Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (NIV)
An overland search and rescue class will be coming up later this year at the Lauderdale Emergency Management Agency and we can use some help with that. If you are in good shape and don't mind a little walking, we can use your help with communications. It will also be a good chance to practice in the event if the county digital system goes down. We can show how useful we can be in times of need and may even draw some new operators at the same time. If you are interested in helping with this please contact me and I will put you on the list of volunteers for this event.
Treasurer Report
It's that time again; Please bring your dues to the Checker Board Restaurant on Saturday mornings or mail them to the address below. Thank you for your support. Dues are:
- $23.00 per Year per Member
- $25.00 per Year for Family
- $15.00 per year if 65 or older
Meridian Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 522
Meridian, MS 39302
What the heck is the ARRL Board thinking?
By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
About a month ago, I received an email from the ARRL. Attached were minutes of a Special Board Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors (http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Minutes-of-Special-Board-Meeting-ARRL-Board-of-Directors-1.pdf) held by teleconference on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. At first, I didn't think much of it, but after reading the minutes, I thought to myself, "What heck are these guys thinking?"
What the minutes document is the censure of Dick Norton, N6AA, for "criticizing publicly the collective action of the Board of Directors adopting said Code of Conduct[sic] and drawing the Board's collective decision making into disrepute." I won't quote the whole thing here, but you can find the text on my website at http://www.kb6nu.com/heck-arrl-board-thinking/.
So, what is this ARRL Code of Conduct? It's official name is the ARRL Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors, and the board adopted this code at the January 20-21, 2017 board meeting. You can find this code on the ARRL website at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ODV/ARRLCode of Conduct.pdf.
To be fair, this document does include some good things, such as acting responsibly when it comes to ARRL financial matters and treating ARRL staff with respect. What seems to be questionable, and the reason for N6AA's censure, however, is Section 8 Support of Board Decisions. I won't quote the entire section here, but basically what it says an ARRL board member must accept and publicly support board decisions, even if they voted it against it. If they express any dissenting opinion about a board decision, they can be censured, as N6AA was in this case.
In effect, this is a gag order on a director if he disagrees with a Board decision. Not only that, this section seems to say that once someone gets elected to the Board, his allegiance to the Board is more important than the views of the amateur radio operators he represents.
One of my Twitter followers put it this way, "Where else can those ostensibly in a position of representation of the organization's members be punished for publicly criticizing the organization's rules? US Congress? Parliament of the UK? No, and no. @arrl board is looking more like North Korea than a representative body." Seriously, can you imagine if the U.S. Congress had such a policy in place?
What did Norton actually do?
I emailed Norton to find out what he said exactly to bring on this censure. Understandably, he was a little hesitant to speak to me directly. I then asked if I could see the supporting statements.
I then received two emails. The first was from Mark Weiss, K6FG. His email contained the text of an email he sent to the ARRL Board of Directors. A second contained an email sent to the board by Tim Duffy, K3LR, the owner of DX Engineering. Both emails supported N6AA, noting that he stated that he supported the board action and that any opposition came from the audience and not from Norton.
So, I go back to my original question. What the heck is the ARRL Board thinking, first in passing this draconian ARRL Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors, and second in using it to censure a director, who, according to several accounts, didn't commit the infraction in the first place? Are they so insecure in their decision-making that they have to resort to gag orders like this? Don't they see that taking actions like this brings them more "disrepute" than an honest dissenting opinion?
If this situation angers you as much as it does me, I encourage you to contact your director and make your feelings known. One of my blog readers suggests that your message be "short, non-aggressive, and to the point." He suggested the following:
Dear [your director's name here] I am unhappy with both the ARRL Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Member of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors (aka the "Code of Conduct") and the N6AA censure.
I want to freely discuss issues with our directors. I want our directors to tell me where they stand, not where the board stands.
I want the directors to be free to express their opinions and to know how they voted. I want directors to not fear censure. Therefore, I urge the following immediate actions:
1. Modify the Code of Conduct to allow the above.
2. Revoke the N6AA censure.
73,
[Your name and callsign go here.]
I hate to say this, but this is only the beginning. Some ARRL directors are planning to propose changes to the League's Articles of Association and By-Laws at the board meeting in January
2018. These changes will make the ARRL even less democratic and more authoritarian.
As reported by CQ magazine (http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2017/12/changes-proposed-to-arrl-governing.html), if these changes are enacted "the board of directors will be able to revoke League membership 'for cause' and to remove board members by revoking their League membership; lesser disciplinary actions against board members, such as censure, will be allowed without the member receiving advance notice or an opportunity to respond to allegations." Another change will grant voting privileges to the president and three vice-presidents, even though these are appointed positions.
Again, I ask, what the heck is the ARRL board thinking? Do they really think that this is going to make the ARRL a stronger organization and a better advocate for amateur radio? If so, I'd like to hear their reasoning. ARRL membership has been declining for many years (as a percentage of licensed radio amateurs), and these moves are only going to accelerate that decline. I have already heard from many hams that they plan to let their ARRL membership lapse.
Please consider contacting your director today. It may already be too late to save the ARRL.
73! Dan KB6NU
CW Geek, Ham Radio Instructor Author of the "No Nonsense" amateur radio license study guides Read my ham radio blog at http://www.kb6nu.com
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. George Sand
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