Appointment comes within days of 75th anniversary of emergency service by Ham Radio operators
By Joshua Carroll, N5JLC - Arkansas Section Public Information Coordinator
Arkansas Section Manager J.M. Rowe, N5XFW, announced today the appointment of John Goswick, W5JLG as the Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC) for the Arkansas Section of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) - the national association for Amateur Radio. In this position Goswick will be responsible to take care of all matters pertaining to emergency communications and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) on a statewide basis. The SEC post is one of top importance in the section. There is only one SEC appointed in each section of the ARRL Field Organization.
Rowe said, "I know he is very capable of meeting this challenge, and I look forward to working with him. John is exceptionally clear minded in his thinking, and is not influenced by politics. He understands that we're here to help our served agencies, such as the American Red Cross and emergency management offices all over the state. He's already heavily involved in emergency communications, so he's well prepared to serve in this position."
Goswick already serves as the State Emergency Operations Officer for the Army Military Auxiliary Radio System. He is also the president of the Central Arkansas UHF Group, an organization of amateur radio enthusiasts that, according to their web site, is dedicated to supporting state-wide communications on amateur radio frequencies for emergency communications and education.
"I look at it as a challenge to be in this position. I'm very interested in emergency communications and helping ham radio operators in the state to be prepared for the next emergency," said Goswick.
Goswick holds a Master's degree in Information Technology from the University of Central Arkansas, and a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management from John Brown University. He has also received communications training from the American Radio Relay League and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Most recently, he has completed the Department of Homeland Security's Communications Unit Leader (COML) course, which trains emergency responders to be communications unit leaders during all-hazards emergency operations. Additionally, he has completed training to become a COML instructor.
