Author: k9hi

Brett Smith, AB1RL writes:

With August here and summer winding down, I’m starting to turn my attention to our fall public service events. I wanted to make sure you know about the dates and start gauging early interest.

The first is the Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, September 24. This is the Jimmy Fund’s annual fundraising walk along the Boston Marathon route. There are positions available to work with a medical team at each rest stop along the route, so there’s a variety of locations and volunteer times available. Tell your friends, too—we’re really eager to build up the team size for this year, especially along the earlier parts of the route. If you’re interested, all you have to do is let me know by e-mail, and I’ll get you on the roster.

The second is the BAA Half Marathon on Sunday, October 8. As usual for BAA events, we’ll work with medical teams at different points along the route to provide them with any necessary communication, including EMS dispatch requests if necessary. Volunteer registration for this event will be through the BAA’s web site, and it will open up on Tuesday, August 15. You’ll get an announcement from them, and me, when that happens.

Your work at these events really makes a difference. At both of these events in recent years, we’ve handled emergency dispatch calls to get participants, and sometimes even spectators, prompt treatment. Those calls wouldn’t be as quick or as effective without the communications expertise you bring by showing up. Please join us to make a couple more events that much more successful.

If you have questions about either event, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be on vacation next week, so I might be slow to respond, but I will get back to you.

Thanks for all that you do, and 73,

If interested, please contact:
Brett Smith, AB1RL ab1rl-pubserv@brettcsmith.org
Public Service Coordinator, Boston Amateur Radio Club

Brett Smith, AB1RL writes:

Volunteer registration is open for the BAA 10K on Sunday, June 25. I know, I know—as usual, it’s on Field Day Sunday. But it just takes the morning (assignments run from approximately 6:00 AM to noon), and the summer weather means we’ve usually got work to do supporting the event medical teams. Come take a break from the rush for contacts, and join us to send some substantive traffic over the air.

All you need to help out is a dual band (2m and 70cm) handheld, preferably with a gain antenna. To volunteer for the 10K, sign up with the BAA directly following the instructions below.

Go to the BAA 10K volunteer site and press the “Volunteer Now” button.

There are separate buttons for “Returning” and “First Time” Volunteers. If you’ve volunteered at a BAA event before, select “Returning Volunteer.” If you don’t know your BAA Volunteer Loyalty Number, use the button labeled “Retrieve Your Volunteer Loyalty Number” to look it up. If it returns a Volunteer Loyalty Number for you, fill that in where prompted.

If the system does not provide you with a Volunteer Loyalty Number, or if you have not volunteered at a BAA event before, go through the “First Time Volunteers” button on the first page.

Complete the personal information.

Group status: Ham volunteers don’t need to join any group. You can answer “No” to both questions.

Assignment request: Select “Ham Radios” from the top pulldown menu on the page. You are not required to make any selections on the lower menus.

Complete the remainder of the application and make note of your application acknowledgment number. Seeing a acknowledgment number on the page is your indication that you have successfully completed the online application.

If you have any questions about the event or the sign-up procedure, feel free to get in touch with me at ab1rl@brettcsmith.org or (859) 466 5915.

Thank you, and 73,

Brett Smith, AB1RL
Public Service Coordinator, Boston Amateur Radio Club