The Sumner County ARES (SCARES) group was formed in order to better support the American Radio Relay League ARES(R) mission in Sumner County, and beyond. We are heavily reliant upon and intertwined with the Sumner County Amateur Radio Association (SCARA) and they share the goal of ARES furtherance.
The ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is a Program of the American Radio Relay League; it is not a club. Anyone can be involved and a member of ARES. You don’t have to be a member of SCARA to serve admirably and lead within Sumner County ARES, but it is highly encouraged!
The ARRL ARES Program provides for an Emergency Coordinator and various Assistant Emergency Coordinators in most counties, including Sumner County. Many of those leaders are heavily involved in SCARA— and perhaps also in other fine local amateur radio clubs! That’s great!
Because we were established to support the amateur radio emergency service mission (a founding reason for the FCC Amateur Radio Service, per Part 97.1), SCARES activities and efforts are in large part directed toward assisting local volunteers in becoming better trained and better equipped for that service. However, that is a VERY broad mission! As a result, we are heavily involved in:
- Helping volunteers acquire and advance in FCC Licensure
- Gaining technical expertise in radio and electronics
- Learning federal, state, and local standards for emergency communications
- Acquiring and improving their own personal radio equipment, with an eye toward deploy ability
- Reaching out to the community to develop new volunteers in this exciting hobby and valuable public service
Our group is a little different. We don’t have a “board” and we make most decisions by an informal consensus. We take a formal “membership” for documentation and training purposes, but we don’t have any dues. When we need to fund a project, we just take anonymous donations. Our goal is to get as much done, as possible, and you’ll find that our meetings are very, very productive.