ÐÏࡱá>þÿ HJþÿÿÿGÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿì¥ÁM ð¿=bjbjâ=â= %NWW>9LÿÿÿÿÿÿlPPPPPPPd 8Ø ä $d22
*
*
*
±³³³³³³$d l×P ×Ù PP*
*
ÛìÙ Ù Ù ŸP*
P*
±Ù ±Ù ®Ù :),PP±*
4J
WÈd< Ã U
±02_Rð E ð ±Ù ddPPPPÙDocument #8
ARRL Board of Directors
2008 Annual Meeting
Houston, Texas January 18-19, 2008
Report of the Chief Executive Officer
The annual calendar-changing ritual inevitably takes our thoughts back across the previous 12 months, even as we do our best to look ahead. For the ARRL, 2007 was a year of growth and change. As a result it was a very busy year for both volunteers and staff. The future health of our organization, and of Amateur Radio itself, depends on how well we adapt to new circumstances arising from changes that, although some of them began earlier, certainly accelerated during 2007.
Growth
I devoted the February 2008 QST editorial to the topic of growth and will not repeat the sermon here. Since the editorial was written in mid-December I had to low-ball the anticipated year-end membership figure as more than 152,000. As you now know we ended the year with 153,535 members, a 3.3% increase over the previous year. This is the best news we have had on the membership front since 1993! The challenge now is to hang onto as many of these new members as we can at first-renewal time, and to offset the inevitable losses (every membership association loses first-year members at a higher rate than longtime loyalists) with additional newcomers and returning members.
The Board has set an objective of 30,000 new licensees in 2008. The operational plan for the year sets out staffs initial thoughts on the best way to pursue this objective:
Appeal to boomer retirees who may have had interest in Amateur Radio some time in their life.
Develop an affinity campaign to encourage licensing among friends and family of current licensees/members.
Increase licensing among related special interest groups.
Explore additional recruiting strategies for use by clubs, instructors, VEs and other field volunteers.
Enhance the use of the ARRL web site as a pathway to licensing.
Recruitment of new amateurs is done at the personal, local level. From Newington we can supply motivation along with tools for our members and clubs to use, but we cant do the actual recruiting. That takes individual and group initiative by amateurs who are willing to share their passion and to go to the trouble of demystifying it by stripping out the impenetrable jargon that we tend to use when talking among ourselves.
Obtaining a license is not the principal barrier to entry into Amateur Radio. Unless one is content with an HT, setting up and learning how to use a station is far more difficult. Without a personal link to a mentor, many if not most newcomers will get bored or give up before they ever experience their first wow! moment on the air. As we pursue the 30,000 goal we must keep in mind that success is not simply measured by the number of licensees. Mentoring is an essential part of service after the sale. Its what turns license-holders into active, lifelong radio amateurs. Its what will keep Amateur Radio growing, not just on paper but on the air.
Im encouraged by the fact that response to the February QST editorial so far has focused favorably on the penultimate paragraph, which discussed our need for more amateurs to serve as public service communicators. Those members who have been motivated to speak up, understand the connection between enjoying operating privileges and serving the public interest. Its also encouraging that interest in the ARRL operating program has remained strong right through the sunspot minimum.
Advocacy
Our advocacy efforts over the past six months are amply chronicled in other reports. I played a small role at WRC-07 in Geneva, attending half of the four-week conference (from the middle of the first week to the middle of the third) on behalf of the IARU. The personal highlight for me was having the privilege of welcoming ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun Touré, HB9EHT to the Amateur Radio community at a dinner sponsored by the International Amateur Radio Club, 4U1ITU. Seated between us was Olof Lundberg, SM0CKV/G0CKV/W6CKV. Olof is an old friend who gave me the idea for my first QST article (January 1972) describing how to add crystal filters to the Drake
R-4B receiver. He is also an old friend of Dr. Touré, who worked for him when Olof was Director General and CEO of Inmarsat. Its no coincidence that a few weeks after the IARC dinner, Dr. Touré appointed Olof to a new, three-member High-Level Panel for Emergency Telecommunications. They both see a role for Amateur Radio in the ITUs emergency communications initiative.
