METERS Newsletter - April 2007

A monthly publication of the Middle East Tennessee Emergency Radio Service, Inc.
METERS is a registered non-profit service organization based in Knoxville, serving all the surrounding area.
Club call sign: KG4NLF      Website: www.metersinc.org

Meetings are held at 7 PM, the 4th Tuesday every month. Our April 24th meeting will be at the Knox County Health Department, 140 Dameron Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. (See the website for directions, or watch the Net Reminder.).
Licensed Amateur Radio Operators are invited to join METERS and assist in meeting the needs of our served agencies.
Members’ submissions are invited for this newsletter, in plain text formats, subject to space available and editing. Editor: John Randle, K9RSQ; e-mail to john.randle (at) tds.net; Phone (865) 675-1293, or mail to: John Randle, 10625 Summit Mtn Ct, Knoxville, TN 37922.

President's Statement for April 2007

Spring is here but it's hard to believe with the winter weather we have been enduring with low temperatures in the freezing range. Hopefully, it is almost over but that won't help the plants that succumbed to the freezing temps. We are ready for those beautiful moderate sunny spring days.

We were hoping for some of that sunny weather for the 2007 Knoxville Marathon, but wound up with a little rain. We can all be thankful that we didn't have the 2007 Boston Marathon weather - temperature in the high 40's with 25 mph gusts and rain through half of the race.

Our communications coverage of the Knoxville Marathon was quite successful. 22 operators participated on that rainy day.  Everyone was of good cheer and did an excellent job. We handled one emergency which is very good for a long race (26.2 miles) with about 5,000 entrants although we hoped not to have any incidents. We used the TN HS Dist 2 Command Post in the field for the first time which was a beneficial experience.  We also tried a new approach for our marathon coverage this year - starting on one repeater with the resource net and then sequentially moving to another repeater for the tactical net - which worked well. Jerry AF1P will lead a discussion about the race at the next meeting on April 24, 2007.

We have several future opportunities for having fun and representing METERS in different venues. The RACK hamfest is June 9 and Larry is looking for volunteers to man the METERS table and tell other hams about METERS and emergency communications. Field Day is June 23-24 and we need to work together to prepare for this big event and demonstrate amateur radio's capabilities and value to the public. We will also have a Bioincident Response Plan SET soon to refresh our skills and review implementation of the plan. Since we now have an MOU with the Knox County Health Department for support during an incident involving public health, this exercise is an important step in refining the plan.

You will notice the Newsletter Editor has included in this issue the most current statement from the ARRL to its members regarding the Red Cross background checks. While it is a controversial issue, we would like to provide you with the information that is available so that you can make your own informed decision about your relationship with the Red Cross and about your submission to the background checks if you so choose.

Please attend the meetings this spring and summer. So much is happening and we have so much to do! If you are not a METERS member and you are interested in emergency communications, please join us at a meeting to see what we do and consider METERS membership.

Hope to see you at the April meeting & 73,

-- Tyra Buczkowski AI4KG METERS President

Vice President's Statement for April 2007

This month I promised the fourth and final part of a series that summarizes two presentations I made at our monthly meetings. If you haven't already read parts one, two and three in my January 2007, February 2007 and March 2007 columns, please do so now. In part one I presented some statistics regarding how much we do for our community and for METERS. Part one was about "what" we do. Part two was about "why" we are so committed to public service and to METERS. Part three was about "who" we are as individuals and as a team.

This month I will expand on the issues of our culture, creative tension, and teamwork and how they combine to make METERS greater than the sum of its individual parts. I will then wrap things up by discussing "how" we benefit from membership in METERS. There are actually two "whos" that I will describe.

Our Culture -- Revisited

Last month I discussed culture in general by first defining it. Then I talked a little bit about how culture can be a powerful force that brings people together. Next I looked at something I called "creative tension" and what it means to a team. What I'd like to do this month is bring these two ideas together and show how they are really just two sides of the same coin.

To review, last month I defined culture as a "system of shared values and beliefs about what is important and what behaviors are appropriate". Every organization has a culture. Few organizations, however, consciously try to create a particular culture. In fact, most organizations just evolve a culture by chance, often depending on who is in charge at any given time. Some of the best organizations, like America itself, have a unique culture that ultimately comes from the character and values of its founders.

The point I am trying to make is that every organization has a culture. Furthermore, culture is important and it can be a positive or a negative influence on its members. If you have been part of an organization that has a "dog-eat-dog" culture, then you know what I mean.

So what is the culture of METERS? We consciously set out to create a culture that is fair, honest, and forward looking. We are action oriented, and try to be mutually supportive. We purposely want to help our members grow as individuals. We provide many opportunities to develop leadership skills, or to otherwise use your skills in ways that you may not be able to do so at work or in your home life. Why do we do this? We believe that everyone has something to offer others, and METERS provides the means to do so. METERS benefits, other members benefit, our community benefits, and you benefit. We can make our corner of the world a better place by working together.

What Makes METERS Special?

You already know the answer. Our culture makes us special. Our culture helps bring out the best in all of us. Hopefully we are motivated to stretch beyond our "comfort zone" to do something beyond what we thought we could do. By creating an environment that is fair to all, with leadership that can be trusted to try doing right in all cases, we set a solid foundation that supports our culture.

Our culture depends on the fact that we are all different. I am of course referring to the "creative tension" I discussed last month. Even though we are different we do share a love of ham radio. More importantly, we share a commitment to help others with our emergency communication skills. We are part of an organization that believes in fairness. We are part of an organization that encourages participation. METERS recognizes and values the contributions of its members. At the same time we set goals and we achieve them. It is sometimes hard to keep to our goals, because doing so inevitably means saying "no" to someone or something else. In truth, the only way to reach any goal is to focus on the goal by not letting ourselves get sidetracked.

