In-Newsletter
Vol. 25, No. 18
May 6, 2002
Development
The Education and Technology fund campaign to ARRL members has raised more
than $93,000 from 1900 members, with and average gifts of more than $51.
This average gift exceeds the average for the Defense Fund by about $8. The
follow up letters to several different segments of ARRL members, active and
lapsed, were mailed the week of May 1. About 150 very personal letters will
go out before Dayton. Donor gifts for this campaign have arrived and will
be shipped starting next week.
The proposal for federal funding to expand the ARECC training program has
been completed. The request seeks $574,750 over three years to fund 5000
new Level 1 emergency communication hams. This request is in addition to
the UTC grant which funds an expanded program in CT. See the Media
Relations report below for an update on PR efforts around the UTC grant.
The second planned giving information mailing to 15,000 hams is scheduled
for May 15.
The Education and Technology Fund proposal draft is complete.
Lisa Kustosik is assisting with final arrangements for the 50 guests who
will attend the Donor Reception in Dayton.
Media Relations
Jennifer attended a meeting with Mary Hobart at United Technologies Corp. in
Hartford to discuss plans for promoting the UTC grant and the online
emergency communications course opportunities in Connecticut. We met with
UTC's media relations manager and a consultant with a PR firm in Hartford
who works part-time for UTC. Our ideas were well received and the meeting
was very successful. The "plan" is in the works. More details to follow.
Jennifer provided information to Rick Lindquist on the upcoming deadline for
this year's McGan Award. The information was also posted to the ARRL Web
site. Several more requests for nomination forms have been coming in. The
deadline is May 24.
Door prizes for the Sunday morning PR forum and press kits have been shipped
to Dayton.
In Steve Mansfield's absence, Jennifer has been handling his e-mail and
other miscellaneous duties or requests. She's been in close contact with
our Washington legislative staff and everything is going smoothly.
Jennifer prepared a special recruitment kit for Jim Maxwell to mail to a
member of the media who Jim talked with at NAB this year. He explained that
he had been interested in ham radio as a kid. He was happy to receive
whatever materials we'd send.
Work continues on the 2001 Annual Report and plans for the PR forum and PR
committee meeting in Dayton.
Due to a slew of viruses being spread over the PR reflector in the last
couple of days, the reflector will be moved to our in-house Exchange server,
allowing all messages to be scanned for viruses before being posted.
Jennifer posted a message to the PR reflector group to make them aware of
the change. They have been asked not to post anything to the reflector
until further notice.
Sales & Marketing Group
Dennis Motschenbacher is happy to announce that Deb Jahnke is now our Sales
Manager. Deb has earned this position by repeatedly demonstrating her
ability to generate sales revenue through strong staff leadership as well as
her own direct sales initiatives. We now have a complete Sales and
Marketing leadership structure that has immediately begun implementing
activities that will increase ARRL sales through improved customer relations
and innovative new offerings.
Last week Dennis traveled to Mississippi and spent an entire day with Martin
Jue, owner of MFJ Enterprises. The meeting went very well and a good
relationship was established. They developed a work list of opportunities
to pursue together that have mutual benefit for the League and MFJ. Key
creative talents from the Marketing, Circulation and Advertising groups have
been joined together into "Dream Teams" charged with working with new and
existing clients to increase those company's sales revenue through
traditional and some rather dramatically non-traditional use of League
resources. Members of these teams will meet directly with clients via
conference calls. Rohn, Force 12 and MFJ are clients that already have Dream
Team projects in motion.
Marketing
Deb Jahnke and Bob Inderbitzen are enjoying being immersed in many new
responsibilities. A variety of innovative marketing and sales plans are in
development. Most of the current projects involve publications, membership,
and advertising.
The new, Spring/Summer ARRL Publications Catalog is available. Copies have
been distributed to staff, Directors, and Officers. We intend to do the
direct mail next week. A new supply of Field Day t-shirts (2,000 shirts) is
in stock. All sizes are presently in stock and shipping. Completed posters
depicting ARRL publications have been received. The artwork will accompany
materials being shipped to Dayton for the ARRL exhibit at Hamvention. A new
title, the International Microwave Handbook, should arrive sometime in mid-
or late-May. The book is published by RSGB, and includes contributed
material from ARRL. It replaces (and updates) the 3-volume set of microwave
books, formerly offered by the RSGB. ARRL Ordering details: International
Microwave Handbook #8739, retail $39.95. Wholesale pricing is available for
ARRL publication dealers. Bob assisted Steve Ewald in assembling an apparel
proposal for the Volunteer Resource Committee to help identify ARRL Amateur
Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers.
