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 Previous: FCC Goes After Alleged 10-Meter Scofflaws |  Next: Foale Speaks via Ham Radio to Students at his Alma Mater |
JANUARY 2004
Ham Radio University Seminar a Success, More Scheduled
ARRL Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, is going to be one hard-traveling individual in February, as he will present three seminars on three consecutive weekends. Miller gave the year's first seminar about ARRL's grant-sponsored Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Courses January 18 at the Ham Radio University event, held in Oyster Bay, New York. He said the gathering went "extremely well."
"People like the interactive discussions and these seminars do exactly that," Miller said. "I present the group with emergency communications scenarios intended to get people to think about how they or their group could or should respond. That in turn spurs questions and discussion."
In an exit survey, the 18 seminar attendees reported the information was valuable and well presented. ARRL membership was a common bond for most of the attendees at 72%, while just 17% said they were regular participants in Citizen Corps activities.
On February 6, Miller will be in Miami, Florida to present a seminar at Hamboree. The next weekend will find him up the road in Orlando to give the presentation at Hamcation. February 20, Miller is off to Oklahoma City for an ARES/SATERN conference.
"We've had outstanding turnout at the seminars since September 2003," Miller said. "This has resulted in a continuous flow of students in all three of the grant-sponsored courses. We still can't provide enough seats to meet the demand."
ARRL provides grant-funded tuition reimbursement for ARRL-member 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 the Corporation for National and Community Service that the League could greatly expand its emergency communications training program with grant funding. The training is currently 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 about $10.3 million in federal money to boost homeland defense volunteer programs. During the first year of the grant--September 2002 through August 2003--2225 emergency communication volunteers started the Level I course through the grant-funded program, and 1676 completed the training, a 75% completion rate.
"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. Senior citizens are especially encouraged to get involved.
"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.
Levels II and III continue the student's education in emergency communications, giving instruction in net control, liaising with public safety officials, severe weather and hospital communications, large-scale disasters, ARES, federal planning and much more.
IN THE NEWS:
Amateur Radio Responds to Bus Rollover Accident
Duval County, Florida, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) activated on the morning of January 18 after a bus rolled over in Jacksonville near the junction of Interstates 10 and 95. ARRL Crown District Emergency Coordinator Miller Norton, N4RYX, said the bus had rolled down an embankment, landing upright. More than 20 injured bus passengers--both adults and children--were transported to three local area hospitals, although none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
ARRL Staffer Guest for On-Line Public Service Discussion
Amateur Radio emergency communications will be the featured topic on the Emergency Information Infrastructure Project (EIIP) Virtual Forum Wednesday, January 21, at 12 PM EST. ARRL Field Organization/Public Service Team Supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, was a guest on the on-line, moderated event that saw 90 people interested in emergency communications take part.
ARRL Opens Course Registrations
January saw the opening of one new section each of the three levels of ARRL's grant-sponsored Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Courses. Registration opened January 19 for the on-line ARRL Level III course, January 12 for Level II and January 5 for the Level I course. The Level I offering was full within 20 hours of the beginning of on-line registration, and the others were filled in a matter of days. So far in the second year of the CNCS grant, 912 students have signed up for Level I emergency communications training.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
"With my physical condition preventing me from responding to the fire alarm any longer, I feel that mentoring is my way of passing on the techniques that the course covers along with personal experiences that may be relevant.One of my recent Level III students...thanked me for bringing reality to the material." -- Howard Coleman, N6VDV
"We went on to take the level II and III programs and successfully passed both. We are now active members of the State of California Governor's Office of Emergency Services after spending two years with the Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service.We are putting the training to use and very much appreciate the mentoring you provided." -- Joe Maynard, K6JMA
For more information on this exciting opportunity for
learning and service, check out the ARRL Certification and Education Web pages
at www.arrl.org/cce/ or send
e-mail to ARRL Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, at k3ufg@arrl.org.
| Previous: FCC Goes After Alleged 10-Meter Scofflaws | Next: Foale Speaks via Ham Radio to Students at his Alma Mater |
