Sunday November 9th, 2025 the City of Hendersonville hosted their annual Veterans Day Parade. The temperature that morning was in the high 20s at the crack of dawn and rose to the 40s with windy conditions. Not great weather for a parade. Spectators were enthusiastic on the sides of Main Street as were the Sumner County ARES and Sumner County Amateur Radio Association volunteers who turned out that day to assist the Hendersonville PD and support the Veterans Day Parade.
Located in a parking lot at Memorial Park was the Sumner County EMA Command Post along side the SCARA Communications Trailer. The trailer is paced with communications gear for any event or emergency.
Net control was run out of the Communications Trailer by Richard, WA4YQC, with Brian, NG2S as backup and support. While it was quite toasty inside the trailer the rest of the volunteers were not so lucky. They endured the cold windy weather to keep the parade participants and spectators safe. The crew was assigned to areas of possible vehicular entry into the parade route and acted as extra eyes, ears and boots on the ground. As their watchful eyes continually scanned the roadway, parking lots and the crowds they were ready to relay any pertinent information back to Net Control for immediate notification to the HPD.
Thankfully the Parade was uneventful from a public safety standpoint and no emergency traffic was passed. No medical calls or more serious matters arose. None the less SCARES and SCARA were there with diligence and professionalism. High visibility is an excellent deterrent for those looking to do harm and we were highly visible. We provide not only communications and augment the 1st responders but we also act as a passive deterrent, a benefit most do not realize we provide.
Once the parade end passed each assigned location those Radio Operators secured their posts and were released.
It was a wonderful day and the HPD was very grateful for our support and professionalism. The relationship between SCARES and the HPD only deepens with each event we work together. These types of event are much more than can be understood by the guy on the street but the administrators involved with planning know what we provide and appreciate everyone’s effort as we work collectively.
These events we do are not only for community support but it is also great practice to hone our skills and deployment methods as well as test our equipment regularly. The best way to stay proficient with your gear is to use it regularly. This way when the big one hits we are ready for action!
A very big Thank You goes out to each and every individual that took time away from their families to support not only the Hendersonville Veterans Day Parade but the ARES Mission.
In attendance in no particular order were:
- Richard, WA4YQC
- Steve, W4STX
- Mike, NZ4K
- Mike, K4VVA
- Brian, KJ4OCZ
- Paul, KQ4VOY
- Steve, KD4SAH
- Tom, W4UWO
- Jason, KN4VCW
- Kevin, K4TNR
- Ben, KR4DXL
- Steve, KN4IHQ
- Brian, NG2S
