Comm Academy, the conference for EmComm and preparation, has been around since 2001, but this year, the event is online and free. The event, which normally takes place in Seattle is two days of training, talks, and information on emergency communications. Comm Academy 2021 will take place on April 10-11, 2021, and the theme for this year’s event is “Disasters Here, There, and Everywhere—Are You Ready?”
According to Tim, WT1IM, the “PIO” for Comm Academy, the organizers are all volunteers who care deeply about EmComm and preparation, and want to create a forum for knowledge sharing. Until this year, CA was a local event in the Seattle area. While the attendees were enthusiastic, they were mostly local. That being said, the organizers realized that the 2021 conference gave them a “make lemonade out of lemons” opportunity to take what they were doing locally to a nationwide, if not global, audience.
This year’s presenters come from a variety of backgrounds, but most if not all, are hams. For example, this year’s lineup includes Tom Cox, VE6TOX, ICS Consultant for Alberta Emergency Management Agency; Jason Biermann, KI7KVP, Snohomish (WA) Department of Emergency Management Director; and Ward Silver, N0AX, who will present on station grounding and bonding. There will also be presentations on providing Internet service restoration in a remote Oregon community after wildfires and safety and communications at Burning Man.
The presentations will all be pre-recorded, but the presenters will be on the conference live when their presentations are aired, so that they can do real-time Q&A, chat, etc., with the participants. To get a feel for the types of presentations given at Comm Academy, you can view recorded presentations from previous years at commacademy.org/archives.
For more information, visit the Comm Academy website, or email [email protected]
Thanks Dan, I am interested in this Comm Academy. This was sent to me from one of our club leads WB4J Budd.