The Gainesville Amateur Radio Society has been a serious problem going even
as far back as 1987.
In 1987, with the ARRL pushing for clubs to form local ARES (Amateur Radio
Emergency Service) groups to handle communications for local entities during
emergencies, Earl Jones/NF4O tried to convince a number of young amateur radio
operators to form such an organization. We brought the idea to GARS with much
lauding and clapping for our efforts, but no one seriously believed we might
actually be able to go anywhere with the idea or tto do anything with it.
Earl came to me first, begging me to be the first "Emergency Coordinator" in
Alachua County. Realizing immediately what this meant, I did not WANT the
job. I vehemently refused. But Earl kept coming after me to do it. I had NO
clue what to do. We had NO templates to use at the time. There were NO real
manuals to guide us along. We would need to form agreements and alliances
with local emergency management, with local Red Cross, etc. We didn't even
have an Emergency PLAN, and there was NO example documentation out there to
go by. Even the budding Emergency Coordinator's Handbook, back in 1987, was a
thin one-inch thick, with large type, double-spaced. IT had a few examples of
documents and plans which worked well in OTHER locations, but which actually
had NOTHING AT ALL to do with the LOCAL situation, which was drastically
different from the others.
Together Earl and I went out after a few of the other more anxious hams to
try to get them to help us. Ultimately, we found Tim Merrill/KJ4PH (now
aretired Deputy from the Alachua County Sheriff's Office), and Chuck
Smyder/KB4QBY (now KK4HP).
I just didn't want to be in a position that required all of my attention all
of the time, with no peace, and no quiet time to myself, and knowing that
most of the ham radio operators in town were all TOO anxious to applaud you
into doing things for THEM, but that they scattered to the WINDS when you
needed THEM. I did NOT want to deal with that. I was always the one stuck
with all of the work, and I knew what was going to happen if I took that
position.
So I compromised. I'd take an ASSITANT Emergency Coordinator position if
someone ELSE would take the Emergency Coordinator position. Tim took EC. I
accepted the position of AEC-HF Liason (I would handle the HF-related comms
because I was heavy with the traffic nets and contesting back then, and Chuck
took on the position of AEC-VHF Liason. (He would be in charge of nets and
VHF/UHF-related comms).
Next we had to come up with an Emergency Plan, an SOP manual of sorts. WE had
to get together with local government agencies and form agreements with them,
and plans of action.