Those attending the 2024 ARRL National Convention at Dayton Hamvention® will have an opportunity to learn more about how amateur radio is relevant and highly involved in the modern emergency management landscape. The convention is May 17 - 19 in Xenia, Ohio. 

ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, will host a booth for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service® -- ARES®. The booth will be supported by highly experienced ARES leaders and members of the ARRL Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee.  

On Friday, Johnston and four representatives from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will lead the forum "ARES®, SAFECOM®, and Building Relationships" as part of the ARRL National Convention track. CISA is the federal agency SAFECOM serves. Together, they'll lead a discussion about how amateur radio emergency communications groups can establish and foster relationships with served agencies.  

Johnston is ARRL's representative member of SAFECOM®. In 2023, ARRL was elected to serve on SAFECOM®, a program of the US Department of Homeland Security. SAFECOM supports the public safety community to improve the emergency communications ecosystem. This relationship gives ARRL a seat at the decision-making table for emergency communications policy nationwide.  

"Amateur radio operators are in a unique position to serve agencies of many different types, but that relationship has to be well established long before a crisis," said Johnston, who emphasized that local partnerships are just as important as national-level relationships. ARES groups work with local, state, and county governments, and non-government affiliated organizations, including local offices of the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and faith-based organizations.  

The forum is held on Friday, May 17 at 9:15 AM in forum room three, where the majority of ARRL National Convention programming will take place. The National Convention program is published at www.arrl.org/expo or within in the ARRL Events app. Buy tickets to the convention on the Hamvention website.