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 Previous: Surfin': Connecting the Dots |  Next: ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up To Lately? |
By The ARRL HQ Katrina Team
November 1, 2005
While Hurricane Katrina's wrath was directed at coastal Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, soon after Katrina's landfall it became obvious that radio amateurs throughout the country would be needed to respond to a crisis of unprecedented scale. The credit for Amateur Radio's outstanding response belongs to the front-line volunteers, but we would like you to know how ARRL Headquarters geared up to give them needed support.
The situation required a greater than usual role for the ARRL staff. We were called upon to become an information clearinghouse for Katrina volunteers and served agencies, to coordinate logistics, field public relations and media inquiries, and to manage monetary and equipment contributions.
We responded by forming an internal team to handle the crisis. Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B and Interim Field Services Manager Dave Patton, NN1N led the team. Under their leadership, the team met daily to assess the situation and make necessary adjustments.
One of the critical areas was the increased demand for information from local and national media. Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, fielded inquiries that resulted in articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio and hundreds of other media outlets. Allen responded to hundreds of inquiries to tell the Amateur Radio story...and they're still coming in. Allen also spent a couple of days at the Red Cross headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama handling the media requests that were overwhelming the communications volunteers.
We also needed to quickly find a way to register hams who volunteered to serve in the Gulf region. With the help of AB2M's existing database, our Manager of Web Development, Jon Bloom, KE3Z, and his staff, created an on-line volunteer database for hams who were willing to travel to the Gulf. At the same time, we received urgent requests from agencies in desperate need of amateur operators. Our solution was an on-line based database where operators could match the agency needs with their time, expertise and equipment.
We created a prominent section of the ARRL Web site dedicated to Katrina resources and information. News Editor Rick Lindquist, N1RL, kept the Web site updated with the latest information. The large volunteer response required us to provide detailed instructions to hams traveling to the Gulf Coast including the need for each ham to be a completely self-sustaining unit with their own food, water and shelter.
The Amateur Radio industry helped in the effort by making significant contributions of equipment and supplies. The equipment included everything from handheld transceivers and HF rigs to headsets, power supplies, batteries, antennas and coax. We sent the equipment to areas where ham gear was damaged or destroyed or where more permanent installations were required. Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, Janet Rocco, W1JLR, Wayne Mills, N7NG, and Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, coordinated the equipment procurement and shipping. Dennis went to Montgomery where he assisted Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, who was managing the Red Cross communications efforts for 250 shelters and kitchens.
Communications between the HQ and the various parts of the ARRL Field Organization was one of our most important and critical functions. Steve Ewald, WV1X, acted as the link between headquarters, Section Managers (SMs) and Section Emergency Coordinators (SECs) in the Gulf. A daily SM/SEC conference call to the field team was coordinated through ARRL Headquarters. The conference call was used to assess the situation, communicate important information between SMs and provide support where needed.
As information continued to flow into Headquarters, it became clear that we needed to monitor HF activity over the holiday weekend. W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, monitored the emergency nets for potential interference and passed emergency traffic as needed. Team members took shifts to monitor 20, 40 and 80 meters, 24 hours a day through the Labor Day weekend. Bill Moore, NC1L, DXCC Manager, monitored the nets and acted as a relay station and net controller during the overnight shifts.
The HQ staff also stayed in daily contact with ARRL served agencies and other volunteer organizations. Former Field Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, participated in a daily conference call with VOAD, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. She was the eyes and ears of ham radio, listening for problems where hams could help.
Our Development Department, under the leadership of Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, established a set of "Ham Aid" reimbursement procedures so radio amateurs volunteering to provide emergency communication in the field during the Hurricane Katrina disaster can recover some out-of-pocket expenses. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has provided a $100,000 grant supplement to the ARRL to help fund this effort. One generous donor contributed an additional $7,000.
While many on the headquarters staff were involved in the day to day response to Hurricane Katrina, other ARRL staff members pitched in to cover the organization's day to day operations in membership, publications, VEC, club relations, DXCC and contesting. In a very real sense, the response to Katrina involved the entire ARRL--members, volunteers and staff.
As we pen these words, Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the Texas coast. We all earnestly hope that the lessons learned from Katrina will keep Rita and subsequent natural disasters from matching Katrina for death, destruction and disruption. Come what may, we at ARRL Headquarters will do everything possible to support volunteer Amateur Radio operators and served agencies that depend on Amateur Radio, especially...when all else fails.
