May 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:16785] RE: [arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 23 May '08

23 May '08

Jim, To answer your question: We sent it to you folks on ODV, the SMs and SECs as well as the customer contact staff here at HQ. This week's letter has the new statement. The original story is no longer locked on the top of the Web Site and it has sunken way down (second to the bottom) on the crawlie list. Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 4:03 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement Immediately after I sent my prior message, I received the statement written by Dennis and Allen. Wow! With this new statement being so different from those that were issued prior to it, are we withdrawing the post on the web and also sending the expanded explanation of our position to the SMs and our members? The impressions I receive from the prior statements and this most recent statement differ greatly. Thanks for the corrected statement of the situation to everyone involved in developing it. It says clearly what I believe Casey Stengel (I think it was Casey) would have said: It ain't over 'til it's over" or to translate to the present situation, "The RC and we ain't resolved our differences 'til they're resolved." Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org <mailto:k8je@arrl.org> ; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is! ________________________________ From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 3:07 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement Hi, FYI, here is the official approved statement about the status of the American Red Cross and the ARRL. We have sent this to our staff here at HQ and the SM list. A slight variation of this statement will appear in this week's ARRL Letter. We are using this as a consistent response to the emails and phone calls that we are receiving. Thank you for your email (or telephone call) concerning the American Red Cross' background check policy. While we believe that the Red Cross is implementing some changes that will address some of the concerns expressed to them by ARRL, at this point, it is work in process. There are many questions yet to be answered, but we believe that the Red Cross is progressing in good faith to complete the changes to their policy and their background check consent form, which was the primary concern expressed to the Red Cross by ARRL. There will be more clarifications and information in the near future. Please keep an eye on the ARRL web site for updates as we know them. We are very much aware of your concerns and have conveyed them to the Red Cross. We expect the Red Cross to address these and other concerns on subject of their background check policy in the near future. (Dennis Dura and Allen Pitts originally drafted this statement. It was edited by Chris Imlay and approved by Joel Harrison, Chris Imlay and myself) 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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RE: [arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement
by K8JE 23 May '08

23 May '08

Immediately after I sent my prior message, I received the statement written by Dennis and Allen. Wow! With this new statement being so different from those that were issued prior to it, are we withdrawing the post on the web and also sending the expanded explanation of our position to the SMs and our members? The impressions I receive from the prior statements and this most recent statement differ greatly. Thanks for the corrected statement of the situation to everyone involved in developing it. It says clearly what I believe Casey Stengel (I think it was Casey) would have said: It ain't over 'til it's over" or to translate to the present situation, "The RC and we ain't resolved our differences 'til they're resolved." Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: <mailto:k8je@arrl.org> k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is! _____ From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 3:07 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement Hi, FYI, here is the official approved statement about the status of the American Red Cross and the ARRL. We have sent this to our staff here at HQ and the SM list. A slight variation of this statement will appear in this week's ARRL Letter. We are using this as a consistent response to the emails and phone calls that we are receiving. Thank you for your email (or telephone call) concerning the American Red Cross' background check policy. While we believe that the Red Cross is implementing some changes that will address some of the concerns expressed to them by ARRL, at this point, it is work in process. There are many questions yet to be answered, but we believe that the Red Cross is progressing in good faith to complete the changes to their policy and their background check consent form, which was the primary concern expressed to the Red Cross by ARRL. There will be more clarifications and information in the near future. Please keep an eye on the ARRL web site for updates as we know them. We are very much aware of your concerns and have conveyed them to the Red Cross. We expect the Red Cross to address these and other concerns on subject of their background check policy in the near future. (Dennis Dura and Allen Pitts originally drafted this statement. It was edited by Chris Imlay and approved by Joel Harrison, Chris Imlay and myself) 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org web: <http://www.arrl.org/> www.arrl.org/

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[arrl-odv:16783] Red Cross
by K8JE 23 May '08

