Welcome to the first edition of our digital MOVE newsletter!

By Loretta Arellano

Previously, our MOVE newsletters were published in print versions three times a year, with each issue growing longer as our activities rapidly expanded. To keep you updated more frequently, we have decided to move to a digital, monthly format. However, we will continue to provide hard copy editions in February, June, and November, as they are used at many events.

We hope you enjoy this new format and stay connected with us as we continue our mission!

MOVE founder, Mary Ellen Randall, has been elected as the 2025 IEEE President-Elect and will begin serving as IEEE President on 1 January 2026. Congratulations Mary Ellen. For more information please see: 

https://www.ieee.org/about/news/2024/elected-2025-ieee-president-elect.html

We are excited to announce the addition of a third vehicle, MOVE-3, to our fleet. Along with the other two vehicles, MOVE-3 has been deployed to support relief efforts for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. All three vehicles remain actively engaged, and we will provide a detailed report on their activities in the November issue. Follow the MOVE team during deployments at: https://www.facebook.com/ieeeusamove/

The MOVE Project is seeking volunteers with vehicle maintenance experience in repairs and support of vehicle upkeep, preferably within the Geographic boundaries of MOVE Home states, currently California, Texas and North Carolina.  If you would like to learn more about volunteering in this role, sign up at: https://bit.ly/MOVE-SIGNUP

William “Bill” Ratcliff

With sadness, we report the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Bill Ratcliff in June 2024.

Bill was an IEEE Life Senior Member and former Region 3 Director (2008-2009). Bill was well known for strategic thinking and for encouraging teams to determine the root cause of a problem before seeking solutions. He supported the IEEE MOVE project in its development and helped to execute its strategic plan. 

View his obituary

Mark your calendars

By: Theresa Brunasso

This year has been a busy one for IEEE-USA MOVE. IEEE Region 6 held the launch event for our newest truck, MOVE-3, at the American Red Cross (ARC) Margaret A Gargill building in San Diego. Our trucks and volunteers supported victims of Hurricane Debby in North Carolina and supported victims of New Mexico Fires and subsequent flooding. When the trucks are not supporting victims, they are at Science Festivals, Conferences and other STEM events. None of this would be possible without our dedicated volunteers and your generous support. It is appreciated!

Giving Tuesday this year is 3 December, when you will be able to donate directly to the MOVE program via the IEEE Foundation. Mark your calendars, and let others know how easy it is to donate through the IEEE Foundation. I’ll be making my annual donations that day, and I hope you will join me.

Thanks for all you do for IEEE MOVE.

By: Chris Sutton

Chris Sutton and Tim Troske, took MOVE-2 to Houston to support the American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Relief Operation (DRO) in helping Texas residents recover from hurricane Beryl. 

The IEEE MOVE truck reported to Red Cross Disaster Services Technology at DRO headquarters in Houston.  For several days, the team was assigned to provide internet access and power at a food distribution center. 

By: Grayson Randall

Hurricane Debby was a slow-moving and erratic Category 1 hurricane that caused widespread flooding across the Southeastern United States in early August 2024. The American Red Cross (ARC) had disaster operations in many of the east coast states due to some wind and flooding. The Red Cross called Grayson Randall and asked for support in North Carolina. Grayson interrupted his family vacation and responded to the ARC Chapter in Raleigh. There he supported setting up and configuring Red Cross technology including phones, laptops, and tablets. The North Carolina disaster did not escalate to a high level of required personnel. Grayson completed a couple of days of support and was released to return to his vacation.

This is a great example of how the IEEE MOVE support does not always require the MOVE trucks. In active disasters, the Red Cross will sometimes access the skills of the MOVE responders to help support their mission.

Once MOVE-2 systems were up and running, Walt had some time to participate in Amateur Radio Field Day which ran from 2PM Eastern Time (ET) Saturday until 2PM ET on Sunday. Amateur Radio Field Day is both a contest and a practice event for disaster communications, fulfilling one of the MOVE primary missions.

The American Red Cross event concluded at Noon on Sunday. Crew Walt and Jay returned MOVE-2 to its Home in Durham, NC. The crew returned to their respective homes.

By: Sadhana Attavar

IEEE MOVE Outreach India has developed a STEM kit to promote awareness of Climate Change and Sustainability. The STEM kit is intended to be used to promote awareness by school children of these critical topics. The STEM kit was formally launched on 21 July 2024 by IEEE President Thomas M Coughlin in the presence of IEEE past Presidents and Presidents Elect, IEEE India Council chair Prof. Debabrata Das, and other dignitaries.

The launch was followed by an in-depth training session on the 27 of July 2024 engaging 30 volunteers from 8 IEEE Sections of the India Council. With detailed hands-on train-the-trainer program by a very engaging training duo, the volunteer trainers went back well-equipped to begin using the STEM kits. These newly trained volunteers will in turn serve as trainers to additional volunteers in their respective sections. STEM kits are being shipped to each of the sections to begin promoting awareness of its message more broadly. Those interested in doing this in their own sections can please reach out to the MOVE India team at https://IEEEMOVE.IN.

Amidst all this activity, the landslide disaster in Wayanad required immediate assistance. MOVE India, with the active involvement and support of IEEE India Philanthropy team, swung into action and made available 25 solar lanterns and 25 solar mobile chargers. These important resources were hand delivered by the Kerala section volunteers of MOVE India to the Wayanad district officials.

Pictured: MOVE Puerto Rico Team at American Red Cross- Puerto Rico Chapter with DST Lead- Carlos Carrasquillo (right), during StarLink equipment setup and tests.

By: Francisco Carrero, Chair MOVE Puerto Rico

The MOVE Puerto Rico team remains vigilant for any atmospheric event during the 2024 hurricane season. Puerto Rico has only seen heavy rain as effects of the near pass of Hurricane Ernesto on August 12. Ernesto generated floods in various municipalities. Our volunteers were ready to assist the American Red Cross (ARC), but luckily there was no need to deploy the MOVE Modular kits. At the same time, the team continues working on equipment maintenance and training to remain prepared.

Recently, MOVE Puerto Rico updated its organizational structure. The team created a new coordination team composed of a new Chair (Francisco Carrero), Vice Chair (Magdiel Mojica) and Past Chair (Loderay Bracero). These three members are part of the MOVE Puerto Rico original cohort (2020). Francisco and Magdiel are Red Cross volunteers with experience on disaster recovery operations with ARC. Loderay was Chair beginning in 2022, and is currently the MOVE Region 9 Coordinator; she is also the MOVE Global Committee (MGC) Vice Chair. The new MOVE Puerto Rico structure aims to promote leadership development, workload management and teamwork skills in our volunteers.

The MOVE Puerto Rico team issued a call for volunteers in September and is working to bring new hands together to collaborate and continue our mission. Puerto Rico is the first MOVE location in IEEE Region 9 and the first Modular application in the MOVE program. The MOVE Puerto Rico location will continue to be a cornerstone for growth of the MOVE program across the IEEE.

Stay tuned for upcoming news!

For information about how to become a volunteer, contact us: [email protected].