• He is also a graduate of the US Naval Academy and an old Marine (We won’t hold that against him). 
  
  
• He has been on many DX operations, most recently, TX5C. Some of his DX endeavors have centered on his layman involvement in church mission activities - several of which have involved doing communications installations for missionaries or Christian broadcast stations.
     

And Now A Little about Frank Schawb for whom this Prestigious Award is Named:

He was a well-known top-flight contester and CW operator in Dayton.  In 1952 then president of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, Frank was among the organizers of the first Hamvention. Although he was said to have shied away from the titles, Frank  became known around Dayton as the "father of Hamvention" or "Mr. Hamvention."

Frank was an ARRL Life Member and also belonged to the Society of Wireless Pioneers as well as the Quarter Century Wireless Association.  As a founder and member of the Southwest Ohio DX Association, he was the leader among those who thought of organizing an event in conjunction with the Dayton Hamvention to: bring DX operators together in a relaxed forum where we compare our hard fought DX stories, And that is why you are sitting here at the premier Dinner event of Hamvention weekend!

Frank was the Hamvention Amateur of the Year in 1978.  A World War II Navy veteran radioman, Schwab was first licensed in 1946 as W8YCP and, owing in part to his considerable CW skill (he could copy 55 WPM WITHOUT A COMPUTER!), he soon rose to the top of the DXCC ranks with 376 entities confirmed and eventual membership in the CQ DX Hall of Fame.

He also was a veteran of Field Day, an event in which he'd participated for 52 consecutive years. After a tornado ripped through Xenia, Ohio, in 1974, Frank was instrumental in setting up the ham radio emergency communications network that helped keep the community in touch with the outside world. He's also credited with establishing a SKYWARN program in the Dayton area. His wife, Carolyn, 12 children, and at last count 30 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren are part of his great legacy. 

As a matter of fact, his daughter Joanne Hubbard informed me last night that she had applied and received Frank’s original call
W 8 Y C P.
 
Frank’s honorable character by which he led his life is now the standard by which we choose the W8OK Award recipient.