The other side of the rodeo

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter
 
ARES, Amateur Radio Emergency Services, have been an integral part of the Heritage Days Stampede for the past 17 years, providing extra security and radio communications to the event. Gerry Leach is the emergency coordinator, and Bev and Wayne McMullan are assistant emergency coordinators. They can be seen, along with other ARES volunteers, roaming around the grounds either on foot, by golf cart or bike, wearing their red shirts. 
“Basically our capability is we can link all their communications together and we provide our units they can be used as emergency command units,” said Bev McMullan. 
ARES does emergency communication for emergency services organizations working with Wheatland County, Town of Strathmore, the Town of Black Diamond, the RCMP, Fire Departments, and Calgary Police. If there was an emergency in Strathmore they could use the ARES command centre, which can be set up at the incident, and used as an Emergency Operating Centre, EOC.
“There’s a number of agencies we work with in the event of a major incident and the events we do here raise money for the society, none of us get paid,” said Leach. 
“All the money we raise for example, is through working situations like this, or through donations. There’s no federal or provincial grants available to us so we have to turn around and raise money this way,” said McMullan. 
Leach came on board in 1988 and in 1994 he was asked to take over as the emergency coordinator, and said at that time there was maybe one meeting a year if that. Now they meet every month with the exception of July, August or Christmas and the organization now has a number of new command vehicles. They have been told they are the largest ARES group in North America in regards to what they have in equipment. 
The McMullan’s began working radios in 1981/82. Bev was an original organizer of a radio group which volunteers with city police and her and Wayne have been police volunteers since. 
“A friend of ours, who is one of our members was talking about ARES…it was a radio I hadn’t operated before so we went for our license and we joined ARES and thought we were just going to be members,” said McMullan. 
“Here during our summer season we start out with the Strathmore Legion BBQ and we do security for that. Then the next one we do here is the Rocky Mountain Gay Rodeo and we also do security for that and minor medical, and then our event after that, before we come into this, (is) I’m the road safety manager for tour for kids,” said Leach. 
They have four carts they take around the grounds, then one for minor medical, then they also have one person on a bike. 
“We keep an eye on the grounds to protect the property of the grounds, but our responsibility is to make sure the patrons are safe, the volunteers…and all the members of Ag and to protect their property which is the grounds because over the years we’ve had damage in here. Normally not when we’re around here doing events,” said Leach 
“The total volunteer hours when we do an event like this, especially Heritage Days, comes in at around 1650 hours for a five day event, so that’s a lot of volunteer hours.”
They will have some volunteers that start at 7:30 a.m. and not quitting until after the cabaret is over and the grounds are clear which could be 3:30 a.m. 
People interested in volunteering can go to the website or can email leachg@telusplanet.net or arescalgary@telus.net. People will receive a step one application and ARES will take a look at it and start from there. 
When they join they will be on a three-month probationary period, a complete criminal record check that will be done including a vulnerable sector check that has to be done.