Author: Web Manager

There is some grant money available to us from the county and a prioritized wish list has been compiled.

Nate is working with the county and state personnel to streamline the Red Card process and find missing cards.

PBEM (Portland Bureau of Emergency Management) has published their NET guidelines, which had to be completed before the county frequency template could be finalized. Helen KE7SCS has been working on this.

Helen is also acting as liaison to the local hospitals regarding their amateur radio emergency communications.

We are working with PBEM to test the radio equipment in their new building and get their Winlink system up and running.

Nate N9VCU is trying to find a way to streamline and track the Red Card process. He is working with the County Emergency Manager on this issue.

Adam KF7LJH and Deb KK7DEB have decided to work as a team and spread their unique talents across the whole county, rather than be classified as East and West County AECs. Robert WX5TEX will also be Deputy AEC for the entire county.

A new membership classification proposal was reviewed and adopted and is as follows.

PROVISIONAL Members

• Have a valid amateur radio license and have filled out and submitted a membership form
• Are working on IS-100, IS-200, and IS-700. If a Red Card is desired, the background check request form may be filled out when this step is completed
• Are working on the in-county ARO certification requirements

ACTIVE Members

• Have completed all of the steps above
• Have participated in at least three drills and/or SETs per year and inform team leader if unable to participate in deployment drills
• Attend at least 4 meetings per year

INACTIVE Members

• Have a valid amateur radio license and have filled out and submitted a membership form
• Have limited participation and do not meet the requirements for Active status. NOTE: If there is no participation of any sort for a full year, membership will be canceled.

SUPPORTING Members

• Have submitted a membership form and may or may not have a valid amateur radio license
• Come to occasional meetings but not enough to achieve Active status
• Provide support for the organization. Examples might include members of the emergency response community who have other roles to fill in incidents or events, or persons interested in amateur radio and emergency communications who do not yet have their license and could help with support functions.

There has been a bit of a reorganization. The City of Gresham Team now includes the entire City and not just the EOC. Its team leader is Ed N7TL.

The East Communities Team covers Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale, and the unincorporated area east of the Sandy River, including Corbett. Eli W7ELI is the team leader.

The Gresham team has been working with Scott McPherson from Gresham Emergency Management for the last two years. Scott’s funding has expired and he has moved on to another career path. During his time with Gresham he has been a huge advocate for Multnomah County ARES and amateur radio in emergency communications. He has helped us focus on the needs of the city and opened many doors for us. We will miss him. We look forward to working with Kelle Landavazo and Todd Felix to continue our served agency relationship with the City of Gresham.

We celebrated getting the County ECC’s Winlink system up and running. Since the ECC moved to the JJC the system has not worked. Thanks to Adam KF7LJH, Garrett AF7RF, and everyone who worked on this project.

Revising the frequency template for ARES and all the fire station radio kits is pending the completion of PBEM’s BEECN communication plan. Dealing with life safety traffic during a disaster is pending consultation with the director of BOEC.

We are still working on getting the Red Cross on board as a served agency. It looks like progress is being made. Stay tuned.