Public Service

The Marathon Amateur Radio Communications (MARC) consortium is looking for ham radio operators to assist at the 2008 Boston Marathon. The Marathon is held annually on Patriots Day, this year that’s Monday, April 21. We need people to provide communications is support of three areas:

START LINE (Hopkinton)
Runner & observer safety & security, parking lots, VIP escorts

COURSE (Hopkinton to Boston)
First Aid & Water station coordination

FINISH LINE (Boston)
First Aid, safety & security

If you are interested in any of these positions, please visit the MARC website to sign up:

http://marc.amateur-radio.net

73,
Bob – K1IW
MARC Recruitment Coordinator

Alan Martin, W1AHM writes on PART-L:

The Northern Middlesex ARES group is organizing ham radio event support for Chelmsford’s annual 4th of July parade. The parade is on a Wednesday this year.

Ham radio volunteers are needed to work the parade by shadowing officials, helping to organize floats and marchers, or monitoring the route. If you are interested, please contact Darrel Mallory at k1ej at arrl dot net.

The Massasoit Amateur Radio Association is calling for ham radio volunteers to provide emergency communication support for the Camp Yomechas 5k Road Race on June 3, 2007. The volunteers will congregate at 8:00 a.m. at Camp Yomechas and receive communication assignments for one of the various intersections along the race course. Talk-in will be conductedd on the Bridgewater 147.180 MHz repeater.

–Thanks, Whitman ARC Spectrum, May 2007

At a meeting of staff and hundreds of volunteers of the Central New England Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Bob Salow, WA1IDA and the Boston Amateur Radio Club were honored with the MS Walk Volunteer Award for 2006.

Salow and BARC were cited for the notable communications support given to the MS events. An engraved glass medallion was presented to WA1IDA by the Chairman of the Board of the Central New England Chapter of the MS Society.

BARC is looking for volunteers to support two concurrent MS events on April 29, 2007: the Boston MS Walk which will start and finish at the Harvard athletic facility on North Harvard Street near Soldiers Field Rd in Brighton, and the MS Journey of Hope which runs at Elm Bank in Wellesley and finishes at the Harvard athletic facility. If you can lend a hand, contact Bob, WA1IDA at wa1ida@arrl.net or call 508.650.9440.

CQ Magazine Public Service Editor Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, reports that the American Red Cross has announced changes to its controversial policy requiring background checks of all volunteers, including, in many cases, hams working through the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Many hams were concerned about invasion of privacy, as the standard consent form granted permission not only for criminal background checks but also for credit checks and “mode of living” checks.

A spokeswoman for the Red Cross region serving Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, has confirmed the following changes in the background check policy:

* A new consent form will be developed that eliminates all references to credit checks and mode of living.

* People who signed the previous forms will not be subject to credit checks or mode of living checks. A new form will be developed for those positions requiring credit checks.

* Red Cross senior management will establish a policy to define which positions will require credit checks and how those checks will be evaluated.

WA3PZO will have additional details in his April “Public Service” column.

–Thanks, Stillwater ARA Radioham.org

The Marathon Amateur Radio Consortium is now accepting sign-ups for the 2007 Boston Marathon Amateur Radio Team. Radio operators are needed to support safety and security operations at the Start, Finish, and along the route. If you are interested in helping out, please visit their website at

http://marc.amateur-radio.net

and complete the simple 2-step signup process.

Terry Stader, KA8SCP writes on PART-L:

We are still looking for volunteers for the Lowell Folk Festival which runs from Friday, July 28th through Sunday, July 30th. A couple of people have signed up but we are looking for people for Saturday evening and Sunday.

The Emergency Management “bus” will be used as a “station” for information, basic first aid and a general all around resource center.

We would like to have at least 2 volunteers for each shift, the shifts tentatively look like:

Friday – 6:00 to 10:00 PM

Saturday – 12:00 (noon) to 5:00 PM
5:00 to 10:00 PM

Sunday – 12:00 (noon) to 4:00 PM
4:00 to 7:00 PM (event closes at 7 PM)

If you are available and would like to participate, please call Mark’s office at 978-459-5552 and leave a message with your name, your telephone number and what day and time you’d like to assist. You can also send an email message to Mark at mboldrig@ci.lowell.ma.us.

The Lowell Folk Festival web page can be found at http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/.

Thank you.

The ARRL Headquarters web site today carried a news item describing the efforts of New England and Eastern MA amateurs in the wake of disasterous flooding that has struck our area.

In the article, Eastern MA Section Emergency Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY estimates that “more than 100 radio amateurs have been involved in the operation and spotting work across the region.” He also describes the volunteer activity in staffing the NWS office in Taunton and in the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency State EOC and Region I Headquarters.

