The Ohio Section News Update – February 17, 2017 Edition

Inside..

- NIMS / ICS

- ARES Annual Report

- Handbook Giveaway

- Getting this Newsletter

- Upcoming Hamfests

- Special Events

- Final

   

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NIMS / ICS Training

Hey Gang, get those oh – so important ICS certificates in to me and to your Emergency Coordinator!!

Every Ohio ARES member needs to have at least these 4 basic courses completed. Why are these courses so important? The simple answer is this - we need these courses as part of our requirement for our state credentialing system. As you know, the State of Ohio has a credentialing system that we are a big part of, and to obtain your credential when the time is needed, means that you need to have these courses completed and turned in to the database. So, without these courses being completed, you won’t be able to get credentialed!

Here’s the latest count we have on everyone..  Members included in the database:  629, Members completing NIMS:  415, and Total Courses taken: 4,115 

These are fantastic statistics for sure, and they just keep growing. These numbers were from yesterday and they are already outdated with more coming in. This is the way it should be, but PLEASE, make sure that you get these certificates to your local Emergency Coordinator too.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Service Posts its 2016 Annual Report

(from ARRL Bulletins)

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has posted its 2016 annual report. The 2016 ARES Annual Report focuses on documenting the value that ARES provides to the nation, states, and localities in collaboration with partners at all levels. The report features basic data drawn from Section Emergency Coordinators’ reports, a breakdown of ARES figures by state and FEMA region, and a challenge for 2017. According to the report, ARES membership in 2016 was 27,754 — up from 17,756 in 2015 — and the Service was active in 42 states and US territories. ARES volunteers responded to 33,136 events last year.

“Sharing information about what ARES provides at all levels is critical to our work overall, as hard numbers provide better detail about our work,” ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, said. “We all need to pitch in to ensure that our contributions are counted, and here at HQ, we will be sure to do our part.”

ARES volunteers will see changes in some reporting forms in 2017; all forms, starting in January 2017, have been updated and renumbered. According to the report, 76% of ARRL sections filed reports for 2016, a significant improvement over past years. The report challenges ARRL Section Emergency Coordinators to raise that number to 85% in 2017.

In addition to the annual ARES report, ARRL Field Services staffers will produce their own monthly report, a link will appear in the ARES E-Letter, showing monthly data for ARES, as well as information about ARRL Headquarters emergency preparedness and Field Service activities.

Here’s how Ohio Stacked up

                      People    Events   Hours

1  Michigan  1765       2544      61596

2  Georgia    1518        7037     53555

3  Missouri   1358        3790     34895

4  Ohio         1797        3204     34878

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Handbook Giveaway

 

Did you see..  The NEWEST “Handbook Giveaway” drawing is now back on the website!!

To enter the drawing all you need to do is fill in a couple of boxes on the form.. (your name and email). That’s you need to do to be entered into a drawing to win a 2017 ARRL softcover Handbook. There’s nothing else required (Oh.. You do need to be a resident of Ohio to win..) 

The winner will be mailed the Handbook at my cost. This is being offered just to see how many folks are really checking in on the website. Got the idea? Best of luck to you!!

Here’s a link..  http://arrl-ohio.org/handbook.html

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Are you getting those emails from me? If not, all you have to do is to “Opt-In” to receive them.

Heck, just send me an email:  n8sy@n8sy.com and let me know that you want to be added. It’s really just that easy.

Are you passing this newsletter on to others? Please, if you know of anyone that would be interested in this information, feel free to pass it on to them. You don’t have to be an ARRL member or even a ham to receive these emails.

You can always  “Opt-Out”  at any time if you feel this is not what you were expecting.

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Upcoming Hamfests

02/19/2017 | Mansfield Mid Winter Hamfest
Location: Mansfield, OH
Sponsor: Intercity Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://W8WE.ORG

03/05/2017 | WinterHamFest
Location: Elyria, OH
Sponsor: Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society

 *Free pancake breakfast with paid admission

 *Free Vibroplex Clinic
 Website: http://noars.net

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Special Events

02/18/2017 | WRARC 7th Anniversary

Feb 18, 1500Z-2300Z,

W8WRC, New Springfield, OH.

Western Reserve Amateur Radio Club.

21.300 14.305 7.200.

QSL. Western Reserve Amateur Radio Club,

2050 East South Range Road,

New Springfield, OH 44443.

www.wrarc.net

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Finally..  ?

On this day in 1933 US Senate accept Blaine Act, thus ending prohibition. Now I’ve got you smiling, don’t I!!

In 1936 a record of -58°F (-50°C), McIntosh, South Dakota was recorded and is still its state record. In 1962 Beach Boys introduced a new musical style with their hit "Surfin". In 1965 the United States launches Ranger 8 into space. It will eventually transmit over 7,137 lunar pictures which are used to determine just where on that vast wasteland Neil Armstrong will land the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). And finally, for you NASCAR buffs, in 2008 the 50th Daytona 500 was run with Ryan Newman winning. His overall course speed is 152.672 MPH. Guess he was really thirsty for that bottle of milk!

Remember, life is short, go have FUN..!!

 

73,

Scott, N8SY..

eof..