Lincoln, NE -

Jean Leavitt of Lincoln was standing at the south corner of the Nebraska State Fair’s administration building Monday when two mothers with young children approached.

Leavitt’s neon green-and-black vest with HAM RADIO lettered on the back and the radio in her hand marked her out as someone special.

"If you get lost, go to this lady," Samantha Moore said to the children, Lauriana Moore, 4, and Andrew Grant, 6.

Instructing children where to get help if they get lost is standard procedure for Andrew’s mother, Stephany Grant, who also pointed out a Lincoln Police officer who bicycled by in a bright yellow shirt.

"It’s a good idea," said Moore, who, like Grant, lives in Friend, Neb.

Leavitt said that’s the first time in all her hours of working the fair that a mother has instructed a child to go to her or any other ham radio operator for help.

"I’m glad," she said.

Leavitt is a member of the Lincoln Amateur Radio Club. Club volunteers work with the fair’s security detail and Nebraska State Patrol to find lost people and lost cars and assist in case of a medical emergency, she said. They work in shifts. By Sunday night, 85 volunteers had worked a total of 1,728 volunteer hours, Leavitt said. Those who patrol on bicycle had ridden 877 miles.

Bruce Mitchell, an investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol on duty at the fair Monday, said the ham radio volunteers are a valuable addition to the fair’s security detail.

"It’s been a good partnership," he said. "Any extra set of eyes are helpful when you are looking for a lost kid."