VE3HG via rec.radio.amateur.moderated Admin
2014-11-11 00:13:14 UTC
VE3HG
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RAC Alberta SEC Resigns: Heres His Story
Posted: 09 Nov 2014 10:41 AM PST
http://ve3hg.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/rac-alberta-sec-resigns-heres-his-story/
There are always two sides to every story but Curtis, VE6AEW, has chosen to
share his as a comment to my last post about RAC being broken and I am
reposting here.
I am not in a position to verify or deny anything that Curtis has sent me
but to say it sure sounds familiar and comparable to the current situation
in southern Ontario.
Is RAC broken? Well read on and you decide:
(BTW all comments and posts are vetted by me to take out the bad words and
not automatically post any personal attacks, ads for intimate devices or
other unfriendly or unwanted actions.
So if you have something youd like to see posted, send it to me. If I dont
use it, I usually will email you an explanation of why. With those
exceptions above, all comments welcome.)
Heres what Curtis sent us:
As for RAC moving away from ARES, this might actually be a good thing. ARES
isnt organized or managed by RAC, but by the local groups in the section.
Here in Alberta we had a single group start dictating what everyone else
should be doing and this wasnt taken very well.
This group has now alienated themselves in that no one else wants to work
with them. The lack of support that came from the SM and temporary VPFS in
dealing with the issue has caused a number of groups to question why we
need RAC at all.
Dont get me wrong, RAC is the voice of all of us licensed amateurs with
Industry Canada. So there are certain matters that RAC should be involved
in for the betterment of us all. However when it comes to ARES, we dont
exactly have a federal emergency management agency that compares to FEMA in
the US. All emergency management is handled at the local and provincial
level, at least in Alberta.
I resigned as the SEC due to the lack of support from the SM in dealing
with a rogue group that felt we need to be first responders. In the after
math I decided to still support my local ARES group as this is why I am in
amateur radio, to assist my community with emergency communications when
all else fails.
After my resignation I kept in touch with a fellow amateur that was making
a presentation in BC on the Southern Alberta Flooding Response. The SM
stuck his nose into the email discussion stating that I chose to no longer
be involved and I should no longer be included in the discussion. I stated
that he had no right to filter who I can communicate with.
After a few back/forth emails I was told to go f*** myself and called me a
whining snibbling a**hole. This is how our elected SM shows respect to an
individual that got involved in ARES at a provincial level to bring all the
groups together.
Before I got involved there was no provincial cooperation, a single rogue
group claimed they would respond anywhere in the province and none of the
other groups were required. I supported a new group in that region and this
was a mistake as they have now gone rogue again.
The issue here is they have developed their own opinions with no
experience. Prior to taking the SEC role, I started in ARES as an AEC and
then moved into the EC role for Edmonton.
My involvement in ARES is nearly 10 years, and licensed for 15. Heck even
my replacement as SEC has been licensed for 5 years and 0 years experience
in ARES, but he got appointed by our SM. And now I hear he is looking for a
new SEC as the current one isnt very active supporting our groups.
From everything I have seen and heard over the last while, RAC is broken.
The catch is who is willing to step up and fix it. I have heard from the
RAC President requesting more background on what the issues are with ARES
in Alberta. Granted he was involved in all the email threads when all the
crap started this spring, Ill give him the benefit of the doubt that the
email threads might not provide all the details, even though they are there.
I am a little disappointed that he waits nearly 6 months to address the
issues. It makes sense that RAC is falling apart if you drag things out for
6 months. While we wait for RAC to address the issues, we locals still have
agencies to serve, repeater networks to build/maintain, training exercises
to perform, etc.
RAC isnt going to grow or even maintain what they have if they drag their
feet to address issues. The RAC president and I have been playing phone tag
for the last month so hopefully we can connect at some point, in the near
future.
I am considering my options on whether getting involved in RAC is worth my
time. Do I get involved to clean up the ARES mess in Alberta, for a 2nd
time? Is it even worth having a RAC ARES structure in Alberta?
Other provinces have created their own organizations to handle provincial
emergency communications. Is this the correct route to follow? I have
spoken with a number of the ARES groups in Alberta after my resignation to
gather their thoughts on where we should go. I wont discuss what their
views are,on this blog.
