Fresno County, along with the cities of Fresno and Clovis, proudly sponsored an Emergency Preparedness and Safety Fair on September 20th from 9 AM to 1 PM in the parking lot of the Department of Social Services at 205 Pontiac in Clovis.
The ham radio community was well represented by CARP (Clovis Amateur Radio Pioneers) and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services), with additional support from CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers from both Fresno and Clovis. Many CARP members are also active with ARES and Fresno CERT, highlighting the strong spirit of collaboration across these groups.
A variety of organizations participated, including Fresno OES (Office of Emergency Services), PG&E, the Central California Animal Disaster Team (CCADT), local fire and police departments, and other county-wide services, creating a well-rounded showcase of resources available to the community.
Attendees showed genuine interest in learning more about the information each organization provided. Rob Egan and I had great conversations with visitors who stopped by to check out our equipment—radios, solar panels, and antennas. I even had the opportunity to do a bit of POTA hunting and made a contact all the way from Yellowstone! We also shared CARP and POTA brochures, while the ARES team distributed a wide range of helpful literature.
Although the event wasn’t crowded, the quality of the interactions made it a meaningful and successful day. The interest and enthusiasm shown by participants made this a truly worthwhile event.
