WB9VPG Delbert N. 'Neil' Rapp Bloomington, IN QCWA # 30718

Neil Rapp was born in Vincennes, Indiana on September 22, 1970. He is the son of Delbert Ray Rapp WB9UKG and Margaret Louise (Osmon) Rapp WD9HEE. At the age of 5 years, Neil became the youngest person in the world to pass the Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio examination and obtain a ham radio license. He drew international attention from the media, including every ham radio magazine in the United States and Japan, local TV and radio, the National Enquirer, and the CBS morning news. At age 6, he was the youngest to pass the FCC technician class license. At age 7, Neil was the youngest to pass the FCC general class license. And at age 9, he was the youngest to pass the FCC advanced class license. At age 18, he received the Amateur Extra class license.

Neil sponsors the Bloomington High School South Amateur Radio Club in Bloomington, Indiana, where he teaches Chemistry. Neil was presented with 2004 ARRL Professional Educator of the Year on October 4, 2005 as a result of his work in ham radio education. He is also a member and secretary-treasurer of the Bloomington Amateur Radio Club (BARC), a member of the Old Post Amateur Radio Society (OPARS) in Vincennes, Indiana, and is the Vice President and trustee of Electronic Applications Radio Service (EARS). He is a life member of ARRL, and is the youngest to ever be a member of QCWA (age 29) since joining in January, 2001. Neil is the chairman of the Evansville (IN) hamfest, and also serves as an Assistant Central Division Director of the ARRL. He also is a contact examiner for W5YI-VEC and National Radio Examiners, and is a certified examiner for ARRL-VEC.

Neil is a graduate of Vincennes Lincoln High School (1988), Vincennes University (A.A. - Pre-medicine, 1990), and University of Southern Indiana (B.S. - Chemistry, Secondary Education - Chemistry, 1993; M.S. - Secondary Education, 2000). He has also attended Butler, Purdue, and Miami (OH) for summer classes. He is currently in the Instuctional Systems Design doctoral (Ed.D) program at the University of Kentucky.

Neil currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana.

February 22, 2013