Amateur Radio Club Celebrates 100 Years

Photo Submitted

Club president Eli Barton (seated left), and Zac Wolfe; standing from left, Dan Puckett, former club adviser; alumnus Bill Kennamer; club adviser Larry Roe; alumnus Murray Harris; Rick Pope; alumnus Jim Haynes; alumnus Kevin Thornton; and Lucyen Gabbard.

The University of Arkansas Amateur Radio Club recently celebrated a milestone: The club has been a licensed ham radio station for 100 years, since 1916. It is one of the oldest university ham radio clubs in the country, and has been on the air almost as long as radio licenses have been issued. The club's call letters, W5YM, have been heard around the world, and beyond. In 1995, club members helped establish a radio link between the space shuttle Endeavour and an elementary school in Huntsville.

To cap a year of celebration, Arkansas state Sen. Uvalde Lindsey of Fayetteville recognized the club with an Arkansas Senate Citation.