984, the ARRL Board of Directors named Hart as an ARRL Honorary Vice President.

Award selection criteria include: Operating record with the National Traffic System, or participation within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®), or station appointments and/or leadership positions held within the ARRL Field Organization. Nominations should document as thoroughly as possible the candidate’s lifetime activities and achievements within the ARRL Field Organization. Nominees are expected to have 15 or more years of distinguished service.

Recipients receive an engraved plaque and cover letter and will be profiled in QST.

Nominations for the George Hart Distinguished Service Award, including any related supporting material and letters of recommendation, may be e-mailed to ARRL Headquarters to the attention of ARRL Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, or to ARRL Field Organization Team Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X. Nominations and supporting materials must be received no later than November 1, 2013.

The Programs and Services Committee will serve as the award review committee. The Board of Directors will make a final determination at its Annual Meeting in January.