Well it’s 2012 and here we go starting off the New Year with hopes and expectations that our ARES program will grow and we can do even more for the community.

The big question is how can we make this happen?

I have tried to reach most in the ham community and have tried to be as neutral as I can be. Politics is not something I do well and my expectations are not always what others may have. The goal is that the ham community gets respect and we do what’s best for the community and help our served agencies when they need us.

This doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me, and it sounds like a reasonable request but for a lot of hams it must be over the top.

I keep asking myself where is the support, why won’t they help and what am I doing wrong?

Frankly I don’t have a clue.. I have no hidden agenda nor do I want all the praise, as a matter of fact I don’t need any of the limelight all I want is to build a group that cares about the community and wants to help make the area we live a better place to live for us and out kids. 

What’s wrong with this?

It not all bad though, we have some great members that are willing to do what it takes to help. 

 They understand commitment and are willing to give there time and money to get the job done and for that I’m very grateful they are the best members a guy could ask for and to them I have to say Thank You for you hard work and dedication without them we couldn’t get the job done.

So this year we are going to use a new strategy and look for new members that are fresh hams, just licensed or not licensed but would like to get them.

We are going to start having classes and hopefully we can get people that are interested in becoming members from this group.

It’s not that I don’t want our older hams but they don’t seem to want us so it’s time to move on with fresh people with all the baggage and issues older hams seem to have.

No I don’t mean all of them of course but they know who they are.

I think this year ARES is going to grow am most importantly we are going to be able to do more in our community to make our towns and cities a better place to live and work.

If you’re interested in helping in this process just contact me at n9jlr!@gmail.com

73

Doug Mullens

N9JLR

My Thoughts                                                                                      
Doug Mullens N9JLR

Well here I sit at my computer thinking about what to say
  and how to say it.. I’m not sure when the last time I have been unable to put
  into words as to how I feel or for that matter even worried about it, but this
  is a different time and place for me and I am just trying to put something’s in
  perspective. 
What has Ham Radio meant to me is a tough question as I’m
  not the normal ham in the sense I’m not an engineer or big shot in electronics.
  I don’t have a PHD or MD in front or behind my name. 
What I have done is to volunteer all my life in one form
or another and tried to help when and where I could. That has always made me
feel like I’m doing something good and I feel like it was the least I could do
for being able to live in this country. 
You see God blessed me with the ability to work under
pressure and make tough decisions when necessary, and for the most part I am
able to get the job done and keep everyone safe in doing so. I take great pride
in that fact too. 
I know there are better people out there and they could
do a better job but for the most part they don’t get involved in the work I do
so people have been stuck with me.  
I think after being involved with EMS and the Sheriff’s
  department and working with the Red Cross for a number of years I see Ham Radio
  as a totally untapped resource in what we could do for the community. 
  The other thing is it could and should be fun doing it! 
  For all the hard work our ARES team has done I hope they
  know and feel like they have and are making a difference in there community, I
  know I do. I also know that we have worked hard and fought some tough battles
  to get where we are, and there will be more to come. The good thing is by
  having to fight we know we are doing good work as nothing that comes too easy
  is going to be lasting and most of the time it’s not going to be what need to
  be done in the first place. 
As EC you have to make decisions about members and you
have to be able to understand that all don’t think like you do. (I don’t know
why) JAll people have good in them and some more than others
but sometimes the bad is just not worth the good and you have to turn away some
people that you would like to have but due to reasons unknown they aren’t good
for the team. 
Doing this is never pleasant but it has to be done to
  maintain a unity of the group. 
My goal is to build a group of caring people that are
  willing to go the extra mile and do what it takes to get the job done, all with
  the goal of bettering the community and making the county a better place to
  live. 
As long as I’m the EC of this county I will strive to
make this happen and will do the job with the chosen few that can share the
vision and are willing to work to make this happen.
 I’m proud of the members of Vigo County ARES and the
people form the other counties that come and help with some of the events we do.
I know we have one the best groups of people here doing what we think is right
  for our county.  
I would invite anyone that would like to work with us to
  please contact myself or Nick (N9WG) to find out more and help us build an ARES
  group the rest of the state will want to copy.    
You know ham radio is fun and rewarding too and I’m glad
to be a part of the ham community in Vigo County.
 
