January 2004 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:9875] State legislative report
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

Derek Riker's yearend report on state legislation is available to officers, directors, and vice directors at: http://www.arrl.org/members-only/ODV/docs/Legislative/2003/1203.doc The report contains information on several bills that were prefiled for 2004 legislative sessions. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:9874] Re: Web survey
by Andy Oppel 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

Bob Vallio and I conducted a formal survey in the Pacific Division via e-mail on the Morse code licensing issue. While we have not yet tabulated the results yet (there were over 1,000 responses), we noticed two things in the write-in comments: 1. A surprising number of members believe that removal of the code proficiency license testing requirement automatically means that the code segments of the bands will be re-farmed to other operating modes. Comments such as "We have to save the code test to protect the lower portion of the bands." were rather common. 2. Some members equate removal of the testing requirement to a total ban on the operating mode. Comments such as "We have to save CW because it works when other modes do not." were less common, but still prevalent enough to be of concern. It seems clear to me that no matter what the board decides at the upcoming meeting, we have some serious educating to do about what the decision does and does not mean. The simpler and more direct the explanation, the better, in my opinion as it would be a shame to lose a lot of members over this type of misunderstanding. 73, Andy Oppel, N6AJO Vice Director, Pacific Division, ARRL n6ajo(a)arrl.org home: (510) 864-2299 cell: (510) 910-1508 At 07:43 AM 1/5/2004, you wrote: >One device that we, along with many other Web site operators, use to build >site traffic is to provide an interactive opportunity for site visitors. >Every week the "ARRLWeb Survey" asks a different question which typically >garners 2,000-3,000 responses. Obviously it is not scientific; while it is >occasionally possible to learn something from the responses, respondents >are not representative of anyone but themselves and there is no easy way >to guard against "stuffing the ballot box." Most of the time there is no >reason for anyone to respond more than once, although occasionally we do >see evidence of ballot-box stuffing. For example, a couple of months ago >when we asked which operating system people were using, some Mac users >submitted multiple responses because they would like the ARRL to devote >more resources to providing Mac-compatible products. > >The question that went up last Friday was appropriate for the New Year: >"Which is your greatest hope for Amateur Radio in 2004?" The possible >responses given were: > >That BPL (Broadband over Power Line) will be stopped before it spreads >That the FCC will drop Morse code testing >That the FCC will retain Morse code testing >That more antenna restrictions will be overturned >That more people will become hams >None of the above > >When the question first went up, for a while BPL was getting the most >responses. Then the anti- and pro-code denizens began publicizing the fact >that the question was there and wholesale stuffing began. So the numbers >of responses, which now total more than 10,000, are even more meaningless >than usual. > >Dave K1ZZ 73, Andy Oppel, N6AJO Vice Director, Pacific Division, ARRL n6ajo(a)arrl.org home: (510) 864-2299 cell: (510) 910-1508

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[ARRL-ODV:9873] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

Jim, if someone who was not invited showed up at the Board meeting, member or not, they would be told that the meeting was closed and they could not attend. If they refused to leave, hotel security would be called. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Weaver, Jim K8JE (DIR, GL) Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 12:10 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:9871] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting In case the wording of my "inquiry" as to whether or not we have established protocol for dealing with any member(s) who may show up for a Board Meeting may have fooled someone, please recognize I was not suggesting we invite them in. My question was if we had procedures in place to deal with such situations. One procedure would be to say they are not welcome to attend. I assumed there was such a procedure established, but I didn't want to get caught in a situation where a car-load of members showed up at the front desk and we had to rush into a rump session to determine what to do. It being established that we can dis-invite anyone from any Board Meeting and cite long-established policy (to make things look better), I would favor publishing the agenda. Would this do any good? Don't know for certain, but I think it would. If nothing else, it would show members who take the time to read and digest the agenda we are serious. Would it do any harm? I can't think of how it would. Anyone with a preconceived opinion that we are a bunch of idiots (or would it be lid-iots in this case) already has this opinion. Regardless, I do not favor and was not suggesting we accommodate guests at our meetings. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:9872] testing
by wedgar＠verizon.net 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

testing to see if this accepts my email address.. - Bill N3LLR

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[ARRL-ODV:9871] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting
by James Weaver 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

In case the wording of my "inquiry" as to whether or not we have established protocol for dealing with any member(s) who may show up for a Board Meeting may have fooled someone, please recognize I was not suggesting we invite them in. My question was if we had procedures in place to deal with such situations. One procedure would be to say they are not welcome to attend. I assumed there was such a procedure established, but I didn't want to get caught in a situation where a car-load of members showed up at the front desk and we had to rush into a rump session to determine what to do. It being established that we can dis-invite anyone from any Board Meeting and cite long-established policy (to make things look better), I would favor publishing the agenda. Would this do any good? Don't know for certain, but I think it would. If nothing else, it would show members who take the time to read and digest the agenda we are serious. Would it do any harm? I can't think of how it would. Anyone with a preconceived opinion that we are a bunch of idiots (or would it be lid-iots in this case) already has this opinion. Regardless, I do not favor and was not suggesting we accommodate guests at our meetings. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:9870] Web survey
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

