The Process and the Paperwork

To join ARES/RACES in Yavapai County, you start by filling out an application and signing a Commitment to Participate (read it here).  Please read this Commitment document carefully and think about the time necessary to meet the requirements listed here.  Send both signed copies to the email address or the street address below.  The links to those documents are also below.

If you haven’t communicated with one of our Team Leaders, you will hear from one of us.  We like to introduce ourselves and find out a bit about your background and expectations. 

At this point, Yavapai County gets involved.  All ARES/RACES members who joined after February 2016 are required to pass a county background check and certify that you read the Volunteer Orientation document.  We send your email address to the county and they send you email(s) with instructions to begin the process.   It is important that you complete this promptly.  The county is not fond of procrastinators.

At this point you might be asking – why the heck should I go through this bureaucratic process just to talk on the radio?  Here is one good reason:  During fire season in Yavapai County, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) tracks the number of children at most of the summer camps in the county.  When (not if) there is a fire, those children may have to be evacuated.  Many are from outside Yavapai County and have no place to stay when evacuated, so the OEM and Red Cross provide a shelter for them.  In case communications is lost, ARES/RACES members would be deployed to that shelter.  Would you want your child staying where people who have NOT passed a background check might have access to them?

After you have passed the background check, you will added to our membership list as a Pending Member.  As a Pending Member, you will receive our newsletter, be invited to join our nets, our meetings and our training sessions.  You will not be allowed to participate in any actual emergency call-outs.

In order to become a Full Member, you must complete the Basic Training Requirements within 6 months of joining.  We also provide additional opportunities for you to add to your training, which will allow you to participate more fully in our mission to support the Yavapai County OEM and our other served agencies.  Keep in mind that when you sign the Commitment to Participate, you are agreeing to the goals listed in the Basic Training Requirements for participation in nets, meetings and training.

When you complete each of the required courses, email or mail your certificates to one of the addresses below (email or USPS).  When you have completed them all, you will be issued a badge by the OEM and you will be expected to participate during declared emergencies.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of our Team Leaders.

Links:

Application Form   PDF – fill electronically or print

Commitment to Participate   PDF – fill electronically or print

Email documents to N7CW

Or mail them to:

ARES/RACES

℅ Bud Semon

1801 Bridge Park Place

Prescott, AZ 86305