UTC Awards ARRL New National EmComm Grant
NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 10, 2003--ARRL is the recipient of a
new grant from its corporate partner, United
Technologies Corporation (UTC), to expand Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Course (ARECC) training from a state program to a national level. The grant
of $150,000 over three years will reimburse course tuition to students who
successfully complete emergency communication courses for ARECC Levels 1, 2 and
3.
ARRL Emergency Communications Courses Manager Dan Miller,
K3UFG, is responsible for the execution of the grant-funded emergency
communications courses. "This grant plays perfectly into the overall plans and
scope of emergency communication for local communities and our nation, as a
whole," Miller said. "This will allow us to increase the number of seats
offered each month [for reimbursable courses]." He praised UTC's foresight and
proactive approach to community involvement and noted UTC's Connecticut grant
program paved the way for national implementation of the ARECC program.
ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, said
the Connecticut grant program--completed on December 31, 2002--was immensely
successful. "Under that grant of $33,000, ARRL proposed to certify 250 radio
amateurs in ARECC training from June to December 2002. The final results of
that program exceeded the grant goal and certified 282 hams," she said. "The
successful completion of the UTC/CT program dramatically increased the number
of certified hams in Connecticut from 12 when the program began to nearly 300
in just six months. They were thrilled with the results and clearly recognize
the importance of emergency communication. With this new grant, UTC has taken a
giant step and renewed its commitment to Amateur Radio, emergency communication
and Homeland Security."
The implementation of the new national grant will be based
on what the League learned from the UTC Connecticut grant and upon the first
six months of the $181,900 Corporation for National
and Community Service (CNCS) special volunteer program grant. Added
together from all sources, ARRL has secured $723,000 for emergency communication
training in a little more than a year, something Hobart said "will have an
impact on every state in the Union." Detailed plans for the deployment of the
new UTC grant will be developed over the next couple of weeks.
Page last modified: 03:35 PM, 10 Feb 2003 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
