I think it's legit. It has a credible media source. A HAM operator being a weather spotter? Yes some are part of NOAA/NWS Weather Spotters. NWS monitors their communications during storms for tornado or hail etc. He was most likely simply standing outside and happened to have his hand held HAM Radio. The radio had nothing to do with the lightning strike though.
Why would you say that?
A handheld radio with the ability to transmit actually is one of the better lightning attractors I can think of.
It has metal in it, it has an ANTENNA, and when transmitting the generated signal creates a change in the temperature of the antenna, the air, and creates a 'conduit' for any nearby electrical charge.
An umbrella can funnel ground based charges through your body and up through the metal pole. I can only imagine that a transmitting radio antenna would be even better.
With 'witnesses' employed by a local media source.
"When Bill called for help through the ham radio, our KAKEland chase coordinator, Mike Mathia, heard his call. Mathia and two other amateur radio operators called 911."