July 2, 2004 -- The Tri-State ARC of Howard County , Iowa recently received an award for outstanding community service form the United Way of Olmstead County in Rochester, Minnesota. The presentation was part of the Ten Who Made a Difference ceremony where the United Way recognized ten different groups or individuals that had made a significant impact in their community. Rochester is a neighboring community of Howard County, Iowa and this club knows no boundaries when it comes to helping its neighbors.
This award is just one of many that have been bestowed upon this small group of energetic hams. On March 29 Tri-State was awarded the Presidents Point of Light Award with the official presentation made in April by President George W. Bush when he was visiting Iowa.
Tri-State ARC is a small club but contributes to the community in a big way. They are a general purpose club with a big emphasis on emergency communications and maintain a communications van that can be dispatched to any place where em-comms are needed. The van is equipped to handle digital and voice communication on the HF, VHF & UHF bands and they can even transmit and receive video via Amateur Television.
Ernie Martin, WA0AUU, President of TSARC, says that he's blessed to have a group of highly motivated individuals that are always willing to serve. The group actually resurrected the old Chevy step van and converted it from a delivery van into a first class portable operating station. The club is only fourteen members strong but each one brings a special talent to the group that helped build and maintain the vehicle and equipment inside. Besides the communication van the club also maintains a trailer full of emergency gear that is towed behind the truck.
TSARC keeps their van and operators busy at many public service and public awareness events. The most recent emergency they had to deal with were the flood watches during the month of June. The van and its crew can also be seen at county fairs and shopping centers in the area as well as career day at the elementary and high schools.
If all this activity was not enough to keep these volunteers busy they also run a variety of fund raising projects to support the van and all of the equipment. Their most fund raiser was a hamburger stand where the group sold 1/3 pound sirloin burgers. Ernie said "We were so busy that I couldn't grill them fast enough." He also says that with fresh Midwestern beef these are no "Mc Burgers".
When WA0AUU accepted the award from The United Way, he accepted on behalf of all of Amateur Radio. Tri-State ARC is doing a great job for their community and for Amateur Radio.