As we near the close of the 2018 US version of #WLPC, Keith Parsons took to the stage to announce the person of the year. This award was previously held by Adrain Granados, well known maker of the WifiExplorer (and other Mac WiFi tools) within the wireless community. Definitely a hard act to follow.

With so much angst for members of the community, this year the awardee was Lee Badman.

2018 WLPC Person of the Year – Lee Badman

Now, most would agree that Lee has been very influential this past year with his #WIFIQ tweets daily that have sparked some great discussions within the community. But let’s get to know the REAL Lee.

1. This is no surprise to many, but Lee loves pugs. That’s right pugs. Possibly the least beautiful animal in the genus Canis. I mean, what real man wants a pug? It’s like the animal just ran into a wall over and over again, yet people thought it was cute??? Don’t get me wrong, I do see the resemblance, and yes it is striking between the two.
2. 

   

   Lee was solely responsible for the KRACK vulnerability, the largest security hole found in wireless in decades.

3. Lee actually created wireless and not Telsa like many believed. Yes, he has been around that long folks and is THAT old.
4. In his spare time he consults for the most interesting man in the world, yet for obvious reasons we aren’t allowed to share any pics of Lee. We have to keep this blog PG after all folks.
5. Lee and Bender are actually long lost brothers, who were separated at birth and STILL don’t know this fact. Whoops! Guess they do now!
   

   Lee – age 2

6. Lee loves drinking whiskey and playing the ukulele for random strangers under the I-690 and I-81 overpass in downtown Syracuse. You can see this early picture of Lee honing his craft. He has a huge following and once almost won a Grammy. Grammy you say? That’s right, late at night after one of his more notorious concerts he almost won someone’s grammy crackers in a poker game between himself, 2 pugs, 3 cardboard boxes, and Prince.
7. Lee once played backup ukulele for Rick Astley at the Starlight Lounge.
8. Lastly, as any good wireless engineer knows, a good design is about meeting ALL of the requirements. Lee definitely does that. Again, if you need proof, ask Bender.

All jokes aside, Lee has become a good friend over the last year plus that I’ve known him, but especially after spending the last week here in Phoenix with him. For those of you that don’t know, Lee also serves as a technical editor for many wireless books such as the CWNP study guides, and is an exceptional blogger. If you haven’t seen it, you have to read his blog post just prior to this #WLPC conference. Yes folks, it’s satire so enjoy it. While you’re there check out his other blog posts that cover a litany of topics.

Lee is greatly deserving of this award and while I might not always admire his tastes in dogs, I commend him for all of his contributions to the wireless community. Thanks Lee for everything and for being a good sport in the blogging world.

-Scott