Oakland A.R.E.S. Newsletter November 4, 1995


Minutes of the October 7, 1995 Meeting

The Oakland ARES meeting came to order at Oakland Red Cross at 9:10 AM. Present were:

Debbie Barragan KE6MRK
Adele Bertaud KE6HKY
Chris Burgardt KE6SSW
Elton Carter KE6MRJ
Jim Carter K6LWA
Dale Choy KD6KMU
Doug Faunt N6TQS
Bob Firehock KE6IUE
Curtis Floray KA6MJO
Tim Ingham KD6CTG
Roger Jung KE6STB
Bob Mayes KE6DVT
Gerald Morris AC6GF
Nardeo Persaud KE6MQX
Bob Ploss KD6YJS
Jim Ploss KB6MYV
David Pompa pending
Mike Pompa KD6PLN
Jim Tiemstra N6OIK
Brian Treusch KJ6LL
Mark Violet N6RCG

All meetings are normally held on the first Saturday of each month.

The next meeting will be Saturday, November 4, 1995 at 9:00 AM

at the Red Cross Headquarters, 2111 E. 14th Street, Oakland 535-2800

Announcements / Calendar

Thanks



It took only 4 hours to install the radios at Fire Station #17 on 10/21 thanks to the assistance from Dale, KD6KMU, Bob KE6IUE, Roger, KE6STB, David WB6NER and Chris, KE6SSW . Also, we forgot to mention Chris and Willie, KE6EMX who helped last month at FS1.

Thanks to Tim, KD6CTG, Jim, K6LWA, Debbie KE6MRK, and David WB6NER who attended the mailing party on 10/24 for stuffing 642 envelopes containing the letter to all Oakland, Piedmont, and Emeryville hams. And thanks to Deborah, KE6MQV for getting the City end of this project together.

RACES Report

by KE6MRK


Jim Tiemstra (N6OIK) visited the county EOC on Thursday, October 5th and took revealing photos of the facility including the RACES room. With floor plans and Jim's detailed description he virtually brought us to the locatioin without having to be there.

The Fire patrol manual was reviewed and all comments received from the OFD.

Activation of ARES/RACES by an OES computerized call-out message was reviewed and meeting attendees filled out contact information sheets in order to be included in this computerized phone tree.

On Wednesday, October 4th and Thursday, October 5th an ARES/RACES fire patrol was activated. It worked well considering the short notice and the middle of a work week.

The start of the Oct 14 Simulated Emergency Test was delayed slightly while Fire Dept officials were asked if they needed a fire patrol. This caused some confusion when two roll calls were done. The drill was stopped early and followed by a debriefing session. Future drills will concentrate on improving operator placements.

The ARES/RACES recruitment letter was drafted, signed and mailed out. The OES paid outgoing postage and ARES paid for return postcards. Because of the large turnout expected, we arranged for a large meeting room, the Wyman Vernon Auditorium at the Oakland Police Department. Much of the November meeting will be devoted to planning the December meeting. There will be extra things to do such as having greeters and a sign-in table, ARES annual dues collection, RACES registration and photo taking, refreshments, and a flea market (just kidding).

Organizational Structure


The subcommittee headed by David Otey (WB6NER) has continued to meet throughout October and is expected to submit a proposal at our Nov 4 meeting regarding an organization chart for our group.

Jackets



Tim, KD6CTG presented a flood of information he'd gathered along with a sample fireproof Endura cotton firefighter's jacket (bright yellow with reflective stripes) which runs in the $80 range. Ideas of labels with call signs/names/logos were tossed around. Tim will check with the fire department itself to find out how they feel about having hams looking like firefighters.


Handoffs



We now have a new treasurer. John, WB6BYA has handed over the dough to Bob Firehock, KE6IUE who has established an actual ARES account, with assistance from Chris, KE6SSW .

You may also notice that the mailing list looks different. Jim Ploss, KB6MYV handed it off to David Otey, WB6NER , who has trimmed the list from 175 to 71. So if you didn't receive this newsletter, you know who to call! (grin)

Tidbits



Congratulations to Brian, KJ6LL who upgraded to Extra at Pacificon. He plans to request vanity call A6 when the time comes.