The biggest challenge currently facing us is to fill the position being vacated by Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, who plans to retire toward the end of February 2008. I have avoided saying that we will try to replace Paul because it is simply not possible to replace him. Fortunately, he has offered to remain available as necessary to effect a smooth transition as well as for special projects in the future. While no one will bring Pauls unique set of talents and insights to the position, I expect to be able to fill it with a well-qualified individual soon.
With WRC-07 behind us, preparations for WRC-11 have already begun. The first substantive ITU Radiocommunication Sector meetings looking toward WRC-11 will be held in Geneva in February. Paul will represent the ARRL as a member of the US delegation to Working Party 5A and Study Group 5 (previously Working Party 8A and Study Group 8 respectively). The IARU will be represented by Ken Pulfer, VE3PU. IARU President Larry Price, W4RA is not yet cleared for international travel following his medical episode in Geneva during WRC-07, but he expects to be able to travel overseas again soon.
IARU Region 2 Conference
As other officers have noted in their reports, last Septembers Region 2 Conference in Brasilia generated unexpected attention after the fact when the significance of changes in the Region 2 band plan was blown all out of proportion. It surprised those of us who went to Brasilia, so the surprise must have been even greater for those who didnt.
Having said that, there are a couple of easy things we can do at this Board meeting to reassure those members who are concerned about the issue. The major concerns are that (1) the Region 2 160-meter plan makes no provision for AM operation and (2) the band plan, even though its voluntary and makes substantial provision for AM operation in the other bands where its popular, is perceived by some as a step toward regulating AM out of existence.
It is understandable why the Region 2 conferees did not devote that much attention to the issue of 160-meter AM: the part of the band that is used by AM operators is not generally used for international communication, and isnt even available to amateurs in many countries. To clarify that no change in 160-meter operation in the US is expected or desired, the Board can reaffirm the 160-meter band plan that was adopted at the July 2001 Board Meeting. That band plan was recommended by an ad hoc committee chaired by then-Director Roderick and was based on input from hundreds of amateurs. The committee report that was presented at that meeting discusses in some detail the reasons why the band plan calls for AM operations to continue to share the same band segment as SSB, with no specific calling frequencies for AM operation identified.
Second, the Board can reaffirm its longstanding position that amateurs in the US should retain the privilege of using AM. This probably should be done in the form of a resolution because there is an opposite side to the coin: As a responsible organization representing spectrum users, the ARRL must advocate spectrum efficiency. Every radio service is expected to use its allocated spectrum ever more efficiently, particularly if the service wants to expand its allocations. Spectrum conservation is also very important for internal reasons during periods of peak band occupancy; when space is scarce we owe it one another not to take up more space than each of us needs. On the other hand, there are also periods of time when the bands are not overcrowded. There is nothing antisocial about using AM at such times as long as the needs of others are taken into account (the Region 1 band plan addresses this by noting that AM may be used providing consideration is given to adjacent channel users).
Other steps to address the overall issue of HF band planning already have been taken. Vice President Roderick is now chairing another ad hoc band planning committee, and as Rick notes in his committee report it is appropriate for that committee to accept input on proposals for changes to the Region 2 band plan. Your officers also believe that Region 2s band planning process should be more open and have developed a proposal in that regard for Vice President Stafford, in his capacity as Area B Director of Region 2, to take to the Region 2 Executive Committee.
Elections
The Ethics and Elections Committee had an unusually demanding task in 2007. Even before the new committee was appointed at the January Board Meeting there were complaints from both of the candidates in the North Texas Section Manager election. This matter was not completely resolved until the July Board Meeting (Minute 15) and resulted in Board-adopted clarifications of the rules concerning elections (Minute 35).
Complaints about the 2007 Director and Vice Director elections were received even before the start of the campaign period. On the positive side, there was a high level of interest in the elections this year with just one of the ten positions being uncontested. On the negative side, one of the two Southwestern Division Director candidates was disqualified by the Ethics and Elections Committee after he failed to follow through on corrections that he had agreed to make to material that had been circulated on his behalf. Dealing with this matter and with other complaints and inquiries was a major preoccupation for myself and the members of the committee from August right up to the ballot counting on November 16.
Even that was not the end of it. In December a complaint arose when nominees of a candidate for Section Manager failed to ensure that the petition would be delivered by the deadline and then tried to shift the responsibility for their failure to us.
These controversies impacted the time of every Board member and created member relations problems, the latter resulting mainly from the circulation of inaccurate information by various parties.
