Amateur radio has been and continues to be a valuable asset in my life. It spurred an interest in electronics and gave me the confidence to pursue schooling and a career in the telecommunications field. I can say that without the experience gained by just a little tinkering in ham radio the road into my current career would have been much tougher. Not only the technical experience amateur radio has allowed me to achieve, but all the friends I have made along the way who lent their support in times of need have made amateur radio more than just a hobby to me. People are people the world over and most would give the shirt off their backs to help a person out.
Hams are no different.
In fact I think amateur radio has a higher percentage of these people than any other group I'm aware of. The presence of hams at these events means that event coordinators have people located at strategic points along an event's route that are used to observing and looking for things and then being able to accurately describe what they see. This frees the police to perform their duties and the event organizers can concentrate on the event itself. Many of these same hams assist local government and the weather service in reporting severe weather. Hams have proven their capabilities and commitment over the years to the point that the National Weather Service often does not require their reports to be double checked by local law enforcement.