“When all else fails, Hams get through” Spurs Wellington’s Recognition of Amateur Radio Week
Wellington, 6/16/13 – Because the Internet, cell phones, email and modern communications all require wire, towers, fiberoptic cable or countless small batteries, whole regions find themselves in the dark. Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, storms, ice and even the occasional cutting of cables leave people without the means to communicate. But not Radio Amateurs, they use just the airwaves!
“The fastest way to turn a crisis into a total disaster is to lose communications,” said Allen Pitts of the ARRL. “From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to tornadoes in Oklahoma and Missouri, ham radio provided the most reliable communication networks in the first critical hours of the event. Because ham radios are not dependent on the Internet, cell towers or other infrastructure, they work when nothing else is available. We need nothing between us but air.”
When infrastructure fails or is overloaded, the one consistent service that has never failed has been Amateur Radio. That’s why the City of Wellington has recognized the 3rd week in June as “Amateur Radio Week.” On June 22nd and 23rd, volunteers from the Wellington Radio Club will take to the airwaves to join tens of thousands of other Amateur Radio operators in practicing emergency communications skills and testing their equipment. That weekend is called Field Day and is when a national emergency preparedness exercise unfolds.
Village Park will be where the Wellington Radio Club will set up temporary generators, shortwave radio stations and antennas to connect with thousands of other emergency-powered sites throughout North America.
They invite the public to come and see ham radio’s new capabilities and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes. The specific location is Pavilion 3, Village Park, 11700 Pierson Road, Wellington.
To learn more about Amateur Radio, go to Wellington Radio Club website at www.qsl.net/k4wrc and www.emergency-radio.org. The public is most cordially invited to come, meet and talk with the hams. See what modern Amateur Radio can do. They can even help you get on the air!
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PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA
DECLARING THE WEEK OF JUNE 17-23, 2013 AS
AMATEUR RADIO WEEK
IN THE CITY OF WELLINGTON
WHEREAS, Wellington Radio Club members
provide communications during emergency activations
of the Wellington Emergency Operations Center; and
WHEREAS, Wellington Radio Club members
have demonstrated their value in public assistance
by providing emergency radio communications from
their homes as well as the City EOC; and
WHEREAS, these Amateur Radio operators
donate their services free of charge to our City
in the interest of the citizens of Wellington,
as well as the Western Communities; and
WHEREAS, these Amateur Radio operators are on alert
for any emergency, local or world-wide,
and practice their communication skills during
the annual national Field Day emergency exercise; and
WHEREAS, this year’s Amateur Radio Field Day
will take place on June 22-23, 2013;
NOW, THEREFORE, the City of Wellington,
hereby declares the week of June 17-23, 2013 as
AMATEUR RADIO WEEK
IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the City of Wellington, Florida to be affixed this 17th day of June, 2013.
ATTEST: CITY OF WELLINGTON
BY: BY:
Awilda Rodriguez, City Clerk Robert Margolis, Mayor