It is important that our elections are perceived favorably by members and prospective members alike. The authority of Directors, Vice Directors and Section Managers is derived from the election process; anything that detracts from a favorable perception of the process undermines this authority. The ARRL takes great pains to conduct its elections as fairly as possible. In the case of Director and Vice Director elections the ballots are returned to the independent auditor, not to the ARRL, and are counted under the personal supervision of a representative of the accounting firm in order to avoid any possible suspicion about the validity of the results.
The Board recently has made two significant improvements related to elections: The new conflict of interest policy that was adopted in July 2006, and the July 2007 clarifications mentioned earlier. While some of what might lead to negative perceptions is beyond our control, I believe we can make some further improvements. Specifically,
The procedures for filing an election-related complaint are not spelled out.
Bylaw 42 provides for review of Ethics and Elections Committee decisions by the full Board of Directors. It is difficult for the Board to do so except at an in-person meeting, but it is not desirable for an appeal to remain unresolved for as much as six months and it is impractical for the Board to hold a Special meeting to consider an appeal. The Board may wish to delegate this responsibility to the Executive Committee by amending Bylaw 42.
Bylaw 18 explicitly prohibits the Secretary from accepting facsimiles of nominating petitions and statements of eligibility. A somewhat parallel provision in the announcement soliciting Section Manager nominations provides that photocopied signatures are not acceptable. Permitting the electronic submission of nominating petitions and statements of eligibility would be more consistent with members expectations.
Even with the improvements adopted by the Board last July, the rules concerning campaign statements and mass communications at League expense are subject to differing interpretations and do not provide adequate guidance as to which campaign practices are appropriate and which are not. This is especially true in the case of incumbents and other individuals already holding an elective office in the ARRL.
As long as were opening the Bylaws for revision it may be time to consider optional electronic voting. There are significant issues related to electronic voting, and just because a majority of ARRL members now receive membership services and information via the Internet does not necessarily mean that electronic voting is either workable or a good idea.
If there is general agreement that a review of election policies and procedures is desirable at this time, I would propose that the review be assigned to the Executive Committee with initial recommendations to be submitted for Board consideration in July.
The Year Ahead
While much of the year ahead will be devoted to keeping doing what were doing to maintain the momentum developed during 2007, as a Board we should also look farther ahead. The Leagues centennial year is 2014. In July 2006 the Board revised the ARRL Strategic Plan and set five goals to be achieved by our centennial year. For 2007 we selected a few strategies to be implemented in pursuit of those goals. For 2008 we selected just one strategy that was not specifically called for in the Strategic Plan, with the target of 30,000 new licensees. President Harrison wants to get our strategic planning process back on track this year. We will talk more about that in Houston.
In closing, I must say that it has been a particular pleasure to work with the team of officers, both volunteer and staff, for the past two years. We complement one another (thats complement with an e and not with an i although we sometimes do that, too) pretty well. I look forward to a productive meeting, and to a productive year.
