Meeting Minutes             November 1, 2008

1)     Discussed the recent calls made to all A.R.E.S. members.

a.      Deemed Successful due to attendance by members.

2)     Discussed red vests and did a size count.

3)     Talked about mailing post cards out to all hams in Sandusky County, inviting them to join A.R.E.S. or attend a meeting. Thanks Dale N8OHK for the help and idea.

4)     Learned the evacuation route from the EOC in case of emergency.

a.      Fire Drill was conducted during meeting.

5)       Watched a 15 minute video on preparing for natural disasters.

6)     Discussed what we can learn from the video.

7)     From what we learned from the video we discussed that all A.R.E.S. members should have a disaster kit and or a go-pack ready in case of a situation.

8)     If any members want to receive weather alerts via email or text messaging they should contact Jeff KD8ERV. Jeff reminds everyone that the alerts will go off 24 hours a day. There are no silent hours observed.

9)     Encouraged members to make a go-pack and bring it next month.

10) Encouraged all members present to bring a friend or fellow ham next month.

 

 Meeting Minutes             October 4, 2008

 Dale Farmer N8OHK named Emergency Coordinator for Ottawa County.

Three red vests ordered, one of each size to determine how many of each size we need to buy.

ARES is back on 145.250 repeater. We are hoping improvements are made. If we have issues during an activation we will switch to 146.910.

David Gierhart will send in $300 of his own money to get the 501c3 application started.

All future ARES meetings will be held immediately after the club meeting, the first Saturday of every month.

ARES and Skywarn was represented by Owen Fritz KD8GSI and Jeff Herman KD8ERV at the Whirlpool Safety Day on September 22^nd.

Owen will arrange a meeting with the new Sandusky County Sheriff to present ARES. David Gierhart EC Sandusky County will also attend.

The weekly ARES net originated at the Red Cross in Fremont. We will do this once per month to test he RC radio. The RC is a great backup location for ARES.

Gene Schumacher W8VMW is still working on getting radios in the county hospitals.

We are developing a calendar of community activities that ARES may be able to offer emergency radio communications. If you know of an event and the coordinator please notify David Gierhart W8DAG.

EMA training is coming in February and next spring.

NIMS course 700 will be completed as a group at the next ARES meeting. Others will follow.

We are proposing polo shirts for ARES members. A color will be selected and a logo will be embroidered on the shirt. They will be worn at ARES events so we have a professional appearance.

David Gierhart W8DAG will contact Dan Stahl, Seneca County EMA Director to have our contact list on the new activation system.

We will need 10 ARES members at the Davis Besse drill coming up this spring. Fire Departments need our assistance since their radios are not reliable in the buildings.

Advanced Skywarn training is being planned by our very active Skywarn leaders.

Attendees: Dave W8DAG, Owen KD8GSI, Dale N8OHK, Dave W8DPE, Gene W8VMW, Mike W8MAL

The 501(c)3 proccess has begun with our state paperwork sent in.

A new Asst. Emergency Coordinator appointed: Owen KD8GSI will be added which make us have a total of 5 A.E.C.’s.

A new way of communication and alerting for the A.E.C. and the E.C. will be put in place via alphanumeric text paging. This will give us information faster than text messaging on cell phones when the cell towers are busy or go down.

Dave W8DAG showed us the Ohio ARES © site and what we could check out.

We discussed using the radio at the Red Cross in Fremont for one of our monthly nets. This way the radio is check for proper operation.

A letter to the county commissioners was passed around for any corrections and approval. This letter will be given to the commissioners by Gene W8VMW in the next few days.

A grocery list is needed for  equipment and supplies when we get our 501(c)3 that we know what is needed for us to perform to the best of our ability.

A committee needs to form and make sure we have all documents and paperwork ready to go in case of an ARES© activation.

Owen KD8GSI discussed we need to get more member involvement and more attendance at meetings.  Suggested maybe and inactive or reserve list for members who don’t want to participate.

Discussion was held about what needs to be done at the E.O.C. for regular maintenance on equipment, ect.

We are still on the backup repeater of 146.910  until further notice. No update has been given from the technical committee on to what is the problem with the primary repeater of 145.250.

The next Sandusky County ARES © meeting will be held on August 18, 2008 at 7 P.M. in the E.O.C.

ARES® Sandusky County Meeting Minutes - April 21, 2008.

Attendees: