[NevadaARES] PPARES: Call goes out for long term support

Thu, 13 Jun 2002 20:20:58 -0700

If anyone can assist Rob in Colorado, please contact him directly.

73, Paul - NN7B

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Roller N7LV" <[email protected]>
To: "PPARES Reflector" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2002 6:53 AM
Subject: PPARES: Call goes out for long term support

Okay ... Soapbox mode turned on.

I heard a news report on the fire this morning, and this blaze has grown to
over 130,000 acres.  That's nearly a 50% increase in size from yesterday.
Today the winds are blowing hard, and out of a different direction.  This
disaster is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Now I'd like each of you to consider what you registered for:  Amateur Radio
EMERGENCY Service.  The word "emergency" is emphasized because that's what
we have here.  An emergency.  Granted it's not affecting each of us to the
degree that the residents of the fire area are affected.  So we tend not to
think about it too much.

But now it's time for ALL of you to start thinking about what you can go.
Normally, when I've been calling on you to help, I'll ask if you can help
tomorrow, or this weekend.  Many of you can't always help out due to work,
family, etc.  But now I'm asking you to think LONG TERM here.  Don't just
think if you can help tomorrow, or the next day.  I want you to look at the
calendar and look out the next several weeks or more and pick a day or two
that you can help.

I have about 40 regular volunteers out there, and they're giving up a lot of
time, but they can't keep rotating through the shifts continuously.  There
are over 200 volunteers in the ARES data base, and many of you have
indicated availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Or you've
indicated availability during the week, during business hours.  Yet when I
call, you're not available to help out tomorrow, the next day, or this week
or this weekend.  No problem with that.  But now, I want YOU to think about
when you CAN help, instead of telling me when you CAN'T help.

If you have some vacation time coming up, maybe a bunch of it, and you can
afford to spend one vacation day at the ICP or a shelter, please consider
taking that extra day off with pay.  If you don't, please consider
negotiating with your boss to come in a little late or leave a little early
so you can work that early morning or late evening shift.  Or plan on a
weekend or a regular day off, get away from the chores of home, and come
help out.  If I could get one day out of 200 people, I could have a lot of
shifts covered.

For every ARES person at the incident, there are 4-5 other ARES members that
aren't at the incident. Surely there must be a day, 8 hours here or there
that you can squeeze out of your schedule.  I want to get more people
involved at fewer intervals, so I can spread the workload, so that the folks
that have been volunteering regularly can be relieved to go home and take a
shower, get some sleep, maybe even a change of clothes!  If more of us get
involved, it will actually become easier for all of us.

So think about it.  After all, you knew what this was all about when you
signed up for ARES (E = Emergency, remember?). If you can't find a day or
two in the next 30-45 days that you can help, then you might want to
reconsider why you signed up with ARES in the first place.  Sorry to be so
blunt, but this is where the rubber hits the road, so to speak.

I'd like to fill a schedule out to the end of June and into July.  Not
necessarily with actually assignment people to positions, but at least
getting commitments from people that they WILL be available on a particular
day, for whatever assignment I might have.  I use people at the rate of 21
people per day at the moment.  So you see the 40 volunteers are working
every other day on the average.  With 200+ people signed up, I can spread
that out to where people can volunteer only about once every 10 days.
Wouldn't that be easier for everyone??

Also, if you do have a medical condition where you can't go out, I certainly
can use help with phone calls, etc.

Soapbox mode off.

Please seriously consider it.

73
Rob
N7LV

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