Advertising
Hanan Rayyashi is working with Joe to bring him up to speed in the
Advertising Department. Hanan will work with the Advertising Staff to
develop a new filing system for our current past and present advertisers.
She also met with the Accounting Department staff to discuss payment records
of our Advertisers. A department meeting was conducted early this week with
the Production staff to work on the conversion to computer to plate.
Preparations for Dayton trip and the July issue of QST, July/August issues
of QEX and NCJ are now taking place.
At Dayton Hanan and Joe will greet our advertisers and address any concerns
they may have. They will also meet several potential advertisers. Hanan
has invited an out-of-industry prospect to the show, and she will take the
opportunity to introduce him to amateur radio and discuss how his product
will fit in to our members needs.
Joe Bottiglieri joined our Advertising staff as an Accounts Manager on
Monday, April 29. His initial assignments include resolving a small number
of member complaints concerning our advertisers. He also has also been
contacting existing advertisers to introduce himself. Joe is also
responsible for adding new advertisers there he is making calls to both
prospective and past advertisers. Joe will begin managing accounts of our
NCJ and QEX advertisers.
Carol Patton sent out reminder cards to our classified customers whose ads
have expired. Carol is also working with the Sales staff to identify
potential display advertisers in her list of customers. She is working on
the Repeater Directory billing and July QST Insertion Orders.
Circulation
We are pleased to announce that Kathy Capodicasa will immediately assume the
position of Senior Fulfillment Supervisor. Kathy will take responsibility
for both membership and publications transactions and processes. Our new
Products Fulfillment Supervisor, Zoe Belliveau, will report directly to her.
Reporting relationships will remain the same for their respective staff
members. Congratulations to both Kathy and Zoe.
Drop Shipments of the new edition of the ARRL Repeater Directory have
commenced and the remainder of our stock should be in Newington shortly.
Despite the fact that our printer delayed delivery of the Directory, we met
April publications targets. An elevated number of outgoing dealer sales
calls combined with several Web "specials" definitely had a very large
impact on our ability to meet our goals for April.
May billings will include April budgeted Repeater Directory revenue.
Deb Jahnke is working on final Dayton preparations. For those of you who
are waiting for Exhibitor Badges, etc., we were notified on May 3rd that
those precious items are finally on the way.
Several of our dealers and advertisers have expressed increasing interest in
commercial mailing list rentals. We are presently looking at making the
information into a more attractive package and include it with all outgoing
prospective Advertiser and Dealer kits. We are also looking at other
outgoing commercial information that could use a face-lift as well using
this product to create a new revenue stream.
We are very pleased to have a new ARRL Dealer in our midst. KJI Electronics
Inc, of Cedar Grove NJ (a long-time advertiser) has opened a storefront. We
were please to help with his initial order to insure that a broad selection
of ARRL products will appear on his shelves.
Publications
We checked page proofs for Understanding Basic Electronics.
Field & Educational Services
ISS tourist Mark Shuttleworth's random QSOs were a hit with those lucky
enough to hear and contact him. F&ES staff received several e-mails from
hams who were excited to have QSOed with him, including one who said:
"Thanks to all at ARRL for your participation in this, and so many
worthwhile ventures in amateur radio." Shuttleworth's school QSOs also
helped Amateur Radio through some good PR from various media this week.
Rosalie prepared for the national Red Cross Partner's Meeting, and will be
participating in it on Tuesday in Washington DC.
Regulatory Team
Brennan Price received reports of a persistent unmodulated carrier on 17
meters, most likely originating in Europe; an HFDF request to the FCC was
prepared. Brennan received a well-documented interference case from a Local
Interference Committee; he immediately turned it over to the FCC. He
reviewed the Activities chapter of the ARRL Handbook. The ARRL Repeater
Directory was delivered, and Brennan confirmed no printing errors were made.
John Hennessee assisted amateurs with covenant problems in Houston, TX
(K5HUT), and Miami, FL (K9LTN). He worked to update the Public Relations
information on the ARRL antenna restriction Web page with assistance from
Jennifer Hagy and Steve Ewald. He took a half day to assist at the Amateur
Radio booth set up by the Newington Amateur Radio League during the
Connecticut Family Science Expo, where many children stopped.