73 for now. 
 
Doug Mullens N9JLR
 EC Vigo County

Why should I help?

Doug Mullens N9JLR

This is one of the questions that I think need to be answered, as we are not seeing people volunteering like they used to. You know I have listened to all the reasons that some say that people are not volunteering like before; too busy, working, kids, etc. but the bottom line is that they just don’t seem to understand that with money being cut everywhere we are going to have to all pitch in to make things happy in the community.

That means that we are all going to have to lend a helping hand to keep the community going and this is going to require some help for all of us.

How do you think that things used to be done people helped out to make things happen, well the time is back to do it again and we need everyone’s involvement to lighten the load.

Time was when all we did was to make a call and things were done for us, well that time has come and gone and now we are the ones that are going to have to lend a hand.

We all want safer streets and we all want improvements done to our roads and sidewalks but the fact is that there is just not enough money to go around to get everything done and it is our responsibility to help with some of the work. Did you think about cleaning out the curb so that debris will not get washed into the sewer? (You don’t like the streets flooding do you) This would help a lot and all you have to do is to clean out you curb.

What about a neighborhood watch? We all want a safe neighborhood but the police can’t do it alone. They need our help and all we have to do is to pay attention to what is going on in our area, and if you see something call it in. That’s not so hard is it..

Get to know your neighbors know who is supposed to be there and if you see a strange person there call your neighbor or call the police to have them check it out. Remember better safe than sorry. And wouldn’t you want someone to do the same for you?

Is there elderly in your neighborhood? Well they might need some help and most are too proud to ask. Get to know them and at least check on them from time to time. What could that hurt? (You know you will be old someday too)

Set aside some time for volunteering with an agency or group like the Red Cross or EMA they always are looking for help and you will never know a better feeling like volunteering your time for a good cause.

Want to do more join your local ARES or CERT teem you will get tons of information that could save you or your families life during a storm or other disaster and help to make your community a safer place too.  

We all want to help or should, but we find tons of excuses as to why we can’t.

I want to challenge all of you that read this to make the decision to at least do some homework and see how you can help and then become active in the community, together we CAN make a difference.

  

Need help finding information on how you can help contact me at n9jlr1@gmail.com

 Training is a topic that is not popular but it has to be
addressed.
We as ARES member do have an obligation to be trained
and ready to go when an
emergency arises.
There are certain things
that are expected of us and we have to be ready and
able to answer the call
when we are needed, however one of the things we need
to be ready is the proper training and this is of great importance to both the
ARES group and
the agencies we serve.
Remember the more training we have the more valuable we
become to out served agencies.
Being a volunteer is a hard and thankless job sometimes, the
hours and time are long and the rewards are not many with the exception of
knowing you are giving back to the community that we live and we are making a
difference where we live and work.
Is that enough? Well it is for me and I hope it is for you..
Cross training; is going to happen with this group and I feel
it is necessary as most of the agencies we serve are not staffed with the volunteers
they need and we can help provide some help to them while doing our job as
being communicators.
Cross training is not going to be a mandate but it is goingto be recommended.
Take the Red Cross for example; they do fire
service when people are displaced.
They send out a DAT Teem anytime of the
day or night to help get victims placed with temporary housing and make sure
they have the basics.
The teem goes out without any communications except a cell phone, that is not a good thing nor is it safe.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had a person monitoring the radio just in case something came up?
Don’t you think we could make this happen? Sure, we can and it will not be hard to do.
This is what volunteering is all about making things better.
That was just one example of how we can make a difference and how a small ting can be a large help to others.
I hope you will take my stance on cross training and join me in making this work for the teem.
Remember this is our group and our community and we CAN make a difference.

Until next time,
73,
Doug
N9JLR