Richland Parish is in the northeast part of the State of Louisiana. Melinda Hudspeth (KC5RJY) is the ARES Emergency Coordinator for Richland Parish. Melinda lives near the town of Rayville, Louisiana. Melinda has signed up several Richland Parish Amateur Radio Operators for ARES. Click Here for the Richland Parish ARES members.
On March 15, 2004, Melinda started an ARES net that is held every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. on the local Rayville repeater, frequency 145.490. Click Here for Preamble.
On April 3, 2004, Melinda worked with the nearby Franklin Parish ARES Emergency Coordinator to have an Amateur Radio Booth at the Annual Catfish Festival in Winnsboro, Louisiana. They demonstrated ham radios and had lots of brochures to hand out.
On May 12, 2004, Melinda assisted with the Ouachita Parish ARES/Regional Emergency Preparedness Drill. ARES in conjunction with other local, state, and regional agencies throughout the Northeast Louisiana area, provided communications assistance for one of the largest emergency preparedness drills ever conducted. A total of sixteen ARES members participated in this exercise at various locations throughout Ouachita Parish. Melinda and her husband were providing communications between the LSU Medical Center Emergency Room and Net Control in the Emergency Communications Center.