23 May '08

Ladies & Gentlemen, After considering the information available to me, I feel I must express a level of dissatisfaction over the handling of news about the now-famed Red Cross letter to Joel. My dissatisfaction also impacts my feelings about when we should legitimately enter into negotiations toward a new RC:ARRL SOU. I was not present at the ARES Forum at the HamventionR; therefore, I base any judgment on information released from HQ (web site and ARRL Letter) and discussions on ODV as well as word-of-mouth statements by people who attended the Forum. My perception of word-of-mouth statements and the post on our web site is that it essentially proclaimed the background check issue with RC is resolved. My perception of the statement about this in the most recent ARRL Letter has only very slightly varied from the initial position - i.e., everything is resolved once a t is crossed and an i dotted. Not being an attorney, I do not know just how much additional effort will be needed to be certain the issue is resolved. It seems obvious that further effort toward resolution is needed, otherwise Chris and others would not have expressed concern over the meaning and interpretation of RC's statements. Because of this, I believe we are in the unusual position of having moved from a typical stance of overly conservative in releasing information to our members to one of releasing only the favorable aspects of a complex letter. Concerns appear to remain to be addressed before RC and ARRL are truly aligned. Based upon statements made on ODV, I don't understand why we sent a message of success to our SMs as well as our members without including relevant cautions. I have sufficient faith in the members that they can understand messages that contain both good and un-good (not necessarily bad) information. My expectation as just one Board member is that the background check issue will be fully resolved and agreed before a new SOU is negotiated and agreed. In the meantime, it is inappropriate to tell our members that they/we are an "ARC partner." We cannot be said to be such a partner until there is an agreement of partnership (SOU) between the two organizations. If asked by GLD members about the status of the background check "agreement," I will reply that the situation is promising, but that there is still no such agreement. I will not mislead them. For what it is worth. Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is!

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[arrl-odv:16782] Red Cross Statement
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 23 May '08

23 May '08

Hi, FYI, here is the official approved statement about the status of the American Red Cross and the ARRL. We have sent this to our staff here at HQ and the SM list. A slight variation of this statement will appear in this week's ARRL Letter. We are using this as a consistent response to the emails and phone calls that we are receiving. Thank you for your email (or telephone call) concerning the American Red Cross' background check policy. While we believe that the Red Cross is implementing some changes that will address some of the concerns expressed to them by ARRL, at this point, it is work in process. There are many questions yet to be answered, but we believe that the Red Cross is progressing in good faith to complete the changes to their policy and their background check consent form, which was the primary concern expressed to the Red Cross by ARRL. There will be more clarifications and information in the near future. Please keep an eye on the ARRL web site for updates as we know them. We are very much aware of your concerns and have conveyed them to the Red Cross. We expect the Red Cross to address these and other concerns on subject of their background check policy in the near future. (Dennis Dura and Allen Pitts originally drafted this statement. It was edited by Chris Imlay and approved by Joel Harrison, Chris Imlay and myself) 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:16781] IN-News correction
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 22 May '08

22 May '08

I reported to have a safe Memorial Day on the 29th. Well, it's this Monday the 26th. Have a good weekend! Lisa

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[arrl-odv:16780] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 22 May '08

