Manitowoc County ARES/RACES is an organization of licensed amateur radio operators who have voluntarily registered their qualification and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disasters strike. The term ARES, or the Amateur Radio Emergency Services, refers to an organization sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The purpose of ARES is to provide emergency communications for non-governmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross, during a disaster. The term RACES, or the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services, refers to an organization specifically mandated by Federal Communications Commission Rule 97.407 to be authorized “by the civil defense organization for the area served.” In Wisconsin, RACES is authorized by the Administrator of Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) and at the local level by the Director of Manitowoc County Emergency Management. This means that RACES provides communications for government organizations.
In Wisconsin, all ARES and RACES organizations are joined together so that one joint ARES/RACES organization can have the flexibility to serve both the government and non-governmental sectors during a disaster. This also means that members of ARES must also be members of RACES and all RACES members must also be ARES members.
Manitowoc County ARES/RACES is lead by an Emergency Coordinator (EC)/ Radio Officer (RO) who is appointed by both by the ARES Section Emergency Coordinator and the local Director of Emergency Management. The EC/RO appoints one or more Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC) / Assistant Radio Officers (ARC) to assist him or her with their duties as EC/RO. The following are a listing of Manitowoc County ARES/RACES leadership:
2022 LARSC OFFICERS ARE:
- Ken KD9AQM – President (SK)
- Mike KC9HQV – Vice President
- John W9AH – Secretary
- John KD9CKW – Treasurer
W9RES repeaters:
- 146.895 MHz (PL 146.2 Hz)
- 443.150 MHZ (PL 100.0 HZ)