Sincere 73,
David Sumner, K1ZZ, Chief Executive Officer
Newington, Connecticut January 14, 2008
Attachment: Report of the Media and Public Relations Manager
Report of the Chief Executive Officer Page PAGE 2 2008 Annual Meeting
9_
dkäççê ¬Z [ Ò&Ó&i=j=p=q=r=s===ú÷úóïïóïêóóãàãØãà0JmHnHu0J
j0JUnHtH6]5\CJ
5CJ \
%9^_
cdkl Â
Ç
/ o
ª«ýøóóñïíóïïïïïïïïèèèèèïïïïïï
& F$a$$a$>==þþ6«¬Ö×#<=Z [ § š $$Ç&È&Ò&Ó&t(u(C+D+>,?,ýýýýýýýýûýýýýýõõõõõýûýýýýýýý
ÆàÀ! ?,--//è051ó24(6778888D;E;<<§<š<©<ª<Ö<==>=ýýýýýøøóøøýýýñýýýýýýýýýýýýý
& F
& F>=====ýûûû#
01h °Ð/ °à=!°"°# $ %°
i8@ñÿ8 NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH 8@8 Heading 1$$@&a$5\8@8 Heading 2$$@&a$5\<@< Heading 3$$@&a$
5CJ \2@2 Heading 4$@&5\<A@òÿ¡< Default Paragraph FontDC@òD Body Text IndentÐþ^Ð`þ, @, Header
ÆàÀ!, @, Footer
ÆàÀ!&)@¢!& Page Number9Nÿÿÿÿ
%9^_
cdkl Ç/o ª «
6«¬Ö×#<=Z[§ š Ç"È"Ò"Ó"t$u$C'D'>(?())++è,5-ó.0(2334444D7E788§8š8©8ª8Ö899>9990000009(090_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_ 0_ 0_ 0_ 0_ 0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_80_0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#80_0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È"0È" 0È" 0È" 0È" 0È" 0È"000800000000000000@0
0KKKKKN=!?,>=="$%&=#+24N!Žÿð8ð@ ñÿÿÿ÷ððð0ð( ð
ððB
ðS ð ¿Ëÿ ?ðù¯³ej©±óø
W]$8%8>999 jo
3d?!C!%ÿ%)_)33>99933333333300'23D4L44444~8~888§8©8Œ8Ÿ8Ö8Ö899=99ÿÿ Dave Sumner;N:\f drive from old\APPS\WORD\BOARD\08Jan\08 CEO Report.doc Dave Sumner;N:\f drive from old\APPS\WORD\BOARD\08Jan\08 CEO Report.doc Dave SumneroC:\Documents and Settings\dsumner.ARRLHQ\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of 08 CEO Report.asd Dave SumneroC:\Documents and Settings\dsumner.ARRLHQ\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of 08 CEO Report.asd Dave Sumner;N:\f drive from old\APPS\WORD\BOARD\08Jan\08 CEO Report.doc Dave SumneroC:\Documents and Settings\dsumner.ARRLHQ\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of 08 CEO Report.asd Dave SumneroC:\Documents and Settings\dsumner.ARRLHQ\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of 08 CEO Report.asd Dave SumneroC:\Documents and Settings\dsumner.ARRLHQ\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of 08 CEO Report.asd Dave Sumner;N:\f drive from old\APPS\WORD\BOARD\08Jan\08 CEO Report.doc Dave Sumner;N:\f drive from old\APPS\WORD\BOARD\08Jan\08 CEO Report.doc Jþ ZÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿkAJX2öÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÐþÆÐ^Ð`þo(. þÆ ^ `þ.pLÿÆp^p`Lÿ.@ þÆ@ ^@ `þ.þÆ^`þ.àLÿÆà^à`Lÿ.°þÆ°^°`þ.þÆ^`þ.PLÿÆP^P`Lÿ.h ÐþÆÐ^Ð`þOJQJo(·ðh þÆ ^ `þOJQJo(oh pþÆp^p`þOJQJo(§ðh @ þÆ@ ^@ `þOJQJo(·ðh þÆ^`þOJQJo(oh àþÆà^à`þOJQJo(§ðh °þÆ°^°`þOJQJo(·ðh þÆ^`þOJQJo(oh PþÆP^P`þOJQJo(§ð JkAJÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿR׬ ÿ@=r90@ÿÿUnknownÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿG: ÿTimes New Roman5Symbol3& : ÿArial?5 z ÿCourier New;Wingdings"qðÐh¥rÁ&ÑtÁ&µtÁ&G3/dOÝ ( $ð ŽŽ20dö9,3 3QðÜHXÿÿ Document #8 Dave Sumner Dave Sumnerþÿà
òùOh«+'³Ù0 ŽÀÔàì
< H T
`lt|ä Document #8 ocu Dave Sumner ave ave Normal.dot Dave Sumner 17e Microsoft Word 9.0@±·8@VèWÈ@¶MÃVÈ@æ6ò WÈG3/þÿÕÍÕ.+,ù®0ø hp š°ž
À Øä ARRLtdö9í Document #8 Title
!"#$%&'þÿÿÿ)*+,-./0123456þÿÿÿ89:;<=>þÿÿÿ@ABCDEFþÿÿÿýÿÿÿIþÿÿÿþÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿRoot Entryÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÀF¥L
WÈK1Tableÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ(ð WordDocumentÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ%NSummaryInformation(ÿÿÿÿ7DocumentSummaryInformation8ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ?CompObjÿÿÿÿjObjectPoolÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ¥L
WÈ¥L
WÈÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿþÿ
ÿÿÿÿ ÀFMicrosoft Word Document
MSWordDocWord.Document.8ô9²q
