About the CQ Contest Hall of Fame

At his 80th birthday party held in Tuxedo Park, NY, Dick Ross, K2MGA announced the founding of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. The first Hall of Fame inductee was K2GL. Since that day in September 1986, the Contest Hall of Fame has become the most prestigious achievement in contesting. Just how did it all happen?

History

Buz Reeves, K2GL 80th birthday would be arriving soon. Since this event only happens to some of us, a celebration was in order. Doug, KR2Q thought it would be nice to gather together at a party all of operators who had operated at K2GL over the years. A party was going to be a tough thing to put together and the current op's at K2GL were concerned how they could pull this thing off FOR Buz, but without intruding ON Buz. They couldn't exactly have a surprise party and have him signing some business deal in W6-land.

KR2Q told Buz that the operators wanted to celebrate his 80th Birthday with him. Doug's plan was to have a BBQ at Buz's QTH in Tuxedo Park, NY. The operators would buy the hamburgers and hotdogs. When told of the plan, Buz said (without skipping a beat) that the party could take place at the Duck Cedar Inn (Buz's own restaurant in Tuxedo, NY), and that additionally, we should invite ALL M/M op's who operated WITH him and ALL M/M op's who also operated AGAINST him.

This was a daunting task. KR2Q contacted Gene, N2AA to help find the names of some previous op's who had "vanished". They split up the list with Gene asking Frankford (FRC) contesters and Doug trying to find the rest. KR2Q called all over the US trying to locate previous K2GL op's and competitors. Buz's western competitors, W7RM, K6UA and N5AU were contacted. Unfortunately, for most operators outside of the YCCC, FRC & PVRC area, it was simply too far and expensive to attend. But all were invited.

While putting the celebration together, KR2Q tried to figure out a way to honor Buz for his ham accomplishments. There was a Ham of the Year award and there was the HamVention (R). There was a DX Hall of Fame and the Visalia DX Convention. Why not a CONTEST Hall of Fame?

KR2Q called Dick Ross, K2MGA the president of CQ Publishing and told him of the plan for the birthday party and the possibility for the creation of a CQ Contest Hall of Fame. Dick thought it was a great idea and endorsed it on the spot.

Buz's great contributions to contesting included not only the spawning of top operators' (in that day), but the ACTUAL creation of the M/S and later the M/M categories. K2GL's history of wins is still unmatched. K1AR even described the K2GL saga of win's as a dynasty.

Most of the attendee's that can be identified from photos taken at the party are:
K1DG, K1KI, K1VR, K1ZM, K2GL, K2GM, K2MGA, K2NG, K2RR, K2TR, K2TT, K2TW, K2UU, K3DI, K3EST, K3JJG, K3JLA, K3LR, K3ND, K3NZ, K3OO, K3RV, K3UA, K3WW, K3ZUF, K5NA, K5ZD, K6SSS, K6UA sent a gift, KC8C, KR2Q, KT3M, KU2M, KU2Q, N1XX, N2BA, N2NT, N2WT, N3AD, N3RS, N4IN, NF2L, NT2X, VE3BMV, W1WY, W2AO, W2GD, W2RQ, W2SKE, W3AZD, W3BGN, W3FV, W3GM, W3GRF, W3LPL, W3MM, W6AXX, W7RM sent a card, W9LT, WA2DHF, WB2BHC

About The CQ Contest Hall of Fame

Who can nominate?

The person must be nominated by a well known club or national organization. The nominee does not have to be a member of the nominating group. The nominating group should submit a complete summary of why their nominee is worthy of induction into the CONTEST or DX Hall of Fame. The letter of nomination must be written on club stationary or submitted via internet under the signature of a club or national organization officer.

Guidelines

The nominee must have contributed on a broad basis to the sport of Contesting or DXing. Being very active in contests and DXing are only part of the pre-requisites. Since each person has unique qualifications it is difficult to specify what constitutes contributions on a broad basis. As a partial guideline to nominating clubs or national organizations, persons who have been inducted in the past into a Hall of Fame have contributed in some or all of the following ways: brought new people into the hobby, formed radio clubs, organized DX funding, written books or articles about the sport, unselfishly given their time to judge contests, acted in a leadership role to organize DXpeditions, pioneered the early developed of the sport or acted as an acknowledged role model for their sport.

All nominations should be sent to:
CQ Hall of Fame c/o BobCox, K3EST,
 or
Email: k3est@cqww.com

Deadline

The deadline for nominations is JANUARY 1. Nominations received after the deadline will be held over to the next year. Successful nominees will receive their plaque of induction into the CQ Hall of Fame at the Contest or DX Banquet held at the Dayton Hamvention.