MANSFIELD, Ohio — Amateur Radio Week kicked off Sunday, June 21, and was officially recognized by the Richland County commissioners during their regular meeting Tuesday morning.
Richland County has more than 400 licensed amateur radio operators who provide emergency radio communications and are on alert for any emergency–local or worldwide.
Danny Bailey, Richland County Amateur Radio Emergency Service coordinator, described, “We more or less serve as dispatchers for the county [in disaster situations].” Those involved in the county amateur radio emergency service group work with area emergency services to help relay messages in times of crisis.
“We do this free of charge. It’s just our hobby and we love to do it,” he said.
He noted, “Here in the county, we got busy when there was the big phone outage. My group was on standby and ready to go to the hospital, EMA, wherever they wanted us. Within 45 minutes I had 50 people waiting–all I had to do was make one phone call and they would have been ready to roll.”
The group also assists in different events like Mansfield Airport Day, Ashland Balloonfest and the Miss Ohio Parade.
Amateur radio operators practice their communication skills in the American Radio Relay League’s Field Day exercise, which will be held this weekend at the Richland County Fairgrounds. “This weekend, there will be a half million hams on, and we’re there for 24 hours just trying to make contact with people,” Bailey said.
Bailey, who said he’s been a “ham” since 1994, said he enjoys helping out in emergencies. He discussed one situation in which a man approached him with tears in his eyes, saying that he was unable to contact his family members in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit and wasn’t sure if they were still living.
Bailey reached someone via ham radio who shared that the man’s family was still alive and provided contact information on how he could reach them.
“He couldn’t quit thanking me and shaking my hand,” Bailey said.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the InterCity Amateur Radio Club in Mansfield.
“There’s probably close to 1,000 hams just in Richland County alone,” Bailey said.