C-CE
Dan Miller announced this week's graduate total from online courses as: 21
for Level I, 11 for Level II, 6 for Level III, and 9 for Antenna Modeling.
In-person classes and exams in Pepperell, MA produced 4 grads for Level I, 6
for Level II and 5 for Level III. A student wrote saying he found the
Student Activities in the Level I helped him greatly for the situation near
his home last weekend -- the tornadoes that hit La Plata, MD. The West
Central Florida SM announced he has begun fund-raising to aid his Section's
hams with tuition for ARECC training. Clark County (NV) Office of Emergency
Management is sponsoring and funding an in-person em-comm classes for county
hams.
Steven Blair processed exams for the revised Level I course and made answer
template copies for distribution to CE teams when the new course exam will
be offered in the field.
Field Organization/ Public Service Team
Steve Ewald was in touch with Section Leaders from Maryland, Kentucky,
Missouri and West Virginia about recent emergency responses to tornadoes,
storms and flooding. News reports were funneled to the News Desk and Media
Relations. Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen and Steve prepared a staff
recommendation on ARES apparel. With the new PSHR criteria starting on May
1, Steve fielded more questions on interpretations.
Leona Adams continues to see more Emergency Coordinator appointments (nearly
a dozen this week alone), and an increase in Official Observer appointments,
too. With the Spring hamfest season now underway, there has been an
increase in SM expenses, and Leona entered about 20 of these into the
Section budgets. A Section Manager nomination form for the Virgin Islands
has been received.
Field & Educational Support Team
Mary Lau prepared letters to both scholarship awardees and those who did not
get an award. She prepared Web copy and a press release for when the final
scholarship vote is completed. Mary wrote her July QST column. She also
reports that KY SM John Meyers, NB4K, reached a new total in Section
messages sent to constituents in a single week: 13!!
Jean Wolfgang accepted 3 ARISS applications for future contacts and added
them to her database. She's putting Educational Advisor packages together
with rating sheets and summary sheets for the F&ES Instructor of the Year
awards. She wishes to thank Brennan for his assistance with "Ham
Radio...Planning for the Future" article formatting.
Margie Bourgoin reports that 2 new clubs are seeking ARRL affiliation, and
she has forwarded copies of their applications to the appropriate Director
and Section Manager. She also notes that 2 Special Service Clubs have
renewed. Margie submitted the results of the 2002 Club Questionnaire for
Rosalie's review.
Linda Mullally completed the monthly revenue that shows F&ES brought in
$2502.75 in sales of videolibrary tapes, books, and for reimbursement for
shipping. She also finished the inventory report for F&ES paper materials
and videos, and reordered four video volumes. She updated 78 affiliated
club records, and processed 3 reactivations of de-activated affiliated
clubs.
Gail Iannone sent 8 convention applications to the Executive Committee and
notified the convention committees that they were all approved. She also
sent 8 hamfest approval letters and sent a Wouff Hong supply package for the
ceremony to be performed at the Southwestern Division Convention to be held
August 16-18 in Escondido, CA.
The Big Project
We now have 18 Pilot Schools and 7 Progress Grant Schools for a total of 25
schools in the Amateur Radio Education & Technology Program. Schools, ARRL
Officers and respective Directors and SMs were notified by e-mail; schools
will get official postal mail letters. Jerry began querying new Pilot
Schools for equipment requests. He completed basic lesson plans for one
more curriculum unit, and helped staff the booth one day at the CPTV Science
Fair.
Membership Services
Awards Branch
WAS QSL Cards Checked 200
WAS Certificates 2
WAS Endorsements 2
WAC QSL Cards Checked 18
WAC Certificates 33
WAC Endorsements 3
5BWACs 1
A-1 Operator Nominations 5
A-1 Operator Certificates 39
Long Term Member Inquiries 3
VUCC Initial Awards 2
Grids (Data Entry) 361
VUCC Endorsements 5
Grids (Data Entry) 534
Friendship Awards 5
OTC Awards 4
RCC Awards 3
Backlog Status
A-1 Operator Awards Current
Basic WAS 5 weeks
Specialty WAS Current
WAS QSLs Current
WAC QSLs Current
CP Awards 4 weeks
RCC Awards Current
OTC Awards Current
Friendship Awards Current
Extra Class Awards Current
VUCC Awards 1 week
U.S. WAC Awards Current
Foreign WAC Awards 3 weeks
HF Awards Manager Appt.: Roger Byron, KR4WS, Holmes Beach, FL. For the
coming week-Basic WAS awards for April, foreign WAC, Code Proficiency, and
VUCC awards, and 5 BWAS plaques.
