The Woodford County Repeater Association also sponsors an ARRL sanctioned Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) Chapter.  The ARES group focuses on activities to support our served agencies including the Woodford County Emergency Management Agency (WCEMA), the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.  

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A major effort is directed toward the use of WinLink Express to facilitate digital traffic handling in support of our served agencies.  As such ARES and WCRA volunteers have implemented VHF and HF WinLink stations.  Frequencies and supported modes can be found under the club K9WRA callsign in the WinLink Express Channel Lists.

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Another supported activity is Weather Spotting in support of our Woodford County Communities and WCEMA.  We activate a Weather Spotting Net on the 146.610 Repeater.  It is a directed net dedicated to adverse weather conditions.  All are welcome to check-in but we encourage all active weather spotters to take the formal NOAA weather spotter training at least every two years.  The training is sponsored annually by WCEMA in partnership with NOAA staff from the Lincoln, IL NOAA office.  The net is activated any time Woodford County is under an active Severe Thunderstorm Warning or an active Tornado Warning.  Always stay tuned to local weather conditions/warnings and repeater activity as we are self-activated whenever Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warnings are issued by NOAA.

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To facilitate training and emergencies preparedness, we hold an ARES training meeting the fourth Thursday of most months at 7 PM at the Roanoke, IL EMA Emergency Operations Center.  All hams are welcome to these educational meetings.  Follow the Woodford County ARES Facebook page for current information on ARES activities including the status and topics of the current month’s meeting.