This is a certificate that did not originate with the YLRL. It was started by Mary Meyer W9RUKJ(SK) in 1958 as a way to get more YLs involved in having fun on the radio. By just chatting with other YLs you could enjoy the hobby more, and at the same time work towards a nice certificate to hang on the wall in your shack.

After Mary became a silent key, the award was run by Martha Shirley W0ZWL until she became a silent key. After that Phyllis Douglas K7SEC oversaw the award until recently.

I was not aware of this award at all until a member of YLRL applied for a YLRL certificate and mentioned she would like to apply for the Grandmother Award but didn’t know the procedure. I discussed it with the YLRL officers and they directed me to Phyllis who had not had any applicants for the award for some time. I don’t remember if it was Phyllis or a YLRL officer suggested to me that we take it on as a YLRL certification, but I was in favor of it, so they put me in contact with Phyllis who was also in favor of it becoming a YLRL certificate. After that Phyllis sent me everything she had on the award along with a brief history of the award.

I was pleased to see that the original was not only for grandmothers but had a seal for great-grandmothers. While reading over the original rules, I realized that instead of a seal we could jut have two certificates—one for collecting names of grandmothers and one for collecting names of great-grandmothers. I did keep it as a stacked award though–in otherwards, you have to receive the grandmother’s certificate first and then work on the great-grandmother’s certificate. You can’t do it the other way around. I’ve kept the rules very close to what were the original rules.

There is no list of grandmothers or great-grandmothers for you to contact. You have to find them by simply making contacts on the radio and chatting. We all know how to do that. Look for anyone who is a grandmother and log their information as listed in the rules below.