Effective on July 1st, I (Chris Kelleher, W3CTK) was appointed to the EC (Emergency Coordinator) position with ARES of Delaware County. I am honored to have been selected, and will do my best to continue the great work started here by Mike Thomas, KB3SUS and all of the other Delaware County ECs that came before him.
For anyone that doesn't know, my background is over 30 years of software development experience successfully delivering many projects of various scale. I am currently employed in this capacity at a local healthcare company in Conshohocken.
One of my strongest personal interests is in volunteering. I started with my FAA remote pilot license and brought my drone expertise to the Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue team, where I implemented a drone search team to assist the canine team.
I am also a leader of our local community group, Radnor Citizens Police Organization, and work closely with the chief of police and other leaders to assist them and the community. Because of this relationship I have 24/7 badge access to the township's municipal building, police station and EOC. We were able to use this location for our Field Day this year.
In 2019 I took the CERT training held by Delaware county, and joined the Citizen Corps, MRC, and CERT groups. I work closely with the CCDC Board and Leadership team, especially with technical support and development of their website. At CCDC I heard about ARES and got my FCC Technician license in order to join the group.
Over the past years, I've completed many trainings, having completed all of the ARRL ARES Task Book requirements to Level 3. This includes the EC-016 Public Service & Emergency Communications Management course with all of the FEMA courses it requires. I have also completed the in-person IS-300 class, Red Cross Sheltering, and have current AED & CPR certification, along with current background checks.
With SKYWARN and my interest in weather related preparedness, I have taken both SKYWARN basic and advanced courses. There are also day/multi-day FEMA weather classes I've attended: AWR-326 Tornado Awareness, AWR-331 Winter Weather Hazards, AWR-343 Hurricane Awareness and AWR-362 Flooding Hazards.
Along with my County issued radio go kit, an ICOM 4100 in pelican case, I also have an ICOM 5100 installed in my vehicle. I also have 2 other radio go kits, first a QRP ICOM 705 in a portable backpack with SAR/Survival gear. Also, inspired by Bob Wilson's (W3BIG) kit he showed us, I have an ICOM 7300 & 9700 in a portable gator gear 8U rack box with battery backup power supply and a Raspberry Pi. I have various other go bags at the ready as well with various antennas, computers, power, tools and personal/clothing items.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to continue supporting ARES and emergency communications in Delaware County.