Inducted: December 1991
Died: October 1997
Gerry Mathis W3GM was a member of the Frankford Radio Club and constructed a multi-multi contest station where he trained many club members in the art of contesting.
As W3BES, the call sign he earned in 1930, Mathis was ARRL SCM for Eastern Pennsylvania from the late 1930s until 1951.
When the Ohio River flooded in 1937 and a detachment of Philadelphia police was sent to Louisville to help, W3BES acted as a relay station to keep Philadelphia in touch with Louisville. Some of his transmissions were broadcast over local radio station WFIL to keep the public informed about the disaster.
Mathis’ professional life also revolved around electronics and radio. He was employed by a number of different radio-related companies. Many hams remember him from Consolidated Radio, where he built custom transmitters for various prominent Amateurs.
During World War II, he was active in the War Emergency Radio Services (WERS) and then went to the First Fighter Command to organize the air-to-ground communication.