MOTION: to accept the March 2006 minutes by Shannon (W8CNN), seconded by Victor (WD8DWR), accepted.

TREASURES REPORT: Suzanne was absent from the meeting. Our last reported that our balance stood at $446.95.

DISASTER REPORT: There were no disasters reported.

NET REPORT: Dennis (KB8OCG) reported that net attendance has remained steady with less than 10 check-ins per week. Please make note to participate Tuesday evenings at 8pm, on 146.800MHz.

CLUB STATION: Our station has capabilities to utilize and/or monitor 144MHz, 440MHz, 220 MHz, as well 6 meters. Mark and Andrew have rearranged and tested all the receivers. Everything is working well with the exception of one radio. Our 2 Meter transceiver has developed a squeal. After discussion it was decided that replacement rather than repair is a better consideration. We will look into this issue after Field Day.

NEWSLETTER: Our newsletter and web pages remain available. www.qsl.net & www.arcars.us are posted to the Internet. We have a wealth of information available on the websites.

CLUB PROJECT: Andrew and Mark built a corner table for the radio room to better utilize space and elevate the emergency batteries from the floor.

OLD BUSINESS: Andrew (KC8SPD) mentioned that 10 year recognition pins as well as ID badges will be available very soon.

NEW BUSINESS: Roger (N8SVR) presented information that he recently learned. On March 22^nd he attended a meeting with Jeff Friedland, the county's emergency management coordinator and Frank Warcalla of SkyWarn. The main point indicated that additional training will be needed to retain RACES status after December 6^th 2006. He urged everyone to visit the FEMA website and look at the 100 200 & 700 as well as the ARRL Level 1 training. An updated list of local Amateur Radio operators was presented to St Clair County by Mike Johns (N8MIC). Roger went on to explain how the intent is to include the ham operators and skywarn with the efforts of FEMA and local county governmental disaster efforts. An Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is scheduled for sometime in October. Information is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100.asp .The following information was obtained from the FEMA web site:

Incident Command training is being developed and offered for a variety of disciplines, including Federal Disaster Workers, Public Works, Law Enforcement, and Public Health. All of the ICS training offered through these courses is consistent. However, the various versions include examples and exercises specific to each of these disciplines.

ICS 100, Introduction to the Incident Command System, introduces the Incident Command System (ICS) and provides the foundation for higher level ICS training. This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of the Incident Command System. It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

The Emergency Management Institute developed ICS 100, Introduction to ICS (IS-100) course, in collaboration with:

• National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture
• USFA's National Fire Programs Branch

Audience:

Persons involved with emergency planning, response or recovery efforts.

This course is NIMS compliant and meets the NIMS Baseline Training requirements for I-100.

On February 28, 2003, President Bush issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5. HSPD-5 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS provides a consistent nationwide template to enable all government, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations to work together during domestic incidents. You can also find information about NIMS at http://www.fema.gov/nims/

This course introduces NIMS and takes approximately three hours to complete. It explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. The course also contains "Planning Activity" screens giving you an opportunity to complete some planning tasks during this course. The planning activity screens are printable so that you can use them after you complete the course.

What will I be able to do when I finish this course?

• Describe the key concepts and principles underlying NIMS.
• Identify the benefits of using ICS as the national incident management model.
• Describe when it is appropriate to institute an Area Command.
• Describe when it is appropriate to institute a Multiagency Coordination System.
• Describe the benefits of using a Joint Information System (JIS) for public information.
• Identify the ways in which NIMS affects preparedness.
• Describe how NIMS affects how resources are managed.
• Describe the advantages of common communication and information management systems.
• Explain how NIMS influences technology and technology systems.
• Describe the purpose of the NIMS Integration Center

DX SPOTS/ SPECIAL EVENTS: Tom (W8TRC) made a contact to Estonia on the Russian QSO Party contest on 20 meters.

FIELD DAY: This year’s event will be held June 23^rd through 25^th. Our site at the St Clair County Park is secure. We decided that we will require 10 tables and 6 trash cans. It was also decided that we will attempt to keep simplicity in mind and utilize 12 volt stations.

MOTION TO ADJOURN: by Suzanne (KB8GFY)

HF: The Great Lakes Emergency and Traffic Net is held nightly at 8pm on 3.932 kHz

The AC8W DX Cluster on 144.790 MHz is available. Check it for HF activity.

Swap list provided by VE3FBH