[Scanner] Open Letter To Hams

[scanner@mailman.qth.net]

Commendations for your desires Scott.

The Radio Society of Kenya used to provide communications for the East 
African Safari Rally.  As a member, I participated and learned something 
very important:  Not all volunteers need have equipment.  We frequently had 
teams of Radio Operator & Pencil Operator.  The timely and accurate logging 
of checkpoint data is as critical as the voice saying QSL.

I think all club contesters or DX teams will attest, the "morning after" 
finds ALL members of the team pleasantly(?) exhausted - whether they were 
pounding brass, making coffee or checking dupe sheets during the previous 
48 hours.

GL & 73
John, WC3L
(ex 5Z4CQ)

At 01:08 PM 10/6/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>       An Open Letter To All New Orleans Area Ham Radio Operators
>
>
>      For those who don't know me, my name is Scott Hernandez, my call is
>KD5PCK. I have been licensed for just over a year and hold a technician class
>ticket.
>      In that year, I have been trying to participate as much as possible in
>public service communications. For various reasons, this hasn't been easy.
>      First of all, when you mention the words "public service", hams
>immediately think of emergency communications. I believe that there is more
>to public service than emergency communications.
>      Secondly, I have found a serious lack of willingness of trained
>communicators to share their training in message handling, emergency
>protocol, etc. I have heard several hams ask for more volunteers and not
>offer to help train these volunteers.
>      "Why don't you do it?", is a response that I have also encountered many
>times when I have complained about the lack of volunteerism. That is the
>purpose of this letter.
>      I am going to do it!
>      I would like to take the next month to gather names and contact
>information of those hams that would be willing to volunteer to use their
>training and operating skills to support communications for various local
>events throughout the year. Once I have this list completed, I will be
>contacting local organizations to ask if they would have a use our services.
>While I do not expect to be greeted with open arms, I am willing to try.
>      I plan to first contact the New Orleans Track Club. This organization
>sponsors many foot races throughout the New Orleans Area. Most notably, the
>Crescent City Classic and the Mardi Gras Marathon. I would also like to
>contact various bicycling
>groups to ask if they could use our services for their rides also.
>      What is needed? I would ask that those interested have at least a dual
>band HT with one back-up battery pack and a willingness to volunteer. All
>egos should be checked at the door.
>      I would like to address another issue at this time. Most hams think 
> that
>if they are not tied to a radio that they are not useful. This is not the
>case. Volunteers are vital to many organizations. If the ham community is not
>welcome as far as communications, there is no reason that hams cannot
>volunteer in another capacity. We need to put aside the belief that we are
>somehow superior to other volunteers. Sure, we would have fun "playing radio"
>for a day, but there is nothing wrong with leaving the radios in the car and
>helping out in another way.
>      What I ask of those interested is the following:
>      Please contact me via email with your name, address, phone number, and
>any email addresses you may have. I would also like a list of what equipment
>you may have that can be used for an event, such as, a foot race, bicycle
>race, or festival atmosphere.
>      I prefer to receive email responses. If you need to contact me by other
>means, please see below for information.
>      I will compile this information until approximately November 15, 2002.
>At that time I will begin contacting various nonprofit agencies. Hopefully,
>soon after, we can start showing that hams care about the communities they
>live in.
>      If anyone has a contact with an agency that we may be able to serve, or
>any comments, advice, or would be willing to assist me, please contact me
>ASAP.
>      Thanks for you time. I look forward to working with each of you in the
>future.
>                              73
>                              Scott Hernandez
>                              KD5PCK
>                              P.O. Box 8122
>                              Metairie, LA 70011-8122