Important Documents

In the daily scurry of life it’s easy to overlook a step that is vital to long-term family survival - organizing important records.

A major disaster, or a family member’s death, can create havoc for the family if important documents were not created and then duplicated in another location.

Those who have had to assist a family following the death of the person who was the family record-keeper know the difficulty of finding essential information. Sometimes it is not possible to reconstruct key records after that death. There may be funds on deposit in places now forgotten, a paid-up insurance policy misfiled, or other items not listed in accessible records.

In the aftermath of any major disaster essential records that were in a just-destroyed home or business may be irretrievably lost, resulting in a horrible family nightmare; i.e., insurance claims, disaster assistance, even physical access to the area denied for lack of essential records.

Here is a list of items, documents, and information to keep in accessible places: (1) in your house; (2) copy in safe deposit box; (3) copy in a remote location. It’s a protection that is used in business; that is, put copies of essential records in places remotely located from their main site. While this may sound like a chore, it really isn’t. The benefit you gain is an overview of your current situation, and a list of where key records are filed. Review this every five years as it can be surprising how family and personal information can change…

Important Documents

ARES E-Letter for October 2012 Released

ARES E-Letter for October 2012 Released

2002-2003 EMCOMM Bulletins Online

The 2002-03 ACS/EMCOMM Bulletins have been put up.  I am now working on the 2000-2001 series.  And then I’ll backtrack through the 1990s series of bulletins.

Here is the link to the bulletins

ARLB023 - FCC Seeks to Change Amateur Radio Licensing Rules, Allow Additional Emission Types

ARLB023 - FCC Seeks to Change Amateur Radio Licensing Rules, Allow Additional Emission Types

Unsolicited Opinion

Isaiah, my youngest son, informs me that the food and youth programs are much better on the Disney Wonder than the Carnival Splendor.

Peter Lake, ZL2AZ, Appointed Chairman of IARU Region 3

The Directors in IARU Region 3 have voted to appoint Peter Lake, ZL2AZ, of Wellington, New Zealand, as the Chairman of IARU Region 3. He replaces Michael Owen, VK3KI, who passed away unexpectedly last month. Owen, who was also President of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA), had served as Region 3 Chairman since 2006.

“I am extremely grateful to my fellow Directors for their support in this difficult time, and for the procedural work by [IARU Region 3] Secretary Ken Yamamoto, JA1CJP, to formalize an appointment,” Lake said in a statement. “I will do my best to carry through all the work that we have in progress, much of it due to items and ideas put in place by Michael. It is my privilege to have the opportunity to serve you, the Member Societies and fellow amateurs in Region 3.”

Lake — who has been a licensed amateur for more than 50 years — has been involved with IARU activities for more than 25 years and a Director of Region 3 since February 2005. He began his professional career as an engineer, first with the New Zealand Post Office and then with Telecom New Zealand. He followed this with 14 years at a small and specialized telecommunications consulting company in Wellington that included a wide variety of assignments in the Pacific, Asia and Southeast Asia.

“My ‘style’ will probably be different from Michael’s in some ways,” Lake explained, “but our goals are the same — to ensure a growing and successful IARU Region 3.”

The Emergency Management Cycle

Emergency Management Theory is based on the concept of a cycle involving four basic stages. These can be summarized as Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

The Emergency Management Cycle