There will be a public demonstration of emergency communications abilities from 2 p.m. Saturday, June 23 to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at the State Employees’ Credit Union facility, on Paragon Parkway, in Clyde. The annual “Field Day” event is the climax of the weeklong Amateur Radio Week, sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. The Haywood demonstration is being put on by the Haywood County Amateur Radio Club - KW4P.
Despite the Internet, cell phones, email and modern communications, every year, whole regions find themselves in the dark. Tornadoes, fires, storms, ice and even the occasional cutting of fiber optic cables leave people without the means to communicate. In these cases, the one consistent service that has never failed has been amateur radio. 
The radio operators, often called “hams,” provide backup communications for the American Red Cross, FEMA and even for the International Space Station. 
“The fastest way to turn a crisis into a total disaster is to lose communications,” said Allen Pitts of the ARRL. “From the earthquake and tsunami in Japan to tornadoes in Missouri, ham radio provided the most reliable communications networks in the first critical hours of the events. Because ham radios are not dependent on the Internet, cell towers or other infrastructure, they work when nothing else is available.”
The Haywood County Amateur Radio Club invites the public to come and see ham radio’s new capabilities and learn how to get a FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.
To learn more about amateur radio, visit www.emergency-radio.org.  The Haywood County Amateur Radio Club can be found at wnchamradio.org.