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 Previous: SuitSat-1: Round and Round It Goes, When It'll Drop, Nobody Knows |  Next: CQ Announces Hall of Fame Inductees for 2006 |
By Laurie P. Sansbury Jr, KV4C
kv4c@arrl.net
May 25, 2006
When a new, small club decides it wants to get involved with public service, it has to start small, as well. By watching and learning from other clubs, it took on the public service aspects of a local air show and showed it can do just as well as some of the larger clubs out there. Not only did the "small" club come through when needed, they now have the experience and confidence to do more.
 Mike Duff, KG4SLH, left, and Bobby Collins, KG4BZK, behind the informational display and in front of the K4AVR recreational vehicle. [All photos by Mike Duff, KG4SLH, South Carolina Assistant Public Information Officer] |
Only a few hours to go and jets would be thundering through the skies, helicopters would be buzzing up above, and thousands of spectators would fill the Third Annual May Fly Air Show in Florence, South Carolina. It was the biggest undertaking yet for newly appointed Florence County Emergency Coordinator Bobby Collins, KG4BZK. The sun had barely breached the horizon on Saturday, May 1, 2004, and Bobby was gazing into the light drizzle from above, probably wondering, "What did I get us into?" How does a small, relatively new ARES group organize and execute a successful public service event, when the biggest project it has ever completed lasted only a few hours and required just six people? Bobby turned to the members of the Florence Amateur Radio Club (FARC), and then he focused on planning, organization, commitment and teamwork.
Proper Planning Makes a Great Event
The true planning for this event really began a year
before, during the second annual May Fly, when it was little more than an idea
being tossed around. Bobby met with May Fly officials and he gave them an
indication of what Amateur Radio could do -- how it could give senior officials
access to information that they had not known in the previous events. Being
better able to communicate with the many stations involved was an intriguing
idea to them and a partnership was born.
 The information table/net control vehicle. It might not have been pretty, but it was effective. |
Bobby shouldered most of the burden in the early months before the event by sitting in on the meetings and developing an understanding of what the committee needed from Amateur Radio. Being somewhat new to the public service aspect, he sought additional advice from others and set aside time to participate in some nearby events. He, along with a few key ARES members, volunteered to work in other community service events in order to gain a better understanding of the various individual functions and possible problems amateurs might encounter, as well as ideas to better prepare himself for May Fly.
Several key members in Florence County ARES, including Mac Cullom, K4AVR, his wife Suzie, KG4YVI, and Mike Duff, KG4SLH, assisted in a nearby marathon in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Loaded with new information, and filled with enthusiasm, the Florence amateurs began to put together an event of their own. The core group, along with several others, began work on a 10K/5K Run/Walk for McLeod Hospital Systems. While the event lasted only a few hours and required the help of just six radio amateurs, it was an invaluable experience for the participants. The event was deemed an overall success and intensive preparations began for the big event.
It's All in the Numbers
By this time, Bobby had an idea of the number of
volunteers required to successfully carry out May Fly. No fewer than 13
operators would be required at any given time. Not a large number, but considering
they would be needed for 10 or more hours per day, in the hot sun over a two
day period, he needed a plan to relieve operators frequently. Bobby made the
decision to schedule operators in two hour time periods, 8AM-10AM, 10AM-12PM,
12PM-2PM and so on, and to have stations rotate on a regular basis. Everyone
was scheduled with plenty of time off to eat, socialize or whatever. Seven to eight
additional operators were planned as "floaters" to give those who needed it
frequent breaks.
 Mac Cullom, K4AVR, at the talk-in net control position, complete with donated breakfast from a local fast food vendor. |
So the real number of volunteers required at any given time was closer to 20, quite a few when you consider that the local Amateur Radio club only has 51 members. That would mean nearly half of the members would have to give up 20 or more hours of their time over two days to fully staff the event -- not likely to happen. Consequently, a plea for assistance from other amateurs went out into the community. At this point Mike Duff, who is also the Assistant Public Information Officer for the South Carolina section, began soliciting for volunteer operators. He used HF and VHF nets, e-mails and word-of-mouth to spread the news. Dr Jim Boehner, N2ZZ, South Carolina Section Manager, was kind enough to put the word out on his weekly section updates and on the section web site. One major conflict arose, however, as the South Carolina Section Convention was to be held at the Upstate Hamfest in Spartanburg on the very first day of May Fly.
Other key members also performed their delegated tasks quite well. The decision to use Mac's RV as net control sprung from its invaluable service during the McLeod event. In addition to being a great place for net control, the fold-out awning in front was an excellent location for a display table. The FARC banner was hung in front, information on Amateur Radio was displayed, and a VCR/TV combo played the most recent Amateur Radio video continuously. The RV was also a convenient, and very visible, spot for volunteers to meet, receive assignments and cool off. A separate canopy, table and chairs were set up directly next to the RV so that plenty of space was available for volunteers to relax, and plenty of cool drinks were on hand -- important for the expected heat. Incidentally, Mike was able to get canned drinks and bottled water donated from a local soft drink distributor, and two local fast food vendors supplied breakfast for up to 20 volunteers in the mornings.
