MS Walk – Sunday May 5th 2019

By: Mike Griffiths, KD9KMV

MS Walk – Roselle, IL – Sunday May 5th 2019

A number of SARC club members volunteered their time and skills on Sunday May 5th 2019, by providing valuable communication support for the 2019 MS Charity walk held in Roselle, IL.

The weather was most definitely on our side, with clear skies and real “spring like” temperatures.

Rob Glowacki, N9MVO setup the base station command center. Using 2m simplex, all the volunteers were able to communicate necessary traffic to aid the smooth running of this annually held charity walk.  Due to the close proximity of the route, repeater use was not required, with our HT’s being more than sufficient for simplex operation range.

 

Some of the key functions included providing information to the organizers about maintaining adequate water station supplies to keep the participants hydrated, directing the walkers throughout the course, and keeping track of the progress of the walkers.  Fortunately there were no situations requiring medical assistance.

Regarding tracking progress of the walkers, feedback from the main MS Walk event organizers conveyed that “…they were thoroughly impressed with how we kept track of the participants as the walk went on. They were especially grateful for our tracking of the last walkers on the course.”

Quoting Matt (AC9IG), “We were the eyes and ears for their staff and everyone on the net did a great job of getting the right information through at the right time. “

Thanks to all the volunteers:

John KD9KSH
Bob N9JAX
Robert W9RKK
Jim KB9RGU
Edward AC9SD
Orson NN9N
Phil WB9C
Doug W9YFC
Bill W9WEM
Matt AC9IG
Daryl KB9RHR
Mike KD9KMV
Rob N9MVO

On a personal note, this was my first Public Service event, and the level of skill and professionalism exhibited by all the volunteers made me proud to be a member of SARC.

Mike KD9KMV