Date: November 2023
Amount: $12,395

The Lucas County Amateur Radio Emergency Services, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization whose primary mission is to provide emergency communications for their local community when needed. They do this through establishing a self-contained network of radio stations and other needed equipment; establishing and improving procedures for contacting members and assigning them to critical locations in times of emergencies; and establishing formal training programs for members such that they have a basic skill set needed to act under emergency conditions. Additionally, LCARES also has an AREDN Mesh committee, which strives to educate and empower amateur radio operators in the community on AREDN Mesh technology. As such, the goal of the Mesh committee is to create a permanent AREDN Mesh Network and be able to readily deploy high-speed ad-hock data networks as needed.

This grant will provide funding for LCARES to acquire and install AREDN equipment at all full-service hospitals and emergency operations centers in Lucas County, Ohio, which will eventually lead to initiating a permanent deployment of a high speed data mesh network throughout the greater Toledo, Ohio area. As a result, healthcare facilities will be afforded the ability to have solid, direct communications between facilities in the event of an emergency, which benefits the community at large. AREDN Mesh Networks also offer opportunities for the local youth to see other facets of amateur radio beyond a microphone and transceiver.

Learn more at http://grant.lucasares.org/.