I still have to decide if I want to re-enter the political BS arena that we
call RAC ARES.
///////////////////////////////////////////
RAC Alberta SEC Resigns: Heres His Story
Posted: 09 Nov 2014 10:41 AM PST
http://ve3hg.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/rac-alberta-sec-resigns-heres-his-story/
There are always two sides to every story but Curtis, VE6AEW, has chosen to
share his as a comment to my last post about RAC being broken and I am
reposting here.
I am not in a position to verify or deny anything that Curtis has sent me
but to say it sure sounds familiar and comparable to the current situation
in southern Ontario.
Is RAC broken? Well read on and you decide:
(BTW all comments and posts are vetted by me to take out the bad words and
not automatically post any personal attacks, ads for intimate devices or
other unfriendly or unwanted actions.
So if you have something youd like to see posted, send it to me. If I dont
use it, I usually will email you an explanation of why. With those
exceptions above, all comments welcome.)
Heres what Curtis sent us:
As for RAC moving away from ARES, this might actually be a good thing. ARES
isnt organized or managed by RAC, but by the local groups in the section.
Here in Alberta we had a single group start dictating what everyone else
should be doing and this wasnt taken very well.
This group has now alienated themselves in that no one else wants to work
with them. The lack of support that came from the SM and temporary VPFS in
dealing with the issue has caused a number of groups to question why we
need RAC at all.
Dont get me wrong, RAC is the voice of all of us licensed amateurs with
Industry Canada. So there are certain matters that RAC should be involved
in for the betterment of us all. However when it comes to ARES, we dont
exactly have a federal emergency management agency that compares to FEMA in
the US. All emergency management is handled at the local and provincial
level, at least in Alberta.
I resigned as the SEC due to the lack of support from the SM in dealing
with a rogue group that felt we need to be first responders. In the after
math I decided to still support my local ARES group as this is why I am in
amateur radio, to assist my community with emergency communications when
all else fails.
After my resignation I kept in touch with a fellow amateur that was making
a presentation in BC on the Southern Alberta Flooding Response. The SM
stuck his nose into the email discussion stating that I chose to no longer
be involved and I should no longer be included in the discussion. I stated
that he had no right to filter who I can communicate with.
After a few back/forth emails I was told to go f*** myself and called me a
whining snibbling a**hole. This is how our elected SM shows respect to an
individual that got involved in ARES at a provincial level to bring all the
groups together.
Before I got involved there was no provincial cooperation, a single rogue
group claimed they would respond anywhere in the province and none of the
other groups were required. I supported a new group in that region and this
was a mistake as they have now gone rogue again.
The issue here is they have developed their own opinions with no
experience. Prior to taking the SEC role, I started in ARES as an AEC and
then moved into the EC role for Edmonton.
My involvement in ARES is nearly 10 years, and licensed for 15. Heck even
my replacement as SEC has been licensed for 5 years and 0 years experience
in ARES, but he got appointed by our SM. And now I hear he is looking for a
new SEC as the current one isnt very active supporting our groups.
From everything I have seen and heard over the last while, RAC is broken.
The catch is who is willing to step up and fix it. I have heard from the
RAC President requesting more background on what the issues are with ARES
in Alberta. Granted he was involved in all the email threads when all the
crap started this spring, Ill give him the benefit of the doubt that the
email threads might not provide all the details, even though they are there.
I am a little disappointed that he waits nearly 6 months to address the
issues. It makes sense that RAC is falling apart if you drag things out for
6 months. While we wait for RAC to address the issues, we locals still have
agencies to serve, repeater networks to build/maintain, training exercises
to perform, etc.
RAC isnt going to grow or even maintain what they have if they drag their
feet to address issues. The RAC president and I have been playing phone tag
for the last month so hopefully we can connect at some point, in the near
future.
I am considering my options on whether getting involved in RAC is worth my
time. Do I get involved to clean up the ARES mess in Alberta, for a 2nd
time? Is it even worth having a RAC ARES structure in Alberta?
Other provinces have created their own organizations to handle provincial
emergency communications. Is this the correct route to follow? I have
spoken with a number of the ARES groups in Alberta after my resignation to
gather their thoughts on where we should go. I wont discuss what their
views are,on this blog.
I still have to decide if I want to re-enter the political BS arena that we
call RAC ARES.