The ARES Team consists of amateur radio enthusiasts who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty when disaster strikes.

To find out more about Redmond ARES, visit their website.

ARES participates in Amateur Radio Field Day every year in June, provides radio support at local events like bicycle and foot races, and more.

Amateur Radio Operators Test Skills During Emergency Preparedness Exercise

Redmond Mayor John Marchione proclaimed the week of June 21-27, 2010 as Amateur Radio Week in Redmond in recognition for the valuable public service that Redmond hams provide to the community. The proclamation was made in conjunction with Amateur Radio Field Day which occured that weekend. From 11:00 AM on Saturday June 26 to 11:00 AM on Sunday June 27, amateur radio operators from the City of Redmond's Amateur Radio Emergency Service (A.R.E.S.), Microsoft's "MicroHams" Amateur Radio Club, and the Redmond Top Key Contest Club gathered to set up radio communications equipment at Farrel McWhirter Park (19545 Redmond Road in Redmond) and test their communications capabilities during a simulated emergency exercise.

The exercise is part of a nationwide "Field Day" emergency preparedness activity. The event is designed to test Amateur Radio (Ham) operators' skills in setting up and operating radio communications equipment in situations where electrical power is limited or unavailable. The idea is to simulate the conditions that can occur during an earthquake, flood, or other emergency, including man-made disasters.

The event is open to the public and the hams will have a "Get on the Air" (GOTA) station available for the general public to operate, under the supervision of licensed radio operators, to make contact with hams from other areas of the world.

Today there are more than 680,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. To find out how to get started in this exciting hobby and whom to contact in your area, call or write the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; toll-free 800 32 NEW HAM. Or you can visit ARRL on the Web .

Redmond Citizen Corps Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. You can help support ARES through a secure donation with PayPal or a credit or debit card. Thank you!