I had some more time this afternoon and tried to find more info on Joe Knight W5PDY
Of course I already knew he was the inspiration of the Knight Award other than finding out he served as the NM SM for 27 years I found very few details, maybe I will find more info when the ARL website comes back on line.
I am still searching for a magic recipe to excel as an SM however it seems i am doing what the few seem to indicate is needed as in "being out there among the members"