Through the Operation Round Up® (ORU) program, Stearns Electric Association gives our member-owners the opportunity to give back to the community. The rounded-up funds (between 1¢ and 99¢) are placed in a trust fund that is administered by a trust board appointed by the Cooperative’s elected Board of Directors. Operation Round Up® funds are given to local civic organizations and worthy causes through an application and selection process. In March, the St. Cloud Amateur Radio Club was chosen as one of those recipients.
HAM Radio
HAM radio is popular hobby where licensed individuals come together to operate radio electronics in order to communicate across town, around the world or even into space. HAM radio has been around for over a century. The St. Cloud Amateur Radio Club began as the Mic and Key Club in 1917 and is one of the top ten oldest clubs in the nation.
In 1922, the club affiliated itself with the American Radio Relay League and became the St. Cloud Amateur Radio Club (SCARC). Today, the club has nearly 100 members. Headquartered in their own clubhouse on Fourth Street North in Waite Park, club members range from teens to 80-year old’s, and include farmers, radio engineers and financial professionals, to name a few.
“We have two main focuses in the SCARC: public safety and community,” Charlie Chirhart, volunteer and member, said.
NWS Connection
The SCARC houses the National Weather Service (NWS) SKYWARN Program for Benton and Stearns counties in Central Minnesota. SKYWARN is a program where trained volunteer weather spotters provide first-hand reports of severe and hazardous weather conditions. Spotters help meteorologists issue severe weather warnings, which are oftentimes life-saving. Despite the advanced Doppler Radar technology available to the NWS, weather spotters are necessary to help determine accurate and credible weather conditions in order to issue timely severe weather warnings.
How did the partnership begin between the NWS and St. Cloud Amateur Radio Club?
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