The Vernon County Amateur Radio Club will be holding its annual field days this weekend, June 27 and 28, at the Western Wisconsin Agriculture Museum club grounds two miles north of Westby, the site of the antique engine and tractor shows in August.

The 7-year-old amateur radio club has 16 members and is looking to expand. The annual field day is open to the public and offers free admission. Current members will be on hand to demonstrate the radio systems they use and to help newcomers get started.

Justin Monroe, of rural Westby, has been actively involved with Vernon ARES for the past four years and currently serves as the club vice president. David Palm, also of Westby, presides as president. The club holds monthly meetings, at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday of the month in the basement of the Erlandson Building in Viroqua, with a goal of learning something new with each interaction. Mem-bers range in age from their teens to mid 60s, with no age minimum or maximum age limit involved.

“It’s just fun to get on your radio and talk to new people. They might be close by or in another part of the world. You just never know until you start searching the frequencies,” Monroe said.

Community service is a large part of the mission of Vernon ARES. The group is notified from the county when storm spotting services are needed and they played an important role during the flashing flooding recovery efforts in 2007 and 2008.

The SKYWARN program is a partnership with the National Weather Service and the community. The program was formed in the 1970s after a series of major tornados ravaged the area. Vernon ARES relays important information to the NWS and local emergency personnel when severe weather is approaching local communities, so emergency precautions can be implemented on a timely basis.

“We see what others can’t,” Monroe said.

RACES is an organization sponsored by FEMA and designed to provide disaster assistance communications in federally declared disaster areas. The Wisconsin ARES/RACES is actually two organizations working transparently as one with more than 1,350 ham radio operators volunteering their time, expertise and resources to provide communication assistance to government agencies and others during times of emergency when other modes of communication may be hindered.

Vernon ARES helps to support ham radio classes, holds demonstrations during field days, provides transmitter fox hunts and works hard to promote a stronger education of the benefits involved with becoming a member of an amateur radio club. New members must pass a written test, but do not have to know Morris Code, a past requirement of a Ham Radio operator.

“Becoming an active member in Vernon ARES doesn’t require a lot of money, just some time and interest,” Monroe said.

To learn more about Vernon ARES or to become involved with the amateur radio club, attend field days this weekend.

Members should be on hand at the antique engine club grounds anytime after 10 a.m. or call Justin Monroe at 608-634-2620 for more information.