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 Previous: Surfin': Who Invented Television? | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "Ham Radio to be Part of Constitution/Cassin Young "Turnaround Cruise""){kind=small} Next: Ham Radio to be Part of Constitution/Cassin Young "Turnaround Cruise" |
September 2003
Grant Renewal Allows ARECC to Go to "Next Level"
With the renewal of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) grant for a second year, seminar training for ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Courses (ARECC) leaders can grow to a deeper and broader scope, said ARRL Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG.
"Thanks to the renewal of the grant and increased recognition from Department of Homeland Security officials, Year 2 of the federal grant will result in ARECC seminars going to the next level," he said.
A new schedule has been developed and Miller said that ARRL is in the process of confirming dates and locations for the ARECC and ARES Field Organization leadership training seminars. He said over a dozen new seminar sessions are being scheduled, with sights set on both ham and non-ham events, with an emphasis being placed on senior citizen involvement.
ARRL provides grant-funded tuition reimbursement for US Amateur Radio operators wishing to receive emergency communication training through ARRL's Certification and Continuing Education program. The second year of reimbursement can cover the tuition expense of almost 1700 amateurs looking to take the ARECC courses.
In 2002, ARRL proposed to CNCS that the League could greatly expand its emergency communication training program with grant funding. The training is supported by the second year of a three-year, $540,000 federal homeland security grant from CNCS. The League was among several dozen nonprofit organizations designated to receive some $10.3 million in federal money to boost homeland defense volunteer programs. During the first year of the grant, 2254 emergency communication volunteers started the Level I course through the grant-funded program, and 1699 completed the training, a 75.4% completion rate. Even though the first course under the second year of the grant just opened on September 16, 189 hams have signed up for Level 1 training.
"A good number of people have told us that without the grant, they would not have participated in the training," Miller said. "The CNCS grant is doing exactly what it was intended to do: provide a larger group of trained emergency communications people able to support a number of official agencies in a time of need."
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for all Americans to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Members and volunteers serve with national and community nonprofit organizations, and local agencies to help meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security and other critical areas.
"Introduction to Amateur Radio Emergency Communication" is a basic Amateur Radio Emergency Communication course (ARECC) to raise awareness and provide practical knowledge for amateur emergency communication volunteers.
The course includes basic message handling, equipment and use, the incident command structure, and operations and logistics, among other topics. This course has 20 lesson units and takes about 25 hours to complete over an 8-week period; there are also intermediate and advanced courses available for further study and training. Continuing education units are also available.
IN THE NEWS:
Amateur Radio Responds to Isabel
Amateur Radio volunteers lent a helping had to many agencies as Hurricane Isabel made landfall along the North Carolina coast September 18. Many days after the storm passed the Carolinas, hams were still helping served agencies using training learned in the grant-sponsored ARECC courses.
Amateur Radio assistance in the Hurricane Isabel relief and recovery stage drew compliments from the American Red Cross of Central Maryland, which praised the Amateur Radio operators' overwhelming dedication to their communities.
ARRL Presents ARECC/ARES Seminar
The ARRL will offer a free Amateur Radio Emergency Communications seminar Saturday, October 25, in conjunction with Hamfest Minnesota at the Wilkins Auditorium at River Center in St Paul. The seminar will not include the Level I course itself. This program is designed to explain in greater detail the duties of all Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course participants and how their volunteer efforts are essential to the ARES field organization. Senior Citizens are strongly encouraged to participate.
"With the continuing support of our federal homeland security grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the national grant from our corporate partner, United Technologies Corporation, ARECC participants are reinforcing the ARES field organization," said ARRL Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG.
Miller Confers with Homeland Security Officials at Summit
ARRL Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, attended Homeland Security Summit 2 and Consequence Management 3 Summit in Ft Gordon, Georgia September 21-24. The summit was help in conjunction with the FEMA Region IV Conference, in which Miller also took part. "I found that Amateur Radio was well received by homeland security officials," he said. "They are becoming increasingly aware of ham radio's capabilities."
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"Thanks for letting me hang out at the seminar for past couple of days.I look forward to getting some time to take [Levels 2 and 3 of the] Emergency Communications courses. I am convinced that the courses will help me to do a better job teaching health professionals about emergency communications." -- Ed Rollor, N4ZRA
For more information on this exciting opportunity for
learning and service, check out the ARRL Certification and
Education Web pages or send e-mail to ARRL Emergency Communications Course
Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG.
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