Amateur Radio and patriotism
highlight Ellis Island Flag Day celebration
June 22, 2004 -- New York City Amateur Radio Emergency
Service (ARES) members displayed their colors and showed the public what a
valuable resource they have in Amateur Radio during a Flag Day celebration held
June 12-14 on Ellis Island--within
view of the Statue of Liberty. An Amateur Radio booth was open daily on the
southeastern side of the island to inform visitors about the many services
Amateur Radio has to offer.
New York City ARES District Emergency Coordinator
Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, organized the presentation. "Any time we can participate
in an event that shows Amateur Radio in a positive light is a good thing," he
said. "This is especially true when it shows our involvement in emergency
communications and emergency response. It's good for the hobby, and it's good
for the public." Lisenco arranged for representatives of all five New York City
boroughs--Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bronx and Manhattan--to be on hand
to answer questions about Amateur Radio for the many visitors, including
numerous youngsters.
While the emphasis for this particular event was on
emergency communication, Lisenco said, the ARES team presented all facets of
Amateur Radio. He said several visitors, including some of the National Park
System rangers, expressed interest in getting an Amateur Radio license. The
group handed out lots of ham radio literature and ran a continuous loop of the
ARRL Amateur Radio Today video narrated by
Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD. The three-day event culminated with a Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT) graduation
ceremony. Among those attending were representatives of the US Department of Homeland Security,
Citizen Corps,
the New Jersey State Police, the New York City Office of Emergency Management,
the New York governor's office and the National Park Service.
Page last modified: 01:20 PM, 21 Jul 2004 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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