HEART

While working across from Radio Shack at the Melbourne Square Mall, three amateur radio operators came into my store and we started chatting about TV's, cameras, and radios.  They talked passionately about amateur radio and even demonstrated their handheld radio by calling home using the local repeater's auto-patch telephone capability.  After listening to his brief conversation , I was hooked!  Consumer cellular phones were just starting to hit the shelves and the air time was very expensive.  I immediately purchased the Radio Shack Novice License course and began my journey.  Since then, I've upgraded to Extra Class and have never regretted it.

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After relocating to Virginia Beach, I joined the Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club and began participating as a radio operator at various Amateur Radio Emergency Services events such as marathons, parades, and others.  At the same time I was training to be a paramedic with Virginia Beach Emergency Medical Services.  Amateur radio continued to be a hobby of mine, and the world of EMS and ham radio intersected from time to time.  After retiring from both volunteer EMS and my government IT career, I was looking for more to do in the ham radio hobby.

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During a simulated disaster exercise, I learned the HEART organization was handling an impressive number of messages and really doing great things to support the health care side of the event.  I already had a very brief introduction to HEART, and this rekindled my interest.  Sometime later, I reached out to Paula and Ira with an official request to join HEART.  While working through the onboarding process, I discovered HEART was in need of some web site assistance.  That was right up my alley, and it provided a great way for me to contribute.  Working on the web site has given me a sense of purpose.  I'm looking forward to continuing that work and participating as a regular radio operator at a local healthcare facility in the future.

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