Our goals are worthy because we keep the best interests of our served agencies, our community and our members uppermost in our thoughts and actions. This is why we succeed. People trust us to do two things; to do what we say we are going to do, and to be honest and fair in all we do. There is no magic to success, but there are no shortcuts, either. Success doesn't come all at once, but rather it comes slowly one step at a time, one decision at a time, one action at a time. Is success guaranteed? No, there are many, many ways to fail. The hard part is staying true to ourselves and to each other. Even if we do not succeed the first time, we will know that we did "the right thing".

By setting big goals and by treating each other fairly and honestly we set the stage for growth, for ourselves and for METERS. By respecting our differences we harness the creative tension and put it to good use by overcoming the challenges that always lie on the road to success. By taking calculated personal and organizational risks, we open ourselves up to new and possibly better things, where others may only see obstacles. By keeping a steady pace we build momentum that keeps us going when the going gets tough. By helping each other we help ourselves and METERS be more than just a bunch of hams!

Benefits of Membership

Here we are at the end of this series of articles. I'd like to finish by telling you what I believe are the benefits of being a METERS member. METERS provides many benefits to its members, but first I'd like to tell you the "meaning" of METERS:

• Service - To our community
• Usefulness - Does it fit our mission?
• Culture - Shared values
• Capable - Trained and professional
• Everyone is valued! or Easy - KISS
• Support - Our Values & each other!
• Selective - Commit and Do = Respect

In short...METERS = S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

METERS helps you become a better person. You are part of a culture of success; one that encourages you to stretch yourself by growing with the organization. You have many opportunities to try something new in a safe environment. For example, you can gain valuable public speaking skills by giving a presentation at one of our membership meetings. You can learn or sharpen your leadership skills by becoming a team leader or hold elective office. You can improve your communication and emergency skills though one of the many training opportunities we provide. The list goes on and on, but I think you get the idea. Simply put, you can get as much value as you want out of your membership. All we ask of you in return is that you give of yourself as much as you get.

Thanks for your continuing commitment to METERS and to your community!

7 3, Gary AG4XO

-- Gary Buczkowski AG4XO METERS VP

Secretary's Notes - April 2007

• April Meeting will be at Knox County Health Dept., 140 Dameron Street. This location is three blocks east of the Knox County EOC and one block further north, for those with a compass on your dashboard. If you get off I-275 at Baxter, go east two blocks (or three) then turn south and come south two blocks on either Lee St. or Wray St., to Dameron. KCHD is in an older red brick building about 3 or 4-stories tall. Parking is across from the main entrance on Dameron in a big lot, or just east of the building, which then requires climbing a little hill to get back to the parking area. It may be easier to just follow the map on our metersinc.org website, courtesy of Bill WR4MS. (The regular meeting location at Tennessee Technology Center, was not available for our April meeting.)
• ID Badges were distributed to paid members at our last meeting, March 27th, and as noted before, the back of the badge summarizes certifications received for our credential folder, as of the time the badge order was placed by Treasurer Dave KE4YBZ. Many thanks for helping us to assemble this data, and please help keep our credential file up to date. Dave may have another order ready to go in a few weeks, so if you haven't received your badge, (or have not yet paid your dues) you can still join in with this new ID system by giving him a shout, or just come to a meeting and update your status and contact information.
• Marathon participants had an interesting time on April 1st, and we had the new experience of working in the rain. It was a nice day however, and if one was dressed for the weather, not bad being out in it. Our wandering downtown spotter, Rick NX6R, can tell you all about his challenges, as also can our friend William who rode his APRS-equipped motorcycle to track the lead runner(s). (Nice Bike!) – Tnx to AF1P and all associates.
• At our March meeting Tyra AI4KG covered a very serious topic, pandemic flu and how it may affect us, and challenge our organization. This is a reminder of how important our efforts in manning the hospital radio stations may be. We may see more on this type of effort in the way of a special call-out exercise in the next few months (weeks?).
• RACK's Hamfest will be held June 9th at the Kerbela Shrine Temple location in south Knoxville, just one block south of Baptist Hospital, off Chapman Highway. My map shows access from Mimosa Street. We will man a table in the building from 9 AM until about 3 PM, but you will also enjoy the flea market area in the lot outside.
• Field Day will be on the weekend of June 23rd and 24th. We will again be setting up at the superb location at Lakeshore Park, thanks to support of the Tennessee Health Department. Please keep this on your schedule and plan on devoting a few hours on the radio with your METERS teammates. Coordinator Jerry AF1P, will appreciate your participation.
• Minutes of our membership meetings are available by request since we have dispensed with reading them at meetings due to time limits in the meeting locations. Just send me a note and I will be happy to send them to you.
• Events of the past week at Virginia Tech, illustrate how fast things can go wrong in our daily life. As some talk show hosts have asked, are we willing to tell the authorities if we see aberrant behavior in our midst? Are we so immersed in political correctness that we avoid getting involved? And, are our leaders so caught up themselves in PC attitudes and "sensitivity to diversity" that they are reluctant to act? --- 73, Larry O. W8JYQ

Recent and Up Coming Public Service Events:

Field Day, June 23-24, 2007 (noon till noon).  Plan to attend sometime during the 24 hours if possible, it's lots of fun.  More at the April and May meetings.

Jerry Moore, AF1P, Special Events Coordinator.

Notes from The ARRL Letter