PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany Office of Emergency Management Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (R.A.C.E.S.) volunteers participated in the National Emergency Communications Field Day Exercise this weekend, Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24. Last year the team took first place in the division. The final results for this year hasn’t been released.
All across North America Ham Radio operators take to the outdoors and set up emergency communication radio stations and operated them continuously for a 24 hour period, with the goal of successfully communicating with as many other stations participating in the event as possible.
Parsippany R.A.C.E.S. set up their emergency communications station at the Veterans Field Gazebo on Route 46, and operated their station from 2:00 p.m. Saturday to 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Tens of thousands of Ham Radio operators throughout the country participate in this annual event, in order to hone their skills in the event of an emergency situation.
Braving the rains as might be the case during a real emergency, members contacted over 1000 other operators around the country even as far away as California, in this grueling 24 hour event.
Assistant Radio Officer Al Goldberg stated “On behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank all the R.A.C.E.S. support for making another successful field day with over 1,000 contacts. I would like to thank Michael Hartmann for his decade of services to the Parsippany R.A.C.E.S. team and wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors.”
Mayor Michael Soriano stopped by both days to observe and wish luck to the operators participating in the contest and check on the results. Councilman Mike dePierro stopped by bringing coffee and donuts for the evening crew. Former Council Vice President Robert Peluso also stopped by to wish the operators luck. Parsippany-Troy Hills Office of Emergency Management Director Captain Jay Weiners operated on the air during the event.
For questions and inquiries, contact Eric Hubner at (973) 390-0192 Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator, Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills.
