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- Msgid : $RACESBUL.217
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- TO: ALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES/OFFICES VIA THE ARS
- INFO: ALL RACES OPERATORS IN CA (ALLCA: OFFICIAL)
- ALL AMATEURS U.S. (@ USA: INFORMATION)
- FROM: CA STATE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (W6HIR @ WA6NWE.CA)
- 2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832 (916)427-4281
- RACESBUL.217 DATE: Apr. 13, 1992
- SUBJECT: OPS What are some of the problems with RACES nets?
-
- From the perspective of forty years of directed nets for
- communications volunteers in government service this is what I
- have learned.
- The following nets usually die off for lack of interest:
- 1. Nets that consist only of a roll call and nothing else.
- 2. Nets that threaten expulsion if a station misses a certain
- number of check-ins, especially if that particular station's
- participation is not critical to the organization's mission.
- In contrast, nets that allow check-in to ebb and flow with
- the life of each member and provide a constant flow of
- information, news, and items of interest, keep their members and
- remain active for decades. Members WANT to participate in order
- not to miss out on what's happening.
- The major problem is HOW to get the news, information and
- such. To that end, here is a suggestion:
- Get the organization's director, commander or staff (such
- as the RACES Coordinator, secretary, etc.) to prepare something
- to be read on the net -- but not dictated as in a formal
- message. In any agency there is always information of on-going
- interest to volunteer participants. It just takes an effort to
- obtain it and begin the flow. Once that process is started it
- continues. Trip reports from your staff, articles in
- publications received only by the staff, news of or about the
- staff, activities that affect agency budget, mission, and such
- are useful, as well as reports on or about incidents. These
- reports may range from the mundane, such as a creek flooding, to
- a major incident like a forest fire or earthquake.
- ---S. Harter, KH6GBX
- EOM
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