ARES®
ARES® (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is organized and administered by the American Radio Relay League to provide national emergency commmunications coordination among radio amateurs and private service organizations such as the American Red Cross. The Western Washington Section of the ARRL is divided into 6 geographic regions plus the Medical Services Team. The Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) reports to the Section Manager and is charged with overall administration of ARES® for the Section. Each region is under the leadership of a District Emergency Coordinator (DEC) with Emergency Coordinators (EC) from each individual county reporting to the DEC. Cowlitz County is located in Washington's Region 4 along with Clark, Wahkiakum and Skamania counties. The Emergency Coordinator for Cowlitz County is Randy Greeley, NU7D. Randy can be contacted at Randy's email.
Cowlitz County ARES® is available to support various organizations including providing communications support during special events. Special events provide excellent training opportunities by providing on-air experience without the stress of a "real" situation. Two of the annual events where we provide communications support are the "Tour de Blast" 50 km round trip bike ride into the Mt. St Helens blast zone and (through LCARA) the annual "Walk and Knock" food drive. Both of these events provide solid training opportunities while providing a real service to the community.
Membership in the ARRL (or any other organization) is not required for ARES® membership. A valid amateur radio operator's license is required.