Wisconsin ARES/RACES

The 11th Annual WI ARES/RACES Conference 2009 Summary

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The 11th annual WI ARES/RACES Conference 2009 presented by WeComm, Ltd, took place on Halloween weekend (October 31- November 1, 2009) at the Hotel Mead

and Conference Center in Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin ARES/RACES officers along with others interested in ARES were in attendance for the jam-packed two day meeting. Turn out was better than expected with almost 70 attending on Saturday and 60 on Sunday.

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Saturday morning the conference opened with Bill Niemuth, Director of WeComm Ltd, welcoming all the attendees. After making introductions, Bill gave an update on WeComm’s current and future projects (See Fig. 1) and then graciously turned the conference over to Skip Sharp, SEC , who officiated as the master of ceremonies for the remainder of the weekend. (See Fig. 2)

Skip proudly presented the following Wisconsin ARES/RACES 2009 Awards:

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EC of The Year : Jason Winget, N9XYX, St Croix County (see Fig. 3)

DEC of The Year: Dave Levorson N9KNY, Northeast District (See Fig 4)

Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO was given a special plaque of appreciation for his involvement in this year’s conference. (See Fig. 5)

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All weekend, conference presenters covered a myriad of topics that were educational, and thought provoking. Presenters Power Points, and handouts have been posted on this website so that you may use them as an excellent informational recap of the conference or as a great training tool and informational source for those who could not attend. Click here to view the Power Point List.

A memorable conference extracurricular activity began Saturday evening at 5:00 PM with the first conference-based Wisconsin ARES/RACES Halloween Patrol. 28 conference participants attended the briefing, were given assignments and then dispatched with their HAM radios into the streets of Wisconsin Rapids, and surrounding towns of Biron, Grand Rapids, Saratoga and Rudolph. Wearing their best reflective attire these experienced ARES professionals patrolled on foot and in vehicles, ready to radio in any suspicious activity they might encounter during the hours of trick and treating. No suspicious activity was reported while the ARES Net was in progress.

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Many thanks to the following organizations who worked with us so we could take advantage of this great training opportunity: The City of Wisconsin Rapids, the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department, the Wood County Sheriff's Department, Dale Jirschele, KK9D Wood County EC who staffed the Wood County EOC, The Daily Tribune - Wisconsin Rapids;

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Reporter Karen Madden and Photographer Dan Young. Special thanks go to Bill Niemuth, Halloween Patrol “Air Boss”, for creating developing, and implementing the patrol.

Click here to see the article in The Daily Tribune - Wisconsin Rapids.

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Thanks for your feedback on the conference survey; we are shaping the 2010 Conference from your comments.

Do you have any photos from the 2009 ARES/RACES Conference? We would love to add your photo’s here, please email them to Kathy Schramm and she will be happy to get them posted. Click here to view the photo page.

Not able to attend this year, but you would like to have input on the conference in 2010? We would love to hear your ideas, please take just a few moments of your time to complete this survey. Click here to take survey

Plan now to attend October 23 & 24, 2010!

Your Wisconsin ARES RACES Conference Committee:
Don Michalski, W9IXG - Wisconsin Section Manager - ARRL ARES/RACES ASM Communications
Skip Sharpe, W9REL - Wisconsin ARES/RACES Section Emergency Coordinator
Richard Engel, K9RWE - Wisconsin ARES/RACES Webmaster, Washington County ASEC/VOAD
Kathy Schramm, KB9UAZ - Wisconsin ARES/RACES ASEC - Marketing & Recruiting
Gary Sorensen, W9ULK - Wisconsin ARES/RACES ASEC - Training
Dana Wilson, KC9KOQ - Wisconsin ARES/RACES EC Grant County