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By Brittnee Bryant
Star correspondent

From assisting with communications during floods, blizzards and Hurricane Helene to educating the public on radio communication basics, the Carter County Amateur Radio Association has been serving the local community for nearly 30 years.

This weekend (June 28-29), the group is welcoming the public to its annual Field Day event. Ham radio operators will set up temporary stations to demonstrate the technical aspects of ham radio and showcase its versatility.

William Armstrong, vice president of CCARA, says the group hopes to highlight the educational aspects of radio, which can go quite deep, and show that it’s a fairly easy hobby to get into.

“It’s just a learning experience, you take it at your speed,” he says. “That’s the thing. I hope that we can demonstrate the basics to them and show that this is where you start, and this is where you can end up if you want to.”

The annual Summer Field Day will be taking place at the CCARA Ham Shack, located at 805 Hwy. 91 in Elizabethton. Ham contesting is set to begin at 2 p.m.

The public will have the opportunity to learn more about radio gear, as well as buying and selling a variety of items, during Ham Fest.

The annual event will be happening on Saturday, July 12, at Kiwanis Park. There will be hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks provided. The event kicks off between 8 and 9 a.m. and is set to run through 2 p.m.

Reflecting on the group’s nearly 30 years of history, Armstrong says they are regular folks in the community.

The group was founded in 1996 and since then has aided in communications during natural disasters. The group assisted communications during the floods and blizzard of 1998, with 62 hams putting in 3,500 volunteer hours. The following year, CCARA donated books on the importance of amateur radio to the Carter County school system. During Y2K, CCARA volunteers were stationed at hospitals, nursing homes and post offices in case of issues in the millennium changeover. Most recently, CCARA helped during Hurricane Helene. In the aftermath of the storm, a group member on Roan Mountain used his radio to send out almost 100 emails for the Carter County community since cell phone and internet service was down.

In the community, CCARA has also lent a helping hand, from providing communications during the March of Dimes Walk to helping Boy Scouts in obtaining merit badges for radio-related awards.

For anyone wanting to join CCARA, Armstrong says everyone is welcome. He notes that people can attend group meetings and decide how much time they want to put into the group.

“It’s just how much time they want to put into it,” he says. “But, you know, we welcome everybody to show up.”

CCARA meetings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at the CCARA Ham Shack. For more information on the group, check out their Facebook page.