We’re closing in on the holiday season, so it’s time for one more EmComm meeting before we all get busy with holiday activities. The end of the year is rapidly approaching, so it’s time to review your training and certifications for your Emergency Communication participation. We will meet next Saturday, November 23 at 0900 at First Christian Church, 1326 N. 1st – the usual place.
As communication needs become more complex, our emergency services partners need to know that the communicators who assist them are properly trained and vetted, and won’t become a liability rather than an asset when they are called to participate. One of the ways to be prepared is to have an organized, complete binder of certifications, identification and qualifications. I personally use the ARES Emergency Communicator Individual Task Book to keep my ICS certs, CAP qualifications, RACES Manual and AuxComm credentials in a 3-ring binder. Whatever system you use, you need to keep it current and complete, so I would like to focus our upcoming meeting on putting together this vital record. Feel free to bring any certifications you have in paper format, and we can make copies to include in your Task Book. If you like, bring a flash drive and we can scan your records into a .pdf file as a permanent record. I include a copy of my ham license as well.
As usual, we welcome members from every EmComm-related group, including RACES, Mesa County SARC, Civil Air Patrol, Salvation Army, ARES and any interested individual looking to link up with a group that shares those interests. We look forward to seeing you!
And naturally, we’ll have coffee ‘n’ donuts. Feel free to e-mail me at if you have any questions.
Chip Ferron NØWKR
Emergency Coordinator
Mesa County ARES
Region 9, District 4
At 10:17 a.m. on October 17, 2019, thousands of people will participate in the Great Colorado ShakeOut, the state’s largest earthquake drill ever! We’ll join participants from across the country to prepare for earthquake response and recovery. As part of ARES, it’s important that we know how to launch a communication response to assist local, state and federal officials as they mobilize for damage control. In Mesa County, all ARES members should monitor the Western Colorado Amateur Radio Club’s W0RRZ repeater at 146.94 MHz (107.2 tone) for information on how to respond. The only catch? No public AC power! The first thing to go in an earthquake is public power, so please respond with battery, generator or solar power only. Even a handheld will work, so we should all be able to respond. 
