[CVRC] Section Structure Changes

[Paul Cavnar]

Good Evening to All -

Over the last two years, I have had an opportunity to meet many of the ARES
members located throughout the northern half of the state.  I have also been
able to review history and evaluate the effectiveness of our operation.  The
original four districts were reinstated shortly after I became SEC and we
began a period of restructuring.  During my second year, there was a much
greater emphasis placed on training and exercise that being realized more
than ever this year.  Many times, the things we do now are not evident for
some time and that brings me to the new changes I am putting into place.

Effective on March 1st, the present four districts within the Nevada section
will be combined into two districts, northern and southern.  I believe this
will benefit our served agencies and allow for much greater coordination of
resources between our counties.  The emergency coordinators for the two new
districts will also be seeking volunteers in areas that have had little or
no interest in the ARES program and if nothing else, blend them into the
present organization.  Here is a breakdown of the changes taking place:

1.  The present districts one, two and four will be combined to form the new
Northern District.  The Northern District EC will be Matt Parker, N7TOD, who
presently serves as District-I DEC.

2.  The present district three will become the Southern District along with
the addition of White Pine County which is being placed in that area.  The
Southern District EC will be Glenn Hale, KB7REO, who presently serves as
District-III DEC.

3.  The present District-II DEC, Joe Giraudo, N7JEH, will change title to
Elko Co. EC and OES.

4. The present District-IV DEC, Sheila Clement, KA7AJQ, will change to
Carson City/Douglas Co. EC.  The present District-IV ADEC, Dick Creley,
KJ7UK, will change to AEC for Carson City/Douglas County.

All of the changes above have been posted on the Nevada ARES web page at:
http://www.cvrc.net/ares/  Each district will have a county page available
to the EC if they so choose.  These new county ARES pages will contain
contact information and net frequencies for local ARES groups.

The ARRL Continuing Education courses for EmComm are currently available on
the web.  The next Level-I course opens for registration on Monday, March
4th and the class begins on March 11th.  There is also the Nevada EmComm
course available on the Nevada ARES web site.  You may go directly to that
course at:  http://www.cvrc.net/ares/emcomm/index.html  There is no charge
for the course and you may download whatever you would like and study the
material at your leisure.  There is also a test you can take that will
assess your skills and learning of the EmComm material.  When you pass the
test, your name, call sign and date of test will be posted on the Nevada
ARES web site at:  http://www.cvrc.net/ares/gradlist.htm  which also lists
those who have completed any of the ARRL EmComm courses on-line.

I do not have adequate resources at this time to offer the EmComm training
in a classroom setting as I had expected to do earlier this year.  However,
every effort is being made to facilitate that work.  You may also purchase
the study guides for all three levels of EmComm courses from the ARRL at
$10.00 each plus postage.  These study guides are very well done and
combined with practical experience, will allow you to be certified for any
of the three levels by examination in the field.  Since we do not have an
adequate number of certified examiners for the EmComm courses we cannot
offer the field exam sessions at this time.  If you have completed the
EmComm courses and are a Volunteer Examiner, you may also be certified as an
instructor, examiner or both for the EmComm courses in the field.

In conclusion, I want to thank everyone who maintained their states of
readiness for our support of communications for the Olympics.  We are asked
to be ready should we be needed until March 23rd as events are still taking
place in Salt Lake City.  This should be no different that our normal state
of readiness as ARES members since we are to be prepared to serve at any
time.  Emergencies don't always give us a warning or time to prepare so, we
much always be prepared.
If you have any questions concerning the changes above or about the EmComm
courses, please feel free to contact me at your convenience by e-mail to:
nn7b@arrl.net  or telephone at (775) 972-8372.

73, Paul Cavnar - NN7B
Nevada SEC