The Radio Club of America Announces 2022 Award Recipients and Fellows

The Radio Club of America (RCA) proudly announced its 2022 annual award recipients and its incoming class of 2022 Fellows. Since 1935 RCA has recognized through its awards program major contributors to wireless communications. Eight awards have been made, and five members were elevated to Fellow status.

The 2022 Awards and Fellows ceremonies will be held at the RCA Awards Banquet in the Atlanta Georgia Hyatt Regency on November 19, 2022. For details go to RCA’s website.

RCA’s Awards Program

The awards recipients are announced each year. Nominations are accepted from anyone in the wireless industry, and the awards are in two broad categories: (i) awards for anyone involved in wireless, and (ii) awards restricted to RCA members. At the same event RCA elevates members to Fellow status by invitation based on their contributions to RCA and to the arts and sciences of wireless or broadcast communications.

Past award recipients include dozens of legends who helped created the wireless industry including Edwin Armstrong, Martin Cooper, Jay Kitchen, Fred Link, Ted Rappaport, Henry Richter, Ulrich Rohde, and Joseph Taylor.

2022 Awardees:

RCA’s 2022 award recipients join a proud tradition of wireless legends. Each practitioner has dedicated significant time and talent toward the advancement or preservation of skills that advance the wireless industry.

Professor Akhlesh Lakhtakia – Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes very significant achievements and a major body of work accomplished over a lifetime that has advanced the art and science of wireless technology. Professor Lakhtakia has had a 40+ year career in wireless. Currently he is an Evan Pugh & Charles Godfrey Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Pennsylvania State University. He is an expert in materials and electromagnetic wave modeling that are used in RF stealth applications, as well as in lasers, green engineering, and biologically inspired design. He has received forty-three honors and awards, is a U.S. State Dept. Jefferson Science Fellow, has authored or edited twenty-seven books, and refereed over 940 journal papers.

Arlene Harris – Wireless Innovation Award

This award recognizes innovative concepts or products in use in the wireless industry. Arlene Harris is an accomplished entrepreneur, inventor, investor, and policy advocate in the telecommunications industry. Ms. Harris is the president and co-founder of Dyna LLC, an incubator and supporter of wireless ventures. She founded several wireless companies, including GreatCall that developed the “Jitterbug” cell phone for seniors - now part of

BestBuy. She has been awarded several patents and earned many awards. While a long time RCA Fellow, she also co-founded the Wireless History Foundation.

Patti Ryg – Excellence in Sales and Marketing Award

This Award recognizes an individual who exhibits the “Esprit de Corps” of sales, marketing and promoting in the Wireless Industry. Ms. Ryg is a national dealer manager for Diga-Talk Plus, a nationwide provider of push-to-talk (PTT) over cellular (PoC) service. Her 38-year career has included sales positions in distribution with over 30 years with Hutton Communications in various roles, as well as Tait Communications as midwest territory manager.

Donald Root – RCA Special Recognition Award

This award recognizes dedicated service to the Radio Club of America. Mr. Root has 47+ years in emergency management and public safety wireless communications. He is experienced in disaster and planned incident response and support. This award recognizes his service to RCA in the Membership Committee, the MemberServices Senior & Retired Committee, and his work on the RCA website.

Evan Rolek – Special Recognition Award

This award is presented to an individual who has worked tirelessly to support the Radio Club of America. For decades, Mr. Rolek has supported the RCA Youth Activities Program. His support provides resources for the various Youth Activity programs, and consequently to the future of wireless – our young people.

Edward M. Gable K2MP – Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award

This award recognizes significant achievements of excellence in the engineering and manufacturing of radio equipment. Mr. Gable spent most of his career at Harris Corporation working on HF transmitters, receivers, antenna couplers. During the Apollo moon flight program, he worked on NASA’s unified S-band communications. Mr. Gable has made significant contributions to the Antique Wireless Association, ARRL, Army MARS Program, and RCA, supporting amateur radio education and amateur operations.

Ellen O’Hara – RCA Special Services Award

This award was established to recognize those RCA members who have performed significant work to advance the goals and objectives of the Radio Club of America. For decades Ms. O’Hara has held senior management and C- suite positions in the land mobile radio industry, including iCERT (the Industry Council for Emergency Technologies), Zetron Inc., EF Johnson Technologies, Motorola Solutions, and GE Mobile Communications (now L3Harris). This award recognizes Ms. O’Hara’s work in leading multiple virtual RCA networking sessions for women in wireless.

Jim and Felicia Kreuzer – Ralph Batcher Memorial Award

This award is presented to an RCA member for their significant work in preserving the history of radio and electronic communications. Jim and Felicia Kreuzer have made numerous contributions to historical preservation and educational efforts at the Antique Wireless Association and to RCA that include many exhibits, publications, and programs. They generously provide resources to museums and libraries around the world on wireless history, specializing in Marconi and other early wireless topics. In 2022, they curated a new exhibit about the history of the Radio Club of America at the AWA Museum.

Paul Scutieri – President’s Award

This award recognizes the demonstration of unselfish dedication to the work of the Radio Club of America. Mr.Scutieri is a public safety communications professional with more than 25 years of experience providing public safety solutions at the federal, state, and local government levels. This award recognizes Mr. Scutieri’s leadership in bringing the RCA Mentor/Mentee Program to fruition, and for his prior work on the RCA Banquet Committee.

2022 RCA Fellows

Elevation to Fellow is made by invitation to members who are in good standing for at least five years, in recognition of their contributions to the art and science of radio communications, broadcast, or to RCA. The following individuals are elevated to Fellow status in 2022:

Lynn Bisha Professor James Breakall, Ph.D. Neil Horden Jason Kern Pete Varounis

Founded in 1909, the Radio Club of America is the oldest, most prestigious group of wireless communications professionals in the world. Members are dedicated to the wireless art and science for the betterment of society. The Radio Club of America is a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information, visit www.radioclubofamerica.org.