Read the transcript
Our programs
This part of your training is your toolbox: the programs, resources and events the National Amateur Radio Alliance runs. You do not need to memorize this list. The point is to recognize a need when you hear one, whether it is your own or a fellow operator's, and to know which of our resources might help.
Your toolbox
Club Week, held every year from November first to the eighth. The State of Amateur Radio Survey. Our regional club councils. The National Presenters Panel. Our awards program. And the club database and the wiki, along with the hamfest map and the Alliance calendar. Most of your work as a volunteer is hearing a need, and knowing which one of these answers it.
Club Week, November 1 to 8
Once a year, clubs across the country get on the air together, on purpose. Clubs contact each other and exchange QSL cards, set up in public places, and hand newer operators an easy, friendly reason to pick up a microphone for the first time. There are no points and nothing to submit. It is not a contest, it is a celebration. You could help by organizing your own club's activity, coordinating QSL exchanges, or simply spreading the word beforehand.
The State of Amateur Radio Survey
Every hobby argument eventually comes down to, well, in my experience. The survey is our answer to that: the most in depth study we know of into operator habits, licensing, club participation and the overall health of the hobby. The point is to be able to talk about amateur radio with numbers instead of anecdotes.
Club councils and the Presenters Panel
Club councils bring together leaders from clubs within a regional area to collaborate, share resources and support one another. Each council has a representative, and the council directory lets anyone find the one covering their county in seconds. The National Presenters Panel connects clubs with knowledgeable speakers from across the country, on a wide range of topics, booked through our site. If a club tells you it has a meeting to fill, that is the answer.
Two awards, reviewed by volunteers
We run two awards. The Alfred Vail 20-20 Young Keyers Award celebrates young operators under the age of twenty who taught themselves Morse code and pushed their sending and receiving to twenty words a minute or better. It honors more than proficiency. It honors the choice to keep Morse code alive in a modern hobby. The Excellence in Amateur Radio Award recognizes individuals and clubs whose work has left a lasting, measurable mark on the community. Decades of Elmering, building the infrastructure a whole region depends on, or leading the public service response when it actually mattered. Both are applied for through the site, and both are reviewed by volunteers.
The resources we keep current
Then there are the resources. The club database is a national directory with a searchable map, kept current by club officers and by our representatives. The wiki is community maintained, which means it is only as good as the people willing to keep editing it. There are state resource pages and club toolkits. And there is the hamfest map, along with a calendar of our own public meetings, operating events, observances, and the hamfests where we will have a table set up. Between them, these are the most used part of our entire website, and every one of them lives or dies by volunteer attention.
Part of your role is new ideas
So, to say it again: you do not need to memorize any of this. What matters is that you recognize a need when you hear one, and know which of our resources might answer it. And if we do not have one that does, say so. Part of your role as a volunteer is coming up with new ideas, and we want to hear them.
Some things to know
- Club Week runs November 1 to 8 every year. It is a celebration of clubs, not a contest: no points, no logs, nothing to submit.
- Club councils bring club leaders in an area together, and the council directory finds the one covering any county in seconds.
- The National Presenters Panel is the answer when a club tells you it has a meeting to fill.
- Two awards, both applied for on the site and reviewed by volunteers: the Alfred Vail 20-20 Young Keyers Award, and the Excellence in Amateur Radio Award.
- The club database, the wiki, the state resource pages, the hamfest map and the calendar are the most-used part of the site, and every one of them lives or dies by volunteer attention.
Part of your role as a volunteer is coming up with new ideas, and we want to hear them.
You do not need to memorize this list. The goal is not to recite every program NARA runs. It is to recognize a need when you hear one, whether it is your own or a fellow operator's, and know which NARA resource might help. And if we do not have one that answers it, say so — an unmet need you bring forward is how the next program starts.
Club Week, November 1 to 8
Once a year, clubs across the country get on the air together, on purpose. Clubs contact each other and exchange QSL cards, set up in public places, and hand newer operators an easy, friendly reason to pick up a microphone for the first time. There are no points and nothing to submit. It is not a contest, it is a celebration. Where you would help: organizing your club's on-air activity, coordinating QSL exchanges, or helping spread the word beforehand.
The State of Amateur Radio Survey
Every hobby argument eventually comes down to "well, actually, in my experience". This is NARA's answer to that: the most in-depth study we know of into operator habits, licensing, club participation and the overall health of the hobby. The point is to argue about amateur radio with numbers instead of anecdotes.
Regional Club Councils
Club Councils bring together leaders from amateur radio clubs within regional areas to collaborate, share resources, and support one another. We believe this is a valuable resource for clubs, helping to strengthen the local amateur radio community by fostering communication, coordinating events, and addressing common challenges faced across the region. Each council has a representative, and the council directory lets anyone find the one covering their county in seconds. Where you would help: serving as a council representative, or supporting one who already is.
The National Presenters Panel
The National Presenters Panel connects amateur radio clubs with knowledgeable speakers from across the country. Clubs can browse the panel to find presenters on a wide range of topics and schedule them for meetings, classes, or events. This program makes it easier for clubs to bring in fresh voices, share expertise, and keep members engaged. Where you would help: joining the panel as a presenter, or helping manage the bookings behind the scenes.
Awards
Two awards, both applied for through the site and reviewed by volunteers. The Alfred Vail 20-20 Young Keyers Award celebrates young operators under the age of twenty who taught themselves CW and pushed their sending and receiving speed to twenty words per minute or better; it honors more than proficiency, it honors the choice to keep Morse code alive in a modern ham radio world. The Excellence in Amateur Radio Award recognizes individuals and clubs whose work has left a lasting, measurable mark on the community, whether that is decades of Elmering, building the infrastructure a whole region depends on, or leading the public service response when it actually mattered. Where you would help: reviewing applications and nominations on the awards committee.
The club database and the wiki
Between them, these two are the most-used part of the entire site, and both live or die by volunteer attention. The club database is a national directory with a searchable map, kept current by club officers and by our representatives. The wiki, at wiki.usnara.org, is community-maintained, which means it is only as good as the people willing to keep editing it. Where you would help: writing and editing wiki pages, checking club listings, fact-checking, keeping state resource pages current.
The hamfest map and the NARA calendar
A searchable map of upcoming hamfests and club events, plus a curated calendar of NARA's own public meetings, operating events, observances and the hamfests where we will actually have a table set up. Where you would help: staffing a table at a hamfest or public event, or helping keep the map and calendar accurate.
Where your role fits
When a coordinator sits down to talk with you about a role, they will tell you which program or focus area it belongs to and what success actually looks like inside it.