Aren’t we glad the sleet that fell wasn’t freezing rain? It fell and fell till we had about 4 inches out here in the sticks. Some of it is still hiding around in places. Our friends over in Lamar County might have been glad to have traded places. While we couldn’t get around without 4 wheel drive, at least we were still warm and snug with power and lights.
We had no official ARES activation, though several folks did yeoman’s duty during the sleet storm by helping thru CERT, being good Samaritans out on the roads and checking on friends and neighbors to be sure all were okay. I am still looking for a set of chains for the new truck; the old ones are for a 16 inch wheel and a little short for the new 17’s. I just got caught without the right equipment…there may be a lesson in that: as much as we plan and prepare, there may come a time when you need to make a change in your go kit. When you do, be sure to evaluate and verify that the other items in your kit they work with are not affected. For instance, if Santa brings you a replacement radio and battery packs, verify you still have the right type and quantity of batteries for the new equipment.
Enough about the past; it’s time to move on and share good news. Several folks upgraded to General class in the past few weeks. Moe (NT7C)’s new General License training class went well and enabled these folks to learn more and achieve a higher capability. We also had several new hams licensed thru his Tech class and we are looking forward to word on their call signs. The training will continue in January; look around in the GCARC newsletter and on the ARES website for the exact dates for “Ham 101”. I hear there are chances to learn some other hands-on skills coming soon as well.
Your ARES leadership will be making some “structural” changes next year. These were discussed at the last AEC meeting on December 17th, and are being made in order to better manage our group and be sure we (and me) are getting the job done in areas such as planning, communicating, training, and keeping up with our function. Each of the AECs will be “over” one of those named areas, so there will be someone handling Operations, Training, Administration, Safety and so forth. Some of these persons will also be on committees such as a digital group, or the website and social media. You can expect these persons to be communicating about their areas directly with you, our team members, concerning planning, training nets, activations, and so forth. As they work to keep the wheels on the bus, I will be trying to keep it all going in the right direction to provide supplemental communications for our communities and served agencies in times of need. The AEC’s functional areas will be named after the first of the year; I will be talking with them to fit persons and tasks together and trying to match their desired work and ARES’ needs. I hope you will continue to support ARES as we make this effort to improve our operation and capability.
May you and yours enjoy all the holidays bring to us in this season, especially the Joy of Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas!
73
Rick
K5ECX