As many governors around the country do around Field Day, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed June 19 – 25, 2022 to be Amateur Radio Week in Michigan. Kudos to my friend, Ralph, AA8RK, the Michigan Section Public Information Coordinator (PIC) for making this happen.
While this is just one of many proclamations issued by governors across the U.S., they don’t happen unless someone asks. So, if no one has yet done so in your state, there may still be time to have a proclamation issued before Field Day.
And, remember to follow up that proclamation with a press release. Send that press release to every media outlet in your state that you can think of. It’s great publicity for amateur radio and a nice way to recognize radio amateurs in your state for their service to the
public in times of tornadoes, floods and other emergencies.
Below is the text of the Michigan proclamation. Please feel free to use it as the basis of your proclamation.
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 25-26, 2022, and is a 24-hour emergency preparedness exercise and demonstration of the Radio Amateurs’ skills and readiness to provide self-supporting communication without further infrastructure being required;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim June 19-25, 2022 as Amateur Radio Week in Michigan.
Copies of the proclamation text are available on the proclamation
website in order to display the document on field day sites throughout the state.