We believe that a strong educational outreach about amateur radio is a vital part of the Club’s service to the Metro area. JMARC does this through several activities.
- Partnership with the public libraries in Madison County
- Amateur radio license classes and Volunteer Examination testing sessions
- Quarterly SMART outings at Old Trace Park in Ridgeland, Madison Public Library
- Annual participation in the international Churches on the Air (CHOTA)
JMARC has a noted interest in promoting amateur radio and technology through public libraries. It is our belief that we should have “educational served agencies” like we do through public event and EmComm activities. We have a formal relationship with the Madison County Library System. JMARC donated over $2,000 of ARRL books and other publications to the MCLS. The Club has donated three thousand dollars of equipment to add to the 3D printing lab in the Canton Technology Center. Through an ARRL Foundation Grant, we donated over $3,000 of amateur radio equipment to the MCLS, training and licensed the Technology Coordinator for the MCLS.
We have held training classes and VE testing sessions at the Madison County Library Branch to add to the hobby’s participants in the Metro area. Along with our ongoing activities described below, JMARC maintains a vibrant relationship with our Madison County Library System partners.
A third outreach is sponsoring a quarterly activity created by one of our Board members, Frank K4FMH, called Saturday Morning Amateur Radio Time (S.M.A.R.T.).
One quarterly S.M.A.R.T. outreach is at the Madison Public Library. These are mostly activations in the Gazebo area behind the Library. This activity is LiOTA: Libraries on the Air where we reach to library patrons to introduce them to radio technology by demonstrating these HF and VHF/UHF communications in real time. The Madison branch library is ideal for this activity with access to both an excellent outdoor area as well as indoor conference room with Internet and computer projection equipment at our disposal. The MCLS advertises this activity through their normal programming channels, something that many ham clubs to not enjoy the benefits of engaging in this way.
A second quarterly outreach is held at the City of Ridgeland Recreation Center at Old Trace Park, a recognized activation site in the Parks on the Air (POTA) program (US-10297). We offer this Saturday morning through mid-afternoon activity of both hands-on operating as well as a lunch-and-learn session over the noon hour in the Ridgeland Rec Center. Food is provided for fellowship with area ham operators. JMARC fields one or more POTA activation stations with temporary antennas set up in the back area of the Recreation Center. Our Public Support team often operates there as the Net Control station for City of Ridgeland Department of Recreation bike or runner races.
Another educational outreach is participating in the annual Churches & Chapels on the Air program. CHOTA is an annual special event program started many years ago in England. Organized here in the States by Board member Frank K4FMH, JMARC sponsored the first such event in 2023. Held at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, this special event was widely covered in the local and statewide media. It is the only time we can identify where an amateur radio event was the front page story in the largest newspaper in Mississippi, the Clarion-Ledger. A human feature segment was also broadcast on a Jackson television station by the highly recognized reporter, Walt Grayson.
