Ladies & Gentlemen:

As you are aware, we’ve made some changes in pricing and procedures at the outgoing QSL bureau. However, there are also a dozen incoming bureaus operating today. One of these is the W1-QSL bureau managed by Eric Williams, KV1J. I have attached his annual report to HQ on the operation of W-1. This report sets the standard for being comprehensive and informative. There are a couple of features I would highlight to you:

The report is timely: delivered within 30 days of closing the year.
Adequate assets are maintained in order to meet all identified current and future obligations to clients. (Eric has identified a shortfall between assets and liabilities pre-dating his arrival and which he is attempting to reduce over time.)
The report provides a six-year historical graph of card volumes (for trend analysis) plus clarifying comments about extraordinary (one-time-only) items like Centennial. Notice that after subtracting the Centennial cards from the totals, the net number of cards processed is declining significantly, from approximately 166,000 in 2014 to 120,000 in 2016.
His list of W-1 bureau accomplishments demonstrates what is possible to achieve through a process of continuous improvement—nobody’s resting on laurels.
His discussion of organizational changes indicates succession planning underway—a critical requirement for a volunteer group.
His plans for next year show specific action steps to achieve break-even status. If he achieves that goal, he will no longer require ARRL HQ subsidy. Also, providing “clients” web access to their accounts will relieve inquiry service burden.

The process and the software used by the W-1 bureau was developed by the W-1 team from readily available Microsoft applications. Eric has indicated his willingness to share this software with all incoming bureaus. Currently, HQ spends roughly $20,000 annually subsidizing these bureaus. Adoption of W-1’s approach would enable all bureaus to achieve sustainability over the next few years. Please call if you have questions.

Gallagher 1/31/17