Bruce Pigott, KC1US writes:

Project Bread will again be looking forward to hams supporting the Walk for Hunger on Sunday, May 7. Forty thousand walkers will be raising funds for emergency feeding programs located across the Commonwealth. This will be the twenty fifth time Amateur Radio will be part of the Walk organization.

The assignments are about six hours long at various places along the twenty mile Walk route from Boston out to Newton. Some positions start at 6AM with others starting throughout the morning. We need coordinator shadows at checkpoints, bus stops, with walker marshals, and in transport vans. All skill levels of hams are desired. A two meter or dual band radio with extra battery and an extended (15 inch) antenna are needed. An informational meeting and two on air sessions will be held to answer questions and fill in last minute details. You can sign up at the Crocker Public Service Group web page http://cpsg.amateur-radio.net/ or send a message to wfh06@amateur-radio.net.

High praise was received last year from the coordinators and the Project Bead staff for the quantity and quality of support by hams. Three million dollars were raised even with the rain showers. More information about the Walk and the services Project Bread provides can found at http://www.projectbread.org/. The event is an enjoyable day with both the walkers and volunteers having a good time at this worthwhile cause.

Thank you and 73 – Bruce KC1US

The American Diabetes Association is looking for Amateur Radio help with two cycling events this spring.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 – Cape Cod Tour de Cure
Start/Finish: Barnstable County Fairgrounds, E. Falmouth
Looking for volunteers with own equipment for rest stops (5), sag vehicles and start/finish support.

Sunday, June 25, 2006 – Marshfield Tour de Cure
Start/Finish: Marshfield Fairgrounds, Marshfield
Looking for volunteers with own equipment for rest stops (4), sag vehicles and start/finish support.

All volunteers will receive a tee-shirt and lunch.

For more info or to volunteer, call Faith at 888-DIABETES (888-342-2383) x 3456 or email her at flinsky@diabetes.org.

John Ruggiero, N2YHK writes:

I have been approached about possibly providing ham radio communications assistance to the Boston Beanpot Cycling Classic in Grafton on Saturday, April 8th from 7am-4pm.

They are looking at the prospect of deploying hams to help them out. They have 24 marshal locations, 8 police locations, a feed zone, a medical zone and the start/finish. There is the potential to deploy at least 35 hams if we can get that many.

If you can volunteer, please contact me with:

* Times available
* Communications equipment (VHF and/or UHF, mobile and/or portable, cross-band ability – All equipment must have enough power to last 10 hours or the duration that you are available + 1 hour)

Please pass this around. Thanks!

John, N2YHK
n2yhk@wpi.edu

WANT TO VOLUNTEER DURING SPRING BREAK? HAVE A PLAN

BILOXI, Miss. – Students who want to volunteer in the Mississippi Hurricane Katrina recovery effort during their 2006 spring break need to come with a plan and a volunteer agency or faith based group affiliation before making the trip.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourage volunteer participation in the disaster recovery but advise students to plan ahead so they can provide the most help in their brief time away from classes.

“We appreciate those who have volunteered to assist in the recovery efforts throughout our state and we welcome other volunteers,” said Robert Latham, director of MEMA. “We encourage them to affiliate with a group who will match an individual’s skills with productive projects, to make the most of their time here.”

Currently, there are more than 100 voluntary organizations serving in Mississippi.

Students may find and register with these voluntary organizations through the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service at www.mcvs.org. They can also locate them at www.idealist.org, and www.usafreedomcorps.gov, which provides a special page of volunteer opportunities in the hurricane-affected areas.

“Students need to come here with a real mission, a real focus,” said David Turner, voluntary agency liaison for FEMA. “If they don’t have that they’ll waste their time and the resources available to the victims such as housing and even food.”

Students also need to know about the post-hurricane conditions in Mississippi.

Some areas are still dangerous so students need to be extremely careful.

Accommodations are in short supply along the Mississippi coast, so many voluntary and faith-based organizations are providing limited but adequate sleeping facilities as well as meals.

Organizations match needs with volunteer skill sets; volunteers with construction or equipment skills are in high demand.

FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Rick Ferreira, KB1KWF Director of the City of Taunton Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and Peter Ferreira KB1LXG, the assistant Director, organized a volunteer recognition night at the Taunton Emergency Operations Center on December 20, 2005 that turned into a great holiday social event for all the TEMA volunteers.

The group met with Mayor Nunes in the City Council Chambers and were presented with a citation like the one shown here. A potluck supper followed; fun was had by all. Seven Whitman Amateur Radio Club members were involved.

—Whitman ARC Spectrum, January 2006