[NevadaARES] Greetings

[Matthew Parker]

Greetings to all in the Nevada Section -

As your newly-appointed Section Traffic Manager, I would like to take this
opportunity to introduce myself.  Many of you already know me; as a ham here
in Nevada for just over 12 years I have had the privilege of being part of
the amateur radio communities in Elko and Clark counties as well as here in
Northwestern Nevada.  I have been pleased to have participated in emergency
communications since becoming licensed in 1991.  It has been a privilege to
serve in the leadership of ARES for the past four years as District
Emergency Coordinator for Northern Nevada and as Emergency Coordinator for
Washoe County.

I appreciate Section Manager Flanagan for entrusting me with this job and
for his encouraging words that convinced me moving into this position from
being an ARES EC was a move I needed to make.  Building an effective message
traffic system for the Nevada Section will be a challenge; however, it is
one that will be accomplished with diligent effort, and at great benefit to
public service as well as emergency communications efforts within our state.
Although we find ourselves at a time of uncertainty regarding the status of
the National Traffic System in regard to recommendations of the League's
Volunteer Resources Committee, one thing will remain unchanged. Maintaining
a nationwide system of message handling via amateur radio, capable of
operating independently of the Internet or other communications mediums that
history has repeatedly proven are susceptible to disruption during major
emergencies (or, attacks on vulnerable software by worms), is absolutely
necessary in order for amateur radio to remain a viable emergency
communications resource.  Such a system already exists and continues to
operate efficiently in many areas of the country; what is needed now here in
the Nevada Section is a network that both provides for timely and efficient
transfer of message traffic throughout the Section while also interfacing
effectively with systems in other areas in order to provide reliable and
timely flow of traffic to/from any destination.

To this end I have already established a plan to serve as a guideline for
actions that will begin the establishment of this system in our Section.  As
with so many other important amateur radio efforts, a healthy amount of
effort and dedication is needed from all Nevada hams in order to make this
work.  The rock won't move unless we put a sufficient amount of leverage
behind it, and the sooner we all rise to this challenge the sooner it will
be that we will all begin to see this new network, a resource which will be
available to serve us all and expand the role of amateur radio in Nevada,
build and grow.  There are many who would doom this effort from the get-go,
saying that traffic handling (and even emergency communications) via amateur
radio is outmoded and beyond its effective lifespan.  For the rest of you,
in light of the successes we continue to see in the utilization of our
services in support of many disaster response/relief agencies both locally
and nationwide, I would caution you against taking any serious advice from
such naysayers; their detachment from reality is obvious.  From my
perspective, the bridge won't collapse as the result of too few people
driving on it, but it will if we fail to build it and maintain it properly.

I look forward to presenting plans for the development of an effective
traffic handling system for the Nevada Section at our Section Forum in
Carson City on August 23.  I encourage all who are able to attend this
meeting, particularly if you are interested in being a part of this new
system.  For those unable to attend this important meeting, I will be
distributing information regarding plans though a variety of channels soon
after.  I look forward to working with you all in this endeavor that
promises to be fun, exciting, and rewarding.  Please contact me at any time
should you have any questions or concerns related to the effort of
establishing and improving means for moving message traffic within our
Section.

73 to all,
Matt Parker, N7TOD
ARRL Section Traffic Manager, Nevada Section
http://www.arrl.org/sections/NV.html