ARES is its own organization and is often seen operating side by side with local club organizations.  The SouthWest Iowa Amateur Radio Club (SWIARC) has paid membership and meets monthly at the Loess Hills American Red Cross chapter at 915 N. 16^th St. in Council Bluffs.  ARES organizations are County based, have no dues and are headed up by an Emergency Coordinator (EC) who with Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AECs) conduct training and operations of the County ARES organization.  In Pottawattamie County, the EC and AECs are:

EC - -Terry Lindsley, KSØL

AECs

-          -Don Fauble, WØAUK.

-          -Paul Blain, WBØGXD

-         -Mike Donovan, KU4ZD

Pott. Co. ARES has a calendar of upcoming events, training and planning meeting dates can be found on the ARES website at www.k0swi.org and click on the ARES link.  The current listing is included in this information packet.  There are many other resources on the website that you can download or browse.  Many opportunities for training and events are offered in the course of a year.  I would like you to select two training events and two activities to participate in during the year. Activities could include one 'weather watch' and the Pride Week Parade are examples.  Many members participate in many events during the year, but I suggest two as the minimum goal.

The 146.82 Repeater (KØSWI) in Council Bluffs is owned and maintained by SWIARC. ARES and SWIARC have an informal agreement that the KØSWI repeater can be used when emergency communications are needed for ARES training and activities.  There is a Wednesday evening Pottawattamie County ARES Net conducted on the KØSWI repeater at 9PM local time.  This is a training net for ARES members and non- members alike.  It is an ARES/net and handles ARES and area club announcements.  I would encourage your participation in this net whenever possible.  Another net you may want to frequent is the Midlands ARES Net on Sunday nights at 9pm local time on 146.94 repeater.  All Metro area ARES organizations participate in this net. 

What does ARES do?

ARES provides communications to various agencies that request our services.  Historically, here is a short list of events and agencies that requested ARES assistance:

-         -The Red Cross: emergency relief operations and assists with Damage Assessment operations.

-         -The Olympic Torch Run when it came through Council Bluffs in 2002.

-         -Damage assessment and mass feeding communications during the floods of 1993 and 1999.

-         -RAGBRAI when it started in Council Bluffs in 1994 and 2000.

-         -Nuclear Power Station exercise (EOC communicatons with State EOC, 2003)

-         -Pride Week Parade (for the last 15 years) providing communications and assistance with staging and monitoring parade progress.

-         -various fund raising events involving '10K runs', bicycling events, etc

-         -Lewis and Clark Flotilla (2004).

These give you an idea of some of the activities.  Each one is different and offers new challenges.

What Equipment do I need to have?

The minimum equipment you would need is either a mobile 2 meter transceiver or a 2 meter hand-held radio.  If the radios are dual-band, so much the better, but 2 meters will be the primary operating band. 

The ARES Operations Manual:

     Consider this your handbook for Pott. Co. ARES.  It contains useful information and is a good resource for use in the various ARES activities. 

I look forward to working with you in ARES.  It is a way to give back to the community and enjoying the hobby of Amateur Radio at the same time.

Again, welcome to the Pottawattamie County ARES organization.  If you have any questions, you may contact any of us on the call-up list and we'll be glad to share what we know.

73, 

 Terry Lindsley, KSØL

Phone: 712-325-0107 (Home phone with answering machine on line)

            712-328-5777 (Work phone, mornings Mon-Thurs).

Email:  ks0l@cox.net