June 18 - June 24, 2019: Amateur Radio Week

WHEREAS, amateur radio operators are celebrating over a century of broadcasting the human voice over the airwaves; and,

 

WHEREAS, amateur radio has continued to build bridges between people, societies, and countries through the sharing of ideas and creation of friendship; and,

 

WHEREAS, amateur radio operators have provided countless hours of community service to other local organizations throughout these decades; and,

 

WHEREAS, the state also recognizes the services amateur radio’s people provide to our many emergency response organizations, including local and government-served agencies; and,

 

WHEREAS, these amateur radio services are provided as a free service to the public; and,

 

WHEREAS, these same individuals have further demonstrated their value in public assistance by providing free radio communications for local parades, bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, fairs and other charitable public events; and,

 

WHEREAS, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the leading organization for Amateur Radio in the USA; and,

 

WHEREAS, the ARRL Amateur Radio Field Day exercise will take place on June 23-24, 2019, and is a 24-hour emergency preparedness exercise and demonstration of the Radio Amateurs’ skills and readiness to provide self-supporting communications without further infrastructure being required;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim June 18-24, 2019, as Amateur Radio Week in Michigan.