Damn good reading, Jim! Thanks for keeping us abreast of the latest developments. Bob W6RGG ----- Original Message ----- From: <W5JBP@aol.com> To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 7:07 PM Subject: [ARRL-ODV:9194] Washington trip day 1.
I know that you have an interest so here is my report on day one and day two.
My flight was arranged by the government travel agency, so you should know that any perks are minimal. ATA is a people mover and nothing more. But they do have a new fleet of 737-800 and have them configured to carry 173 passengers. I suggested to the flight attendant that folding chairs in the isle would be an additional source of revenue and she said that they would take that under advisement.
I arrived in D. C. on a dark stormy night, with light rain. I thought of the Peanuts Cartoon caricature as the Super Shuttle whisked me to the Willard Hotel after almost an hour wait for additional passengers. The fair on Super Shuttle was $10 wherein I could have taken a cab for $12.
I had made arrangements with the Washington office for some help in setting up the booth early the next morning and was gratified and pleased to see Jon Siverling and Walt Ireland waiting for me at 6:45 the next morning with all the items that I had ordered from HQ. Setup went smooth except the duct tape we used on the ARRL banner (which caused quite a stir with the Willard staff) and all the material was on display. I would add that the Willard Hotel was built in 1816 and they felt that the use of duct tape on their walls was a travesty and threatened to charge us for repainting the walls. After some thought, I felt this was a reasonable request in as much as the Union and Confederacy met here just prior to the Civil War to try to hammer out an agreement before the conflict started. I did not feel that instigating another confrontation would be in the best interest of the League even though they are Yankees.
The meeting started right on time with the presentation of the Colors by the Continental Color Guard (another bunch of Yankees) and then Elizabeth DiGregorio and Karen Marsh from the Office of Citizen Corps welcoming all of the attendees which numbered about 230 people. We then got a greeting from John M. Bridgeland who is assistant to the President and Director of the USA Freedom Corps. I would add that Mary Hobart has been trying to get in touch with him for months (She should be able to now! More about that later).
Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary, Emergency Preparedness and Response, of the Department of Homeland Security also gave a welcome message which was well received by the audience. You must note that most of the people in attendance are from the state departments of emergency preparedness. I noted that all of the states was represented except one. I forget which, but I am glad that it was not Texas.
The morning went on as we listened to speeches from: Deborah J. Daniel's, Assistant Attorney General, Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona who is the Surgeon General, Mr. R. David Paulsion, Director Preparedness Division and U. S. Fire Administration, Emergency Preparedness and Response of the Department of Homeland Security.
Other welcome speeches were delivered by Mr. Tom Dunne, Associate Assistant and Administrator, Office of Solid Waste (get that title) and Emergency Response of the Environmental Protection Agency. Judge Eric Andell, Deputy Under Secretary of the Office of Safe and Druge-Free Schools of the Department of Education (I had a long chat with him about AR in schools and how it could be used in emergency communications. He was impressed) and last was Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenacher, Jr. Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator of the Department of Commerce.
During the lunch, we heard a speech from Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowments for the Humanities. His talk was interesting in that he pointed out that we should learn from the past and thus make decisions about the future. He pointed out that 42 percent of the college students thought the Germans were our allies during WW-II and they also could not get within 50 years as to when the Civil war was fought. His point being . . . It will be just a few years, and the events of 9/11 would have been forgotten.
At 1:30 It was the segment wherein the Affiliate Programs and Organizations were to give their presentations. As I was representing for ARRL and it was done in alphabetical order, I was first. I gave an overview of what amateur radio was, what it is, and where we fit in with Homeland Security. Dave Sumner will be pleased in that I did not say we were a "first responder," I just said that we (the hams) were the people who called the "first responders" and told them where to go, and what was going on so they could "first respond."
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to a "mixed bag" in that we were given a few hours so the attendees could come by the displays (no duct tape now) and talk about what we do and where we could fit in with the various needs of the local, state and federal agencies.
Later I did get to talk to Cee Cee Molineaux, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Coordinator for the Corporation for National and Community Service (they are the ones who gave us our grant) about our program.
The evening was capped off by the signing of affiliation between the Red Cross, Ms. Marsha J. Evens, President and CEO of the American Red Cross and the Citizen Corps. The notable part was that when she came in to the conference room, all the Red Cross people stood. I noted that Jon Siverling remained seated when I came in, but we will work on that later.
OK, that is actually day one and two. I am not sure if I can be as detailed on day three, depending on the number of drinks bought for me tonight by the FEMA folks but we will see. Tomorrow, we have some congressional meetings with the Telecom members after lunch and we will see how that goes. I will be covering the subject of BPL and how the industry is avoiding the subject of interference.
73
Jim Haynie, W5JBP President