March 2017
Vol 15 #3
In this issue:
2017 Field Day Packet Available!
Media Hit: Cedar Creek ARC Gives Ham Radio books to Libraries
2017 Field Day Packet Available!
The 2017 ARRL Field Day Packet is now available, in English and Spanish. The packet includes all you need to get your club's Field Day effort off the ground. Included is the PR strategies and tips section, with a slew of ways to promote your club's effort in your community and earn a lot of free points in the process.
ARRL is looking for high-resolution B-roll video of Field Day efforts from 2015-2016. B-roll should be without captions and as high resolution as possible. If you have material to contribute, please contact ARRL's Sean Kutzko, KX9X with details.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) has posted its 2016 annual report. The 2016 ARES Annual Report focuses on documenting the value that ARES provides to the nation, states, and localities in collaboration with partners at all levels. ARES membership in 2016 was 27,754 — up from 17,756 in 2015 — and the Service was active in 42 states and US territories. More info is here.
Media Hit: Cedar Creek (TX) ARC Gives Ham Radio books to Libraries
Kudos to the Cedar Creek Amateur Radio Club in Athens, Texas, which purchased and distributed copies of Ham Radio for Dummies by ARRL Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, to area schools and libraries.
Financed in part by a grant from LDG Electronics, the club determined to place a copy of the book in nearly every school and public library in the tri-county area around Athens. Club member and former teacher Glenn Hughes, KF5CTG, took on the task of distributing the copies, visiting with librarians and school administrators as he made the rounds.
The activity caught the attention of The Athens Review, which published an article about it on February 15.
Please join me in welcoming the following new Public Information Officers and Public Information Coordinators to the fold:
PIOs:
South Texas: Ravi Patrick Ratnala, KF5HYP
PICs:
Norther New Jersey: Jack Pfister, K2IVS
The folks at PR Newswire are some of the most helpful people in the PR universe. They know a thing or two about distribution and successful outreach. Check out their suggestions so that you, too, can elevate your PR skills from Padawan to Jedi.
Orlando Hamcation was, by all accounts, a big success. Of all the great things that happened there, the Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative meeting was the most promising. An entire forum of strategies and ideas on how to et more college clubs out of mothballs and back on the air. If you missed the forum, you can watch it here. An interview wth PR Committee Chair Scott Westerman, W9WSW, talking about CARI at Orlando HamCation is here.
More outreach to younger people is critical to ham radio's long-term survival; we all know that. But as with other areas of PR , you need to take your message to your audience. For recruitment and just a simpel information exchange, you can't ingore the Maker community.
ARRL will be doing more outreach directed to the Maker movement in the months ahead. For a taste of things to come, look for ARRL CEO Tom Gallgher, NY2RF's upcoming editorial in the April QST, or his 60-Second Century video on the ARRL YouTube channel around March 10th. We will be counting on you, our PIOs and PICs, to learn from and engage the people you meet at Maker Faires. There are some fascinating things going on in Amateur Radio and electronics these days...things you may not even know about. Collehgiate hams and the Makers will show you; just ask.
Thanks for all you do.
Sean Kutzko, KX9X
Media & Public Relations Manager
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