East TN HAMS Attend District 8 Leadership

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) leaders representing twelve east Tennessee counties gathered last Saturday to discuss emergency communications preparedness and how amateur radio operators (HAMS) can best serve their local communities.The following counties comprise District 8: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union. and nearly all were represented at the conference.

Each county ARES group is led by an Emergency Coordinator (EC) together with one or more Assistant EC’s. Served agencies usually include governmental entities such as E-911, The National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agencies as well as non-governmental organizations includingThe American Red Cross, Salvation Army and other not for profits groups.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service is a field organization of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio operators in North America.

League officials from the Nashville area also attended the conference.

The motto of “Ham” radio is “When All Else Fails….”. Many events over the past decade, such as Hurricane Katrina, and more recently super storm Sandy, have demonstrated the value of ham radio operators and their ability to quickly establish emergency communications when infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

ARES members volunteer their time, equipment and skills to serve their communities when communication systems fail or become overburdened.

Mutual assistance between county ARES groups is a key element in achieving the emergency communications mission and the conference provide an opportunity for all attendees to meet one another and exchange ideas and information before an actual incident.

The ARES Emergency Coordinator for Jefferson County is Dan O’Donovan and he can be contacted at 865-437-9955 or via at w4dod@arrl.net Emergency Coordinators for other counties can be found on the ARRL web site www.arrl.org

Licensed operators or those wishing to obtain their FCC radio amateur radio license are encouraged to contact their local ARES group. The Jefferson County ARES meetings are held at EMS Station #3, Roy Messier Highway in White Pine on the second Monday of each month at 6PM.