[South Florida DX Association] National Preparedness Month

[Jeff Beals]

==>ARRL TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH


During September, the ARRL will be among dozens of organizations and 
agencies participating in National Preparedness Month. "The Ready 
Campaign," produced by the Ad Council in partnership with the US
Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS), is aimed at making citizen preparedness "a 
priority for every city, every neighborhood and every home" in the US.
The 
League is an official affiliate of Citizen Corps, a DHS initiative to 
enhance public preparedness and safety. ARRL will combine its role in 
National Preparedness Month--which starts September 9--with its own 
"Amateur Radio Awareness Day" on September 18.


"The two events offer great opportunities for Amateur Radio to showcase
its 
valued service to the nation," said ARRL Field and Educational Services 
Manager Rosalie White, K1STO. She encouraged ARRL-affiliated clubs and 
Field Organization volunteers to use the occasion to set up public 
demonstrations of Amateur Radio and to present or even demonstrate--under

the banner of National Preparedness Month--the free services Amateur
Radio 
provides to communities.


ARRL Club/Mentor Program Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, suggests that while 
displays should be informative, they also need to be neat and simple.
"This 
is also an excellent opportunity to recruit prospective hams for
licensing 
classes that clubs may be forming for the fall," he added. In addition, 
ARRL encourages all Amateur Radio operators to have a family emergency 
communication plan in place in case of an emergency, such as a severe 
weather event. "Get Ready Now" brochures are available. Visit the
Ready.gov 
Web site <http://www.ready.gov> for more information.


On Amateur Radio Awareness Day, September 18, W1AW/90 will be on the air 
from 10 AM until 10 PM Eastern Time with ARRL staff members, new Section 
Managers in town for the annual Section Managers' Workshop and volunteers

from the Newington Amateur Radio League as operators. White encourages 
amateur groups to invite public officials, representatives of served 
agencies and first responders to visit their public displays to discuss 
plans for their Simulated Emergency Test (SET), typically in early
October, 
or other drills.


Some clubs already have jumped on the National Preparedness Month/Amateur

Radio Awareness Day bandwagon, Fusaro notes--in some cases by taking 
advantage of already scheduled events during September.


The Middletown Amateur Radio Club--W2MAR--in New Jersey will take part in

Middletown Day activities September 18 with a public ham radio display, 
information table, traffic handling and ARES/RACES displays. The club 
expects some 3000 visitors in town, including state and local officials.


In Illinois, Amateur Radio Awareness Day falls on the same weekend as the

three-day Peoria Superfest 2004 Amateur Radio and computer show. The
Peoria 
Area Amateur Radio Club will have an all-day demonstration at the 
Exposition Garden Fairgrounds on September.


The Space Park Employees Association Amateur Radio Club (W6TRW) in
Redondo 
Beach, California, will have its emergency communications team (ECT) van
at 
the Northrop Grumman Space Technology open house September 18.


The ARRL has printed materials available for ARRL-affiliated clubs, ARES 
groups and others to use for public exhibits and ham radio
demonstrations. 
Brochures may be downloaded free of charge from the ARRL Web site 
<http://www.arrl.org/htdig/?method+and&words=brochure>. For a small 
shipping fee, exhibit kits also are available. Contact Linda Mullally, 
KB1HSV, <lmullally at arrl.org> to order.


The League also offers a sample news release 
<http://www.arrl.org/pio/handbook/sample-news-release.html> that clubs
and 
groups can customize to help spread the word. More information about 
National Preparedness Month or Amateur Radio demonstrations in general is

available from ARRL <clubs at arrl.org>.

(Tnx ARRL Letter)





 




________________________________________________________________
The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!