One device that we, along with many other Web site operators, use to build site traffic is to provide an interactive opportunity for site visitors. Every week the "ARRLWeb Survey" asks a different question which typically garners 2,000-3,000 responses. Obviously it is not scientific; while it is occasionally possible to learn something from the responses, respondents are not representative of anyone but themselves and there is no easy way to guard against "stuffing the ballot box." Most of the time there is no reason for anyone to respond more than once, although occasionally we do see evidence of ballot-box stuffing. For example, a couple of months ago when we asked which operating system people were using, some Mac users submitted multiple responses because they would like the ARRL to devote more resources to providing Mac-compatible products. The question that went up last Friday was appropriate for the New Year: "Which is your greatest hope for Amateur Radio in 2004?" The possible responses given were: That BPL (Broadband over Power Line) will be stopped before it spreads That the FCC will drop Morse code testing That the FCC will retain Morse code testing That more antenna restrictions will be overturned That more people will become hams None of the above When the question first went up, for a while BPL was getting the most responses. Then the anti- and pro-code denizens began publicizing the fact that the question was there and wholesale stuffing began. So the numbers of responses, which now total more than 10,000, are even more meaningless than usual. Dave K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:9869] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting
by Kay Craigie 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

I own shares, worth non-trivial (to me!) amounts, in a number of corporations. Although I am thus one of the owners, I am not permitted to attend the meetings of the corporations' boards. I can, if I wish, attend shareholder meetings -- analogous to our ARRL public forums -- where I can ask questions of the board and management. I once asked my brother-in-law, who is a big-kahuna investment banker, how common it is for stockholders to be permitted to attend corporate board meetings. His reply in a shocked tone of voice was, "It's unheard of." The fact that the Board shouldn't do things we don't want the members to find out about isn't the same as saying that the Board should do everything in the presence of the members. Although the board meetings of my local radio club are open to member observers, that club is a little outfit with a few thousand bucks in the bank. The ARRL is a multi-million-dollar corporation, and in the conduct of our Board meetings, we have to act like it. 73 - Kay N3KN

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[ARRL-ODV:9868] Re: Citizen Corps message to SMs
by Hobart, Mary K1MMH 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

On the heels of the FEMS/Citizen Corps meeting in early December, Steve Ewald sent the message below to Section Managers by way of the SM Reflector and to Affiliated Club Coordinators asking them to forward to their affiliated clubs and other groups within their sections. It was sent on December 22. Now that the holidays are past and some folks have a more time to check their mail, Steve may do some follow-up with the Field Organization by spreading the news some more. Mary K1MMH ARRL, Citizen Corps and You In June 2003 ARRL signed a Statement of Affiliation with the Citizen Corps, making ARRL an affiliate organization working with Citizen Corps and other organizations to promote the goals of Citizen Corps. As an affiliate organization, ARRL, along with American Red Cross, NOAA, Points of Light Foundation, Veterans of Foreign Wars and others, was invited to a two-day meeting in Maryland on December 2 and 3. The purpose of the meeting was to identify strategies and goals for organizations working with Citizen Corps. In the course of the meeting, Citizen Corps staff shared the information that $35 million was awarded to state Citizen Corps groups. Each state will receive a share of the money based on a population-based formula. The funding was awarded in order to execute states' strategic plans for disaster prevention and preparedness and recovery - this plan had to be submitted to Citizen Corps by December 31, 2003. Funds will begin flowing to states in March 2004. What does this mean for ARRL? Since there is no funding available on the national level, ARRL Hq is not eligible for funds. However, for ARES groups and Amateur Radio clubs, there is potential funding for projects that relate to a state's strategic plan. The message from Citizen Corps was that participation and funding must be at the local and state level. Each state has a Point of Contact (POC) for Citizen Corps and a State Administrative Agency (SAA) that will manage the funds. The Citizen Corps funding mandate requires that the SAA work through the POC for programs and initiatives to be funded locally. The POC and SAA may be the same in some states. ARRL affiliated clubs that are interested in this funding might best band together, and should take the initiative to contact their state POC and SAA about programs that need funding (a pilot project, specialized training, equipment or a system). If there is more than one Section in the state, it would be best to work together on a funding request and present a unified plan that may be better received by the POC and SAA. Please share this information with those you feel would be interested. Also, SMs and/or SECs should contact the state POCs, if this has not already been done, to ensure that Amateur Radio is included in the state's strategic plan. So, it's up to you. If you need funding for a local project, event or initiative, collaborate on your grant request by contacting other Amateur Radio groups in your area or state to coordinate and integrate your plans. Then contact the state Citizen Corps POC. A list of the state POCs can be found at this web address: http://www.citizencorps.gov/citizenCorps/statepoc.do. Additional information about Citizen Corps is at www.citizencorps.gov.

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[ARRL-ODV:9867] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

>From time to time in the past, particularly when controversial topics were expected to be discussed, members have asked to be able to attend Board meetings. The answer has always been no, for the reasons already mentioned by others. To answer Jim's specific question, no, I don't think we're ready to deal with accommodating members who may want to come to a Board meeting. A number of years ago at a National Convention we attempted something similar to the "Annual General Meeting" that is held by organizations that follow the British model, e.g. RSGB and RAC. Hardly anyone was interested and the idea was dropped after, I think, just one attempt. Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Weaver, Jim K8JE (DIR, GL) Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 6:23 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:9862] Re: Draft Agenda, January 2004 Board Meeting As a firm believe in the ultimate need to educate the citizenry, I can easily support Tom's suggestion about publishing the agenda. My only possible concern would be whether we have ready positions to deal with anyone stimulated by the knowledge who want to come to the meetings. If we are ready to deal with this, I second Tom's inference. This is a possibility with or without a published agenda (maybe less so without), so are we ready to deal with such a situation Dave? Jim K8JE AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:9866] Recruitment and Retention Committee
by Rod Stafford W6ROD 05 Jan '04

05 Jan '04

Attached is the R&R Committee Report to the Board for the upcoming Board of Directors Meeting. 73, Rod W6ROD

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