As time grew short, Bobby needed to make sure that plenty of volunteers would be available. Those who had expressed an interest were requested to sign up for specific days and times so that a schedule could be arranged. One benefit for volunteers was that the May Fly officials agreed to give free tickets to the immediate family members of the radio operators. That meant that Bobby needed a count ahead of time to see how many tickets to request. The hope was that people would be more likely to volunteer if they could bring along their family, especially the folks from out of town. Also, those who had committed well in advance, and signed on the dotted line, would be more likely to honor their commitment. In both cases, this seemed to work well. Obviously, last minute problems kept a few from following through, but some new folks that had not been counted on also volunteered at the last moment. Fortunately, Bobby planned ahead and ordered extra tickets.
The Clock Is Ticking
An ARES meeting was held at the local American Red Cross
building one week before the actual event. Tickets were passed out and those in
attendance received a packet containing maps of the event and outlines of duty
stations, responsibilities, frequencies and equipment needed. Each volunteer
was requested to bring their handhelds capable of transmitting on two simplex
frequencies (one for net control and one for incidental communication) and on a
back-up local repeater frequency. Net control monitored the main simplex
frequency and the repeater frequency, which was also used for talk-in for
out-of-town operators. Radio operators were also requested to bring back-up
batteries if available and their chargers, as electricity was available for
recharging at net control.
 Bobby Collins, KG4BZK, at the simplex net control position. The radio on his belt allows him to communicate with the event coordinator. |
Please note that it was necessary at some points for two net controllers to be available -- one for simplex and one for the repeater -- but this was easily handled at the RV site. The net control operator was sometimes charged with relaying information to and from the event coordinator. At this event, the event coordinator preferred not to have a shadow. Instead, Bobby was given a commercial radio with access to the "boss." It still worked well, however, as each individual station was able to request information from the event coordinator through the net control station via relay. This was important, as many of the event volunteers were not as well informed as the Amateur Radio volunteers were.
The net control station kept a sign-in log, as well as a log showing who the operators were for any given position at any moment. Operators patrolled the main gate, secondary gate, parking lots, food court, VIP area, first aid tent, mobile EOC and rode on all the trams and handicap assistance vehicles. The volunteers were asked to do more than just communicate in some areas and everyone was very willing to do his or her best without complaints. On the second day, some radio operators actually became the drivers when other event staff failed to show or had to leave unexpectedly. This turned out to be a bonus as the vehicles were also able to be used to send water to operators, switch out operators and retrieve batteries left in vehicles, among other things.
Monday Morning Quarterbacking
Were there problems? Sure, but nothing that could not be quickly handled. Net discipline broke down once or twice -- especially when one three-year-old became separated from her family. A number of hams, who were also concerned fathers, became a little over zealous and blocked the frequencies momentarily. It is especially important at times like this to remember that we are there to be communicators, not to take charge. Within moments, however, we were able to inform law enforcement officials, the South Carolina State Guard and the Explorers. Fortunately, she was found before they could even mobilize for the search.
Were there things that we might change? "Yes" is the answer to that question, too. While those who made it to the meeting a week before had access to maps and information, many failed to bring them, and out-of-town participants did not have them at all. Maps were essential, as it was a large event and signage was often scarce or vague. Most often, the spectators would bypass uniformed officers and ignore those wearing event T shirts, preferring instead to walk up to the "orange vested guys with radios" and ask their questions. For next year, each station will have its own information packet with, maps, frequencies, duties and expectations completely outlined so that there is no confusion. Hopefully the packets will be moisture resistant. Did I mention the intermittent showers over the two days?
A short meeting was held, following the next regularly scheduled FARC club meeting, and the participants present had a round-table type of discussion concerning problems and possible improvements. The one thing that was most apparent from the discussion was that the event was highly successful despite a few flaws here and there. "The Little Club that Could" was able to plan the event, secure and coordinate the necessary personnel and provide a service to the community, promoting Amateur Radio along the way.
Laurie P. Sansbury, KV4C, holds an Amateur Extra class
license; he has been licensed since 1991. Amateur Radio is a family affair in
the Sansbury household, as dad Laurie Sr is K4OVV. A current member and past
president of the Florence Amateur Radio Club, Laurie also served as Assistant
Section Manager of the South Carolina Section, but has recently resigned due to
starting medical school in Florida this fall, with a goal towards practicing
Emergency Medicine. A disaster services volunteer and member of numerous local
and state American Red Cross disaster communications committees, his favorite
aspect of Amateur Radio is emergency communications. Laurie lives in Hartsville, South Carolina.
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