Mark Newby, KX4LEO, Emergency Coordinator
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.
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.
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.
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.
WHAT'S NEW
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SCARES Responds to Hurricane Milton
Sumter County ARES responds to Hurricane Milton. Look for an article in the next NFL Section QST newsletter. Read more...
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Hearts For Our Hospital 2024 (H4H)
Planning has already began for amateur radio support for the annual Hearts for our Hospitals Bicycle Challenge. The event will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Please reserve that date on your calendars as we will need many volunteers to help make the event safe. Click here for more details and to volunteer.
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Membership Drive
We are always looking to expand our corps of volunteers. To that end, if you would like to help with a membership drive, we could use your help whether you are a member of SCARES or not.
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Fundraising
There are significant expenses associated with maintaining this organization. We are grateful for the financial assistance given by our corporation's officers to cover these expenses. However, to help cover future expenses, we would like to explore other funding sources. If you have experience with, or an interest in fundraising activities, we would like to hear from you.
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Donations Needed
We need your help. If you have amateur radio equipment that you would like to donate, or if you can make a financial contribution to help cover expenses of maintaining this organization, we would appreciate hearing from you. Sumter County ARES is a Non-Profit, 501(C)(3) Tax-Exempt organization. You can claim all donations as charitable contributions when filing your taxes.
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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.