22 May '08

<<052108.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 21 May 21, 2008 -- Covers the period May 11-17. Upcoming Meetings and Events Programs & Services Committee May 31 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT CEO Office The office will be closed Monday, May 29th in observance of Memorial Day. Have a safe Holiday weekend! Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND Edits for the July QST article on the Legislative Action Program were received, corrections made and the final version sent to production. It's May and Field Day queries are picking up steam. Most of the questions are focused around general questions which are covered in the Field Day packet. The Field Day Site Locator is a great addition to the event with over 750 sites listed - about 1/3 of what annual report each year. This is with the tool not being available until after the 2008 FD Packet was made available. It will be highlighted in next year's information packet. We received an email concerning a new hands-free cellphone law in NC - which was odd, because the state of NC has not passed a law. Apparently someone has taken the FAQ from the new California law (which is valid) and has started changing the state name and circulating it via emails. People need to be cautious before providing information like this, Several requests were answered for information about reciprocal operating in the US. Often these type requests are getting "shotgunned" to numerous people in the ARRL. So remember you can forward these to me. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Obviously, the news is Dayton. The new campaign based on the technical aspects of Amateur Radio is out. Announcements went into the ARRL letter, PR reflector and other venues. The materials were well received at Dayton. It was the main topic of the PR Forum as well as a talk with assembled SMs in their own forum. Over ½ of the 1000 copies of the Swiss Army Knife have been requested along with a large quantity of the new brochure and "Talk on a Disk." Upon return to HQ, there was a swarm of emails requesting the brochure waiting. It should also be pictured and listed on the www.arrl.org/brochures page. The stickers were a hit with kids and also requested for Field Day presents to visitors. Special thanks to volunteers Myra Kitchen, Hope Smith, Cheryl Muhr and Jack Slovik for volunteering to aid at the PR Booth. In addition help came from Kevin Odell, Jim McDonald and Vice Dir. Patricia Hensley. By using the deteriorated ARRL copy plus one he found in California, Bill Pasternak has salvaged the best from degrading 16mm film of Dave Bell's "The Hams' Wide World" and made it into a DVD for us. Upon return to HQ, more DVD copies have been made and placed in the library and archives. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH CDO Hobart and Development Associate Maryann Macdonald represented Development at last week's Dayton Hamvention. The weekend began with the annual Donor Reception for donors who contribution $1000 or more. Arranged by Maryann Macdonald, the event was attended by more than 120 donors and went off without a hitch. ARRL Welcomed five new members of the ARRL Maxim Society which recognizes donors whose cumulative lifetime giving totals $10,000 or more. One existing Maxim Society donor, Mike Valentine, W8MM, was recognized as the first Maxim Society donor to reach the Fellow level, based on his cumulative contributions in excess of $250,000. During Hamvention itself donors and friends of ARRL stopped by the Development "office". 14 diamond Club memberships were processed, with at least 12 of those transactions for bricks to be laid in the diamond Terrace. Highlights of the convention include contributions totaling $50,000 in support of the Education & Technology Program's Teachers Institute and Spectrum Defense Funds, and an estate commitment of $1,000,000. Upon return to Newington, Development put the finishing touches on a campaign to thank the 17,878 donors who contributed over the past five years in support of the ARRL efforts against interference from BPL technology. The thank you letter is scheduled to mail June 1, before the June QST is on the street. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The July 2008 issue of QST was released to the printer May 20. Khrystyne Keane and Joel Kleinman wrote and Joel distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 19, for May 16, 2008. It went out to 69,394 subscribers. ARRL Audio News will resume May 23. