Cherry Ridge Resident Receives Lifetime Achievement Award for Work in Amateur Radio

Posted on January 20, 2021

Today, we’d like to take a moment to honor a distinguished resident of St. Ann’s Community at Cherry Ridge: Irwin Goodman. Irwin, who goes by Irv, or call sign AF2K, was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with amateur radio. Irv, a “Ham” (which is a term used for amateur radio operators), was honored with a parade of over 30 cars, national radio news coverage, a Lifetime Achievement plaque, and a radio send-off to his fellow Hams who were listening in.

A special thanks goes out to Tom Endey, Maintenance Mechanic at Cherry Ridge and fellow Ham, who helped facilitate Irv’s nomination and celebration!

PAUL/ANCHOR: As hams we know that there are many things that can get in the way of making a good contact: poor propagation, the wrong antenna, bad SWR – or just too much distance. In Rochester, New York, however, nothing stopped one contact from happening after more than a year of planning. Randy Sly W4XJ tells us about it in this week’s final story.

RANDY: A lifetime achievement award comes along, literally, once in a lifetime. In the hearts of the Rochester DX Association and the Rochester VHF Group, Irv Goodman AF2K was ready for his. Now well into his 80s, Irv’s more than 50 years of radio service has included providing hospitality at Hamvention, taking overnight shifts at Field Day, being part of the local Breakfast Club net and being one of the contesters in the annual New York QSO Party.

Chris Shalvoy K2CS, president of the Rochester DX group, told Newsline that Irv was to have received his lifetime achievement plaque from the two groups at their annual banquet this year but COVID restrictions cancelled it. There was also a challenge in getting the plaque made after the original company shut its doors because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Irv himself had relocated recently to a care facility. He’d had a stroke some years ago while helping raise a tower.

Despite a snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures, conditions were right for a good contact on December 20th. A parade of 32 cars set off with more than 50 hams aboard to pay tribute from a distance. The award was handed off and given to Irv by a ham who works inside the care facility.

Still, this wasn’t going to be a one-way contact for this veteran radio operator. Irv was handed an HT and gave thanks to his friends the best way he knows how: by getting on the air.