ARES – Amateur Radio Emergency Service

ARRL WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR – Dave Rockwell W4PXE

Helping our neighbors in need through communications

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible to apply for membership in the ARES. The only qualification for entry level membership, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.

ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES – Alert Status

Current ARES Alert Status for the ARRL West Central Florida Section is on the main page.

THE ARES COMMUNICATOR – The ARRL West Central Florida Section ARES Newsletter

Starting in May 2025, our Section Emergency Coordinator, Dave Rockwell W4PXE, now facilitates and edits a monthly ARES newsletter, called THE ARES COMMUNICATOR. He is looking for good content for this newsletter. If you have any questions or would to like to submit content for publication, Dave Rockwell’s contact information is listed below.

Link to the webpage for THE ARES COMMUNICATOR.

WCF Section ARES Organization Structure

Section Emergency Coordinator: Dave Rockwell W4PXE – Telephone: (727) 804-5821 – Email: w4pxe@arrl.net

The Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) is appointed by the Section Manager (who is elected by the ARRL members in his or her section) and works under his/her supervision. The Section Manager (SM) may delegate to the SEC the authority to appoint Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator (ASEC), District Emergency Coordinators (DEC) and the local Emergency Coordinator (EC).

Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator(s)

The Assistant Section Emergency Coordinator (ASEC) is appointed by the SEC to fill specific responsibilities as assigned by the SEC. One ASEC will have the authority to act as the SEC in his absence to provide coordination for West Central Florida Section ARES. The other ASECs have specific responsibilities as assigned by the SEC.

WCF Section Assistant Section Emergency Coordinators:

Chuck Johnston W4CWJ – twojfarms@yahoo.com: Rural Communities.
Randy Payne K4EZM – k4ezm@arrl.net: Emeritus

Section ARES Staff:

The following are Section staff who help administrate specific portions of the Section ARES program:

Bill Johnson N4NOA – moo.bill@verizon.net: Net Manager – Section HF ARES Net (3940 KHz).
Sanford Wyatt KM4WXX – km4wxx@arrl.net: Net Manager – Section VHF/UHF Net Manager (NI4CE Repeater System).

Emergency Coordinator

Each county in the West Central Florida Section has an Emergency Coordinator (EC.) The EC is appointed by the Section Manager in consultation with the SEC.

It is at the local level where most of the real emergency organizing gets accomplished, because this is the level at which most emergencies occur and the level at which ARES leaders make direct contact with the ARES member-volunteers and with the officials of the agencies to be served. The EC is therefore the key contact in the local ARES jurisdiction. The EC is in charge of all ARES activities in his/her area, not just one interest group, one agency, one club or one band.

WCF Section ARES Emergency Coordinators:

Charlotte: Tom Chance K9XV – k9xv@arrl.net
DeSoto: Doug Christ KN4YT – kn4yt@yahoo.com
Hardee: Darrell Davis KT4WX – kt4wx@arrl.net
Highlands: Jeff Bronsing KJ4NEO –kj4neo@gmail.com
Hillsborough: Bill Miller N1CDO – bmiller@hcaresraces.org
Manatee: Steve Park W4OEP – spark003@live.com
Pasco – TBD – n7cgc1@gmail.com
Pinellas: Clayton Parrott KJ4RUS – clayton_parrott@yahoo.com
Polk: Christine Duez K4KJN – cduez10@yahoo.com
Sarasota – Interim EC: Mike Kearney KG7KIQ – ec@srqares.org

Assistant Emergency Coordinator

The local Emergency Coordinator (EC) may appoint one or more Assistant Emergency Coordinators (AEC) to assist him in the administration of his ARES program.

ARES Member

The ARES Member is the key to the success of the ARES program and provide the manpower necessary for ARES to function. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible to apply for membership in the ARES. The only qualification for entry level membership, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. ARES members are encouraged to be a part of a local club, just like we encourage all hams to have a local club, which is a base of support for them. However it is not a requirement to join ARES

How to join your local ARES group in the West Central Florida Section

Pending the revision of this section, please feel free to email the ARES Emergency Coordinator for the county in which you reside or the WCF Section Emergency Coordinator. The list of ARES Emergency Coordinators is in the section above this one.

WCF Section ARES Communications Plan and supporting documents.

Listed below is the current WCF Section ARES Plan that is in the processing of being updated. The current plan is listed for your reference. Please check back for the updated plan. We will announce when the new plan is available by the following means: WCF News on the Section Website, the Section Facebook page, the Section Twitter Page, and The Presser.