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch Freshly back from Dayton, it was a real pleasure to shake hands and talk contesting with many different people. This was my first Dayton ever, and it was absolutely incredible. I had lots of people come up to ask rules questions and get more info on getting started in contesting. There was decent attendance at our Radiosport forum with myself, NN1N, NØAX and KE3Z all representing ARRL. I received many positive comments on the new look of the Radiosport area of QST. Our efforts are being noticed and well-received. Part of the Dayton experience for Radiosport was the Contest Conclave, a day-long "meeting of the minds" of several volunteers representing all aspects of the contest log-checking process. Ward Silver, NØAX, was the scribe and kept all of us on track during our meeting. Numerous processes were documented, and ideas for improving contest administrative tasks were discussed. It was a very productive session and should be repeated regularly, so all the contest volunteers are on the same page. The Contest Branch would be lost without these volunteers, so their input is extremely important. W1AW Thanks to Bill Moore, NC1L for handling the Wednesday through Friday morning code practices and W1AW visitors for Joe Carcia, who was working the late afternoon/night shifts those days. Joe worked the late afternoon/night shifts on Wednesday through Friday for the vacationing Scott Gee. He processed two Qualifying Run certificates and both regular and W1AW/4 QSL card requests. He and Greg continue with the interior painting of W1AW. To date, the foyer is complete and work has now moved into the main area. The ceiling in the main area as a fresh coat of paint as does the ceiling trim. W1AW is now home to a roll top desk that is purported to be one that was actually owned by Hiram Percy Maxim. (The desk was received as a donation to the ARRL.) This desk resides in the foyer and has the AM visitor operating station atop it. Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona Adams received a Section Manager Nomination petition from Kevin Romer, KC2MLC, of Western New York. With incumbent SM Scott Bauer's petition on hand that means an election this summer will be held. The Northern Florida SM election ballots are scheduled to be counted on Tuesday, May 20. Leona has also been assisting the QSL bureau in slotting cards and opening mail while Rose-Anne is on vacation. Forty five new Field Appointments were entered into the data base this past week. J Mangas, WC8R, has been appointed the new Official Observer Coordinator for Eastern Pennsylvania, and one radio amateur from New Mexico became certified as an Official Observer. Chuck Skolaut received and forwarded documentation to the FCC regarding certain usage of repeaters in Oregon. Official Observers in Florida are following up a report that several Citizen Band operators are bootlegging Amateur Radio calls signs on 10 meters. The Intruder Watch monitors are investigating reports of unidentified signals near 3850 kHz. One is a pulse type signal and another digital signal. Thanks have been extended to the FCC and our Official Observers regarding a resolution of interference to a simplex frequency in California. After the strong earthquake in China, all radio amateurs were asked to keep 7050, 7060, and 14270 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic. Editorial and production work on the July QST Public Service column that features the 2007 Simulated Emergency Test results has been completed. ARRL Montana Section Manager Doug Dunn, K7YD, shared the following message with Steve Ewald at HQ. Doug received this note via Bill Tarrant, W7ROE, EC of Silver Bow County. Radio amateurs in Butte, Lincoln and Dillon had recently activated to handle a communications emergency in Dillon, Montana, when their 9-1-1 system was out of service. In praise of this emergency service, Roger Ebner, of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management office in Butte, wrote to Bill: "Please accept my congratulations on behalf of everyone involved in the rapid response to the 9-1-1 outage. This is precisely the active involvement and quick command and communication establishment we anticipate from the entire response community. You have demonstrated an exceptional ability during emergencies to be ready to provide the essential communication capability we may need. Could I expect any less from such a dedicated group of people? Thanks again for your assistance. -- Roger" Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 5/26 Holiday Leona Adams 6/6 Vacation Kathy Allison 6/30-7/7 Vacation Katie Breen 5/30-5/31 Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, NY `` 7/10-7/14 Rocky Mt. Division Convention, Bryce Canyon, UT Joe Carcia 5/23 Vacation `` 6/20 Vacation `` 7/7-7/11 Vacation `` 7/18 Vacation `` 7/21 Vacation Steve Coffey 5/19-5/23 Vacation Ann Figat 5/28 Jury Duty Scott Gee 6/30 Vacation `` 7/1-7/3 Vacation Ed Hare 5/29-5/30 IEEE SDCom meeting, Salt Lake City, UT `` 6/2-6/9 Vacation Dan Henderson 6/21-7/7 Friedrichshafen, Germany/Vacation Gail Iannone 5/27-29am Vacation Deb Jahnke 6/27-7/6 Vacation Debra Johnson 6/27-7/6 Vacation Joel Kleinman 5/27 Vacation `` 6/5-6/6 Vacation `` 6/9-6/10 Society of Nat'l Assoc. Publications, Washington, DC Lisa Kustosik 6/20-6/30 Vacation Zack Lau 6/19-6/20 Vacation Kim Mancuso 6/23-6/30 Vacation Carol Michaud 5/30 Vacation Micah Murray 5/27 Vacation Dave Patton 5/19-5/23 Vacation Dave Sumner 5/21-5/23 Vacation `` 6/2-6/3 Washington, DC `` 6/23-7/1 IARU AC Meeting/Friedrichshafen, Germany

