Former CQ Public Service Columist, Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, has been awarded Russia’s E.T. Krenkel Medal, a prestigious honor bestowed on individuals and organizations for outstanding global contributions to Amateur Radio. A long time ARRL volunteer, Josuweit has served in many section and national ARRL positions. He reported on amateur radio public service and emergency communications for over 10 years. In addition he has been active in local clubs in the Philadelphia area. Josuweit currently serves on the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club’s Board of Directors, and is trustee of WM3PEN, one of the bonus stations active during the 13 Colonies Special Event.
The award’s namesake, Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel, was a radio amateur who, over the years, used the call signs RAEM, U3AA, and UA3AA. Born in Poland, Krenkel was an Arctic explorer who took part in the first Soviet “drifting station,” North Pole-1. He was made a “Hero of the Soviet Union” in 1938 for his exploits. Among other things the award recognizes individuals around the world who have had a role in the Mass Media and Club Radio Stations.
Krenkel’s son, T.E. Krenkel, is among the four signatories to the award certificate. The younger Krenkel, a professor at the Moscow Technical College of Telecommunication and Informatics, pointed out that his father served as the first chairman of the Central Radio Club in the USSR. Krenkel’s image appears on postage stamps from the USSR and Russia, and he authored a biography, My Callsign is RAEM. In the era when all radio amateurs received QSL cards via Box 88, Moscow, Krenkel was allowed to have his own postal address on his QSLs and was issued the non-standard RAEM call sign, which lacked a numeral.
Josuweit is the 201st recipient of the award and only the 24th person in North America to be so honored. Further information on the award can be found at: http://krenkelmedal.org/index.php?id=49