Michael Blake – NØNQW
Founding Board Member – NØNWS
Founding technical lead and trustee of the 49 Repeater Group, responsible for building and maintaining the NØNWS linked system.
Skip Crane – AKØC
Founding Board Member – N0NWS
Trustee of the Walnut Grove repeater and one of the original technical founders of the NØNWS / 49 Repeater Group.
Chris Gaut – KFØJFW
Chris brings decades of fire service and emergency-management experience to the N0NWS board, supporting regional preparedness and public-safety coordination across southwest Missouri.
Chris Gaut
Chris Gaut, KFØJFW
Region D Coordinator – Missouri State Emergency Management Agency
Chris Gaut has been involved in public safety for nearly 30 years, beginning his service in 1995 as a volunteer firefighter in Eureka, Missouri. Two years later, he transitioned into a full-time role as a fire inspector, launching a long career committed to fire prevention, emergency response, and community protection.
After relocating to Branson in 2013 with his family, Chris joined the Branson Fire Department as a Reserve Firefighter. In 2017, he moved to the Western Taney County Fire District, where he currently serves as Captain for Station 10. He also holds an Emergency Medical Technician license and continues to support multiple aspects of regional public safety.
In addition to his fire-service leadership, Chris works for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency as the Region D Coordinator, assisting county and local emergency managers across 18 counties in southwest Missouri. His responsibilities include preparedness planning, training support, disaster-response coordination, and serving as a key link between local agencies and state-level operations.
Chris entered amateur radio in 2022 and is active on 2 meters and DMR under the callsign KFØJFW. He maintains memberships with TLARC, Kimberling City ARC, and Nixa ARC. His technical interests include learning to build and program antennas, repeaters, and Raspberry Pi systems, with future goals of exploring satellite communications and APRS.
Driven by a desire to help others, Chris brings a unique blend of emergency-management insight, public-safety experience, and amateur-radio enthusiasm to the NØNWS board — strengthening the regional communications network and supporting its mission of community readiness.
Michael Blake, NØNQW
Michael Blake, NØNQW, is one of the original driving forces behind the NØNWS System and the 49 Repeater Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to public service communications in southwest Missouri and eastern Kansas. He serves as the long-time contact and trustee for the 145.49 Repeater Group (club callsign NØNWS), providing leadership and continuity for the organization for more than two decades.
Based in Willard, Missouri, Michael holds an Amateur Extra class license and has been deeply invested in building reliable communications infrastructure for the region. His work includes designing, installing, and maintaining multiple Skywarn-linked repeaters that form the core of the N0NWS emergency communications backbone. From fundraising and system design to equipment installation and ongoing maintenance, Michael has repeatedly put in the hard work required to keep critical sites operational, including major upgrades such as the Branson and Buffalo repeaters.
In addition to his technical work, Michael has served as an author and communicator for the network, contributing updates on severe weather, system improvements, and technical developments across the Ozarks. He has also participated in Volunteer Examiner activity, helping encourage and certify new amateur-radio operators in Missouri.
As a founding board member of the NØNWS System, Michael is widely recognized as the primary technical steward of the network—carrying the torch for the 49 Group and ensuring that the system remains robust, resilient, and ready when severe weather and emergencies impact southwest Missouri.
Skip Crane, AKØC
Skip Crane, callsign AKØC, is one of the original founding members of the NØNWS / 49 Repeater Group and continues to serve as a core technical leader within the organization. As the trustee and primary maintainer of the 147.330 MHz repeater in Walnut Grove, Skip oversees one of the longest-running and most essential links in the entire NØNWS network. His repeater provides vital northwest coverage and forms a key backbone connection to the 145.49 Fordland hub.
Throughout the system’s history, Skip has played a critical role in the technical development, tower work, equipment upgrades, and ongoing maintenance of the repeater network. His hands-on problem-solving and deep understanding of radio infrastructure have helped ensure that operators, storm spotters, and emergency-management partners across southwest Missouri have reliable communications during severe weather and other emergencies.
As a founding board member, Skip is recognized as one of the original torch carriers of the 49 Repeater Group—helping establish, expand, and sustain the network that eventually became today’s NØNWS linked system. His long-term dedication, technical expertise, and service-minded approach have made him an invaluable part of the organization’s leadership and success.
Member Name
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