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[arrl-odv:16779] FW: Brochures available on the web
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 21 May '08

21 May '08

FYI from Allen Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: Pitts, Allen W1AGP Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 3:11 PM To: pr Subject: Brochures available on the web The brand new Technology campaign brochures are now available on the web at www.arrl.org/brochures You can see it at http://www.arrl.org/pio/wedothatbrochure.pdf as a web optimized version Because of the expected Field Day demands, if you want them for FD, I encourage you to order yours soon. The accompanying "Talk on a Disk" for use if you are making formal presentations speaking to groups and clubs is also available. Email me if you need one. Allen G Pitts, W1AGP Media & PR Manager ARRL - the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main St. Newington CT 06111 (860) 594-0328 apitts(a)arrl.org <mailto:apitts@arrl.org>

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[arrl-odv:16778] ARRL Contest Newsletter Upgrade
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 21 May '08

21 May '08

To: ARRL ODV Operations Management Staff Newsletter Editors and Publications Staff Web Staff Business Services Staff Designers Other Involved Parties Beginning on approximately May 28, we will be upgrading and improving the current "Contest Rate Sheet" newsletter that is written by Ward Silver, N0AX. The newsletter currently has a circulation of just over 17,000 readers. Here are the upcoming changes: 1. We will be changing the name of the newsletter to: ARRL Contest Update News and techniques for the active operator All of us, including Ward, believe that this is a more accurate and more descriptive name for the publication. 2. We will be converting the letter to HTML format. Although the majority of email is now read in HTML format in software such as Microsoft Explorer, Yahoo, GMail or MS Outlook, there will also be a text only version included within the HTML edition. By converting to HTML, we will be able to add pictures, graphics and other design elements that make the publication easier to read and easier to use. The newsletter will now also include a hyperlinked table of contents that will facilitate easy navigation throughout the newsletter. Members have been requesting this feature for a long time. Currently, Bob Inderbitzen's ARRL Product Announcements and Special Offers newsletter is sent in HTML format and it has been well received by its readers. Its circulation is over 50,000 and it has been in HTML format for over 5 years. We will be converting our other text only newsletters to HTML in the future. Jon Bloom and his staff have developed a new system for newsletter creation that allows the authors to create the newsletters themselves without requiring the services of a Web producer. We want to make sure that we have taken all the bugs out before we progress to the others. 3. There will be ads and promotional material in the newsletter. At first, there will only be ARRL promotional material such as contest announcements, new books, award programs, etc. However, we will be working on rates and methods for accepting paid advertising sometime in the future. Strategically, we need to offer more electronic advertising space since the advertising and publication industries are quickly moving in that direction. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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RE: [arrl-odv:16776] RE: [arrl-odv:16775] Red Cross and SOU
by K8JE 20 May '08

20 May '08

Tnx, Dave. The Cincinnati RC Chapter does a reasonably good job of crediting, but it could be better. I suspect most Chapters don't even have fleeting thoughts about doing this or decide against it for fear of having someone take a dollar of their RC donation and give it to the hams. I hope you don't get the mistaken idea that I distrust most RC managers. Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is! _____ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:50 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16776] RE: [arrl-odv:16775] Red Cross and SOU Tnx Jim. I made precisely the same point to Harold earlier today. We can't expect the SOU to get into specifics but I believe the principle should be included. Dave K1ZZ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:48 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16775] Red Cross and SOU All, I would like to re-insert one suggestion to the discussion over the degree of purity of heart RC is demonstrating in honoring (?) requests to modify its demand for background checks. I certainly believe it is appropriate and necessary for Chris to determine precisely what RC will continue to require in authorizations for these checks before we enter into another SOU with them. There is one additional change that I have previously suggested we should seek as well. I suggest that when discussions to develop a new SOU actually begin that we seriously attempt to have a clause related to RC crediting inserted in it. By this I mean that we should attempt to have RC agree to involve its public relations people at the national and local levels to give Amateur Radio credit for the help it provides during RC operations just as EMA, etc. did during the West Coast flood disasters. This request is far from being solely self-serving. By adopting this proposal, RC would enter more deeply into a win:win partnership with Amateur Radio. The weight of the RC name would bring improved PR for AR -- PR that we could not obtain by ourselves. Enhanced PR would result in increased interest for AR which would bring more new licensees into our service. More new licensees would equate to more volunteers to support RC. So far, RC has done nothing but draw from the well of Amateur Radio and take all the credit for work we've done. I believe it is time they began to help fill the well. Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is!

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[arrl-odv:16776] RE: [arrl-odv:16775] Red Cross and SOU
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 20 May '08

20 May '08

Tnx Jim. I made precisely the same point to Harold earlier today. We can't expect the SOU to get into specifics but I believe the principle should be included. Dave K1ZZ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 1:48 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16775] Red Cross and SOU All, I would like to re-insert one suggestion to the discussion over the degree of purity of heart RC is demonstrating in honoring (?) requests to modify its demand for background checks. I certainly believe it is appropriate and necessary for Chris to determine precisely what RC will continue to require in authorizations for these checks before we enter into another SOU with them. There is one additional change that I have previously suggested we should seek as well. I suggest that when discussions to develop a new SOU actually begin that we seriously attempt to have a clause related to RC crediting inserted in it. By this I mean that we should attempt to have RC agree to involve its public relations people at the national and local levels to give Amateur Radio credit for the help it provides during RC operations just as EMA, etc. did during the West Coast flood disasters. This request is far from being solely self-serving. By adopting this proposal, RC would enter more deeply into a win:win partnership with Amateur Radio. The weight of the RC name would bring improved PR for AR -- PR that we could not obtain by ourselves. Enhanced PR would result in increased interest for AR which would bring more new licensees into our service. More new licensees would equate to more volunteers to support RC. So far, RC has done nothing but draw from the well of Amateur Radio and take all the credit for work we've done. I believe it is time they began to help fill the well. Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is!

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