If you are a volunteer interested in emergency communications and want to be "in the know" about training opportunities and want to be on the front lines of service, you will want to get involved and join CT ARESŪ. Joining means that you have a desire to train and to serve either at home or in the field. It's easy, so read below about the process, come aboard and have fun!
While we actively encourage everyone to register to make life easier for volunteers, the ARESŪ leadership team, and our served agencies, there will be those who have not registered before a disaster occurs. Every effort will be made to accommodate them, but they will need to register, and most likely will be taken aside for training that will be offered every few hours before they are allowed to participate. Obviously, these people will be the junior people on any response team.
Through the generosity and assistance from the Eastern Massachusetts (EMA) ARES group, CT ARES has a new Membership Application System. This system allows members to update their own records through the use of their own unique passwords.
If you treasure your privacy, do not share your password with anyone.
If you are just joining CT ARES, log into the Membership Site and fill out the form as completely as possible. It is important that you can be reached during any local or federal emergency so please provide us with a Home Phone number, a Cell Phone and/or Pager Number if you have one, and a working email address. If you can't be reached then you are not a useful member of the group. Be sure to choose a secure password to protect your information. Your password should be something that is easy enough for you to remember but confusing enough to prevent someone else from determining what it might be. When selecting a password, never use keyboard patterns (such as "qwerty") or simple patterns like "abcdef" and "123456" or your personal Call Letters. Be creative!! A good source for random passwords can be found at http://www.randompassword.com. Be sure to save your changes before you leave the page or they will be lost!
If you are already a CT ARES member, you have a membership record already. To make any changes, go into your current record at the Membership Site with your current callsign and password and make whatever changes you need to make. This includes changes to your address, your call sign, your password, your license class or expiration date or (even your name, ladies, when you take the big step!). Check to be sure your email address and contact numbers are all current and working. If you attempt to log in but forget what your password is, it will be automatically e-mailed to you (but only if your email address on the database is correct and working!). Be sure to save your changes before you leave the page or they will be lost!
At the top of the form there is a link that says Training Qualifications. This is where members are asked to post any ARRL, ARES, Red Cross, FEMA/ICS, etc., training they have completed. Being properly trained and knowledgeable of emergency operating techniques makes for a more valuable member when a response becomes necessary. Most of the more popular courses are listed in the pull-down menu. Try to make your training list as complete and accurate as possible. Be sure to save your changes before you leave the page or they will be lost!
If anyone experiences difficulty in using this new form, please notify the Membership Chairperson as soon as possible at af1hs@arrl.net. Thank you and enjoy!!
You will also want to join our CONNARES Discussion list. Simply go to CONNARES Discussion List, enter your email address and, (optionally), your name. You will then be asked to enter a password (or one will be chosen and sent to you.) Once your data is received, you will receive an email validating your information and activating your account. NOTE: If you were a member on the previous Discussion List, your information was simply carried over and you have nothing to do to begin using the new list except change the address in the email header.