RACES - General Information

Membership: Open to any local licensed radio operator. An application must be obtained from the Dearborn County Emergency Management Agency office at 401 W. High Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana 47025. The RACES application is not the same as the LVARC club application that is available on this website.

Weekly Net: A weekly meeting every Monday night at 9:00pm local Eastern Time on the (2M) 147.285+6 repeater. All local amateur radio operators are welcome to join in.

Bi-Monthly Meetings: A bi-monthly formal meeting is held at the Dearborn County EOC on the first Thursday of: Feb, April, June, Aug, Oct and December. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM local time. Check in to the weekly net for any changes or contact any one of the officers listed at the end of this page.

Facilities and resources

The group maintains a radio room adjacent to the Dearborn County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as well as an antenna site at the Dearborn County Hospital. A Dearborn County Emergency Management Mobile Command Truck is available for field use in the event of a disaster or other emergency.

The "General Radio Procedures" provides instructions on how to participate in the event of an emergency. Click on the link to view the procedures as a PDF file.

RACES - Group Training

All RACES members are required to take training from the Emergency Management Institute of FEMA. Members have been trained in:

  • IS-00700 National Incident Management, An Introduction
  • IS-00100 Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • IS-00200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents.

The group has participated in local emergency training exercises as well as most members are "skywarn" certified for severe weather communications to the local Cincinnati severe weather center. Contact with the State of Indiana RACES group is also maintained on a regular basis.

Laughery Valley Amateur Radio Club (LVARC)

RACES and LVARC are separate organizations, but many hams in the area are members of both groups. The two groups meet on the first Thursday of alternate months.

Membership: Open to any local licensed radio operator. An application must be submitted as directed on the form.

Bi-Monthly Meetings: A bi-monthly meeting is held at the Dearborn County EOC on the first Thursday of: Jan., March, May, July, Sept. and November. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM local time. Contact any one of the officers listed at the end of this page.

South East Indiana Wet Net

Many local RACES & LVARC members also meet on the morning Wet Net at 6:30am to 7:00am local Eastern Time and 7:30am to 8:00am on weekends and holidays on the (2M)147.285mhz repeater. Weather data is collected and e-mailed to the Indianapolis National Weather Service. Data is collected from the entire local area including SW Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Net control is Lee, K9GPS, and can be contacted by e-mail for additional information.

Contact Information

Dearborn County Emergency Management Agency Director
William K. Black Jr., 401 W. High Street, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025.
Phone 812-537-3971/FAX 812-537-4726.
You can e-mail Bill.

Dearborn County RACES Officer
John Racz KA9OOO
You can email John..

Dearborn County Assistant RACES Officer
Gary Whisman K9DRT
You can e-mail Gary..

Dearborn County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Officer
Ken Courtney WA9BLA
You can e-mail Ken..

LVARC President for 2009
Todd Schutter, KY4TS (call changed from KI4UCO)
You can email Todd.

Net Control for the SE IN Wet Net
Lee Kissell, K9GPS
You can email Lee.