Florida Non-Profit, 501(C)(3) Tax-Exempt Organization
BE A PART OF OUR TEAM
Do you want to be a part of a dedicated team of licensed amateur radio operators who volunteer their time to serve their communities in Sumter County? Call or email us today to learn how you can be a part of our critically important team. Click here to learn how you can be a member of our team.
WHAT IS ARES
In the United States, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, (ARES), is a corps of trained amateur radio operator volunteers organized to assist in public service and emergency communications. It is organized and sponsored at the national level by the American Radio Relay League.
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ARES teams participate in preparedness planning and exercises with their local emergency management office, the Red Cross, hospitals, and first responder organizations to be prepared if disaster strikes.
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When an unusual occurrence disrupts cellular systems, landlines, the internet and public safety radio systems, ARES volunteers are ready to respond to establish emergency communications until normal systems can be restored.
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ARES plays an important role in non-emergency activities as well. Upon request, ARES members provide communications for public events, such as parades, charity bicycle challenges, festivals, and more.
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HELP FUND SUMTER ARES
Sumter County ARES provides its services at no cost to taxpayers and is funded entirely through donations.
Your financial contribution will help ensure we are able to continue to deliver these vital services in our communities.
WHAT'S NEW
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Local EmComm Exercise, April 18, 2026
CERT of the Villages and CERT of the Continental County Club will be conducting a joint exercise from 08:00-1300 on Saturday, April 18th, 2026.
Sumter County ARES and the local RACES program will be supporting their exercise.
The Sumter County ARES Emergency Coordinator will announce a local ARES Alert Level-2 at approximately 8:00 AM and appoint an ARES Incident Commander (AIC). A Logistics Net will be activated on the K4HOG repeater (147.030 MHz repeater) and a NCS appointed.
Pursuant to the SCARES Emergency Operations Plan, all SCARES members are to make contact with the AIC by any means to inform him of their availability.
SCARES will respond as appropriate to all requests for assistance from CERT or the EOC (through RACES).
In advance of this exercise, all SCARES members should make contact with the SCARES Planning Section Chief (Gene King KI4LEH) to inform him if you will be available to participate in this exercise. Inter- Organization Communications will be following the Sumter County incident communications plan dated March 4, 2025. The CERT of The Villages Incident Command communications team will be monitoring 146.925 MHz.
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Fundraising Campaign Underway
Sumter ARES now has a Go-Fund-Me account to help offset expenses. Read more...​
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​​​Sumter County ARES Meeting
The monthly meeting of Sumter County ARES is conducted on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, starting at 7:30 PM ET. Unless otherwise specified, this meeting is held on-line via Zoom. You DO NOT have to be a member of ARES to participate in this meeting. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. To join the Zoom meeting, go to www.sumterares.org/calendar and navigate to the date. There you will find the link.
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Sumter County ARES VHF Net
The monthly Sumter County ARES VHF Net will be conducted on 4th Thursday of each month beginning at 7:30 PM ET on the K4HOG 147.030 repeater (+ Offset, PL/123.0 Hz). You DO NOT have to be a member of ARES to check into this Net. All licensed amateur radio operators are encourage are welcome and encouraged to partipate. We will use the NetLogger application for logging.
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