About us
More information about who we are and what we do…
Nationally, separate ARES groups are organized in each state and county and they are coordinated by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). Nassau County ARES is comprised of your dedicated Long Island neighbors who operate within this national framework entirely at their own expense.
Nassau County ARES members have a strong interest in communications technology and have taken extra steps to have passed FCC license examinations. Many of our members have completed additional ARRL and FEMA training courses in emergency communications, the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System.
Our members are also members of other volunteer organizations including the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service Skywarn reporting system, and Nassau County OEM RACES and CERT.
Our professional backgrounds include engineering, medicine, public safety agencies, academia, technology, manufacturing, business, construction,financial services and IT professionals.
Our Meetings
We generally hold meetings twice a month, on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. Meetings may be skipped or rescheduled due to holidays and are not held in July and August.
Our primary meeting location is at the American Red Cross building in Mineola. Also, we occasionally meet at the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management offices in Bethpage due to scheduling constraints or to participate in joint meetings with Nassau County RACES.
Core Functions
1
The primary activity of ARES is to provide emergency communications during disasters such as fires, floods, power failures and hurricanes, when other means of communications are unavailable.. You will find ARES before, during and after major disasters like 9/11, Hurricane Sandy and massive power blackouts at Red Cross shelters and Fire Battalion stations during the worst conditions.
2
The secondary activity of ARES is to provide essential communications for public events including parades, marathons, races, walks, bicycle tours, and other large public events where swift, reliable communications protect and improve the safety of the general public.
3
The third function of ARES is to provide licensed amateur radio operators with training in emergency communications, directed net procedures and on-air discipline, formal message handling, and emergency preparedness.