DXCC Branch
Weekly Report May 5, 2002
Beginning Cards 39,419
Cards Received 14,715
Cards Processed 15,869
Ending Cards 38,265
Applications Pending 321
Backlog Time 1 Week
Year-to-date
Cards Received 191,944
Cards Returned 263,613
QRP Issued this week 5
QRP YTD 196
Card Return: DXCC is currently mailing applications received on April 30,
2002. Card Processing: We are entering cards received on April 30, 2002.
One new DXCC Card Checker was appointed this week.
Contest Branch
Data entry for US paper logs for 2002 ARRL International DX Phone logs was
completed. Layout and revision of the Web and QST versions of those results
for the 2001 ARRL November Phone Sweepstakes continued. Electronic log
results from the 2002 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes were received, formatted
and brought into the master database. We have continued to recruit guest
authors for various contest results for the web and QST. The rules for the
2002 ARRL UHF Contest and 2002 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Competition were finalized
and sent to production.
QSL Branch
QSL service status: Current. Cards mailed year to date as of 05/05/2002 -
810,125. Cards mailed on 05/03/2002 - 79,625. Janet Rocco spent 5 hours
conducting tours around HQ.
W1AW
Kenwood USA donates a Kenwood TS-2000X to W1AW! What started out as a simple
request turned into a reality when Phil Parton, N4DRO, Assistant Sales
Manager for Kenwood, personally dropped off a new Kenwood TS-2000X for use
in W1AW. (This model of TS-2000 contains the 23cm module.) In early
February, Joe Carcia wrote to Kenwood, requesting the donation, for use as
another visitor HF station, but specifically for use as part of the
satellite station. Two months later, the TS-2000X takes its place as part
of the W1AW equipment complement. The old Kenwood TS-790 (which the '2000X
replaced) has a new home in W1INF.
Joe assisted Mike Tracy with short-term frequency measurements of both the
Harris and Omni VI+ transmitters. It came as no shock that the Harris
exciters did not drift during the 10-minute key-down test. This is a good
sign, given the equipment has been in service for 12+ years. The Omni VI+
exciters, however, did drift approximately 3 Hz during the 10-minute
key-down test. Long-term frequency tests will be performed soon.
In preparation of the Kenwood donation, Joe ran cables and updated the
satellite-tracking computer with a new hard drive and additional serial
ports. He processed regular W1AW QSL card requests and also worked the
Thursday and Friday night shift for vacationing Scott Gee. On Sunday, Joe
hosted members of the Candlewood ARA as they operated W1AW in the New
England QSO Party. (Working W1AW during this event counts for additional
points.) Joe also installed a revised, special version of the contest
program CT to assist with the logging. Overall, 300 QSOs were made (3 with
DX stations) on 40 to 10 meters, for a claimed score of 14,850. Scott Gee
worked on slow and fast code practice runs for the month of May. He handled
some evening phone sales calls in the 5 PM to 8 PM time slot. W1AW
telephone sales year to date (2002): $3,606.
73,
Sincerely,
Mark Wilson, K1RO
Chief Operating Officer
MW:lk
Staff Absentee List
Name Date(s) Reason
All Staff 5/27 Holiday
Dave Sumner 5/7-5/15 Geneva
`` 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Mary Hobart 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Steve Ford 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Dennis Motschenbacher 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Joe Bottiglieri 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Hanan Rayyashi 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Debra Jahnke 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Kathy Capodicasa 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Bob Inderbitzen 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Danny Sayad 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Wayne Mills 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Bill Moore 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Jennifer Hagy 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
`` 5/20 Vacation
Lisa Kustosik 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Rick Lindquist 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Dan Miller 5/16-5/19 Dayton Hamvention
Jerry Hill 5/16-5/19 Vacation (Dayton)
Kristy Perillo 5/2-5/13 Vacation
Brennan Price 5/6pm Schenectedy Amateur Radio Assoc., NY
`` 5/8-5/15 Vacation
Rosalie White 5/6-5/7 Red Cross Partners Meeting,
Washington DC
Joel Kleinman 5/16-5/17 Vacation (Dayton)
