Recruiting New Hams
by Albert Moreschi  AG4BV

With the advent of Cell Phones and the Internet fewer new Ham Radio Operators are entering the hobby or, so it seems. This is not the case in Jupiter, Fl. During the year of 2007, our group of Instructors and VE’s brought in more than 118 new Amateur Radio Operators consisting of Fire Fighters, Police Officers, Local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Members, American Red Cross personnel and civilians.     

In order to recruit all these new hams we needed to have good facilities, a highly motivated VE team, educated instructors, and several different means of recruiting. The hurricanes which hit our area in the recent years and a ham communication system which worked when all others fail also helped.     

Our classroom facilities were provided to us with the help of the Palm Beach County Fire Department and the Palm Beach County American Red Cross Headquarters. The Battalion Chief allowed our instructors and VE’s use of a meeting room at one of their fire stations. The American Red Cross allowed us use of their meeting rooms. Their cooperation helped  students learn Ham Radio in a good environment conducive to learning.    We also have use of the Town of Jupiter’s old Town Hall, which the Town of Jupiter is still letting us use whenever we need it.                                                

The Jupiter Farms CERT Group and the Jupiter Tequesta Repeater Group sponsored these classes which we have been conducting for more than five years. Our first set of classes taught Amateur Radio fundamentals over a four week period of two classes a week and each class lasting about two hours.                                  

Besides our regular classes, we hold regularly scheduled exams every three months which are advertised in our local newspapers, over the airwaves and during area Radio Nets.          

In order to teach Amateur Radio to those students who are not too familiar with its operation and functions we have formed a skilled team of instructors to teach the classes. These volunteer’s each take a chapter in the Ham Radio License Manual and thoroughly cover all the information contained in them.                             

Midway through 2007 we had a request to teach a weekend class which  required instructing about 40 firefighters and giving the exam immediately following the classroom study materials. The instructors did some brainstorming and came up with a workable solution to the proposal. The result was that those students who signed up for the class would be required to do self studying before the class started. The pre-studying requirement had students reading the Ham Radio License Manual and studying the book and understanding the questions and answers in the back of the book. The students also had to take some practice exams which are available on several different sites including the ARRL. By the time they attended the weekend class they were practically capable of taking the exam on the first day of class.         

The Instructors  role is critical helping the students to understand how Ham Radio works and how it can be used to help out in their communities as well as being a fun. The instructors covered the most important parts of the Amateur Radio such as the Rules and Regulations, proper radio courtesy , where to operate with a license, the effects of RF exposure, functions of the radio itself and how to get the most out of their future ham radio equipment. Just prior to the exam we covered the question pool, possible answers and answered any remaining questions that the students had.                                         

The exams were administered by our fourteen VE team members that were split into two separate groups in order to accommodate all of the candidates and to help save time in processing the exams. As expected, the students had done their homework and the results of the exams showed their interest in Ham Radio. All of the candidates who attended the weekend course passed and, combining all the other weekend courses including the American Red Cross, the success rate is 100% passing.                                     

For our recruiting we used our local newspapers and internet emailing to other Ham Radio Groups in our area. We also were in contact with our local fire departments,  the American Red Cross, local CERT groups, local police departments and interested citizens. We consistently wrote advertisements for our Ham Radio classes and exams for the local newspapers. One of our Battalion Fire Chiefs took reservations, loaned out study books to the students and handed out fliers of the classes to other governmental agencies in our area. We also have a club member who works at one of our local Radio Stations. He included several of the  ARRL PSA’s in their regular broadcasts.                  

During the hurricanes in South Florida we learned again that Ham Radio worked when all other means of communications failed. Amateur Radio operators were able to communicate with our local fire departments, CERT Hams, our counties’ EOCs, shelters, and each other to relay vital information during and after the hurricane. Because of  one of our counties’ communications system failings during a hurricane, Ham Radio demonstrated itself as a reliable means of communication. Since then, almost all of the county fire departments have installed ham radios in their fire stations and vehicles. Many of their firefighters also are now licensed. The American Red Cross in our area also started a training program taught by our group to license their own volunteers in Amateur Radio. Our local CERT groups have been getting licensed and recently we have had police officers taking our classes and earning their Ham Radio licenses too.                                         

Once you get the ball rolling it is hard to stop the momentum. In 2008 we will continue with our successful classroom and exam sessions. We already have scheduled another class in March at the American Red Cross headquarters and will schedule more classes throughout the year with our local firefighters, civilians and our local governmental agencies.            

The Jupiter Tequesta Repeater Group is not nearly as large as some clubs around the country-we have slightly over 100 members in total. Our success is not dependent on numbers or money. It comes from:
                                        
a) have a good location for the class                                
b) have regularly scheduled classes and exams                            
c) form a corps of people willing to teach and delegate out parts                    
d) advertise, advertise, advertise – get your PIOs working                          
e) use your connections to emergency people – they will want to join in too                                                                

Your group can do it too!                                                                                                                                                

Albert Moreschi II   AG4BV