President and Vice President of the Lawrence County Amateur Club Speak at BRTC

Glendall Floyd, President of the Lawrence County Amateur Club

POCAHONTAS, AR Feb. 5—On January 11, 2021, Glendall Floyd and Ray Maynard, President and Vice President of the Lawrence County Amateur Club, were guest speakers for the Law Enforcement Training Academy at Black River Technical College.

Floyd and Maynard discussed the uses of Amateur Radio also known as Ham Radio and provided a list of “22 things you can do with amateur radio.” Among those listed, the speakers emphasized that Ham Radio can be used for public service.

Floyd explained that amateur radio has been used during national emergencies such as the 9/11 tragedy and Hurricane Katrina and during local emergencies when other forms of communication were not possible, which is where amateur radio got its motto “When All Else Fails.” In many counties across the state, amateur radio clubs are recognized as backup communication in case of an emergency because as Floyd pointed out, “countless lives have been saved where skilled hobbyists acted as emergency communicators to render aid.”

Maynard explained that there are over 600,000 amateur radio users in the United States and over 2,000,000 world-wide and that in order to become a Ham Operator, one must pass a test to obtain a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) license.

For more information about amateur radio and how to obtain an FCC license, visit http://www.arrl.org/. For more information about BRTC’s Law Enforcement Training Academy, visit http://blackrivertech.org/academics/service-programs/leta/leta-programs/basic-police-training.