Jim, Dave is on vacation this week, so I will respond to your email in his absence. Maria was out of the office for a few days unexpectedly. I believe that her young daughter was ill. She also had some other medically related unexpected absences. Nonetheless, I believe that you have raised three issues here. First, with regard to VEC questions and inquiries, there are other VEC staffers who can answer VEC inquiries besides Maria. Perry Green is also very knowledgeable and so are the other staff members about VEC issues. If either you or a member needs to discuss a particular issue, I am confident that any of these other VEC staff members could assist. If you cannot connect with another VEC staffer or Maria, you can always contact me or Dave and we will follow up for you. I very rarely get any complaints about lack of response from that Department. Usually it is quite the opposite, most people I speak with believe that our VEC Department provides exemplary service. Second, , Maria's phone was set to roll over to the VEC staff after a certain number of rings if she does not answer the call to her direct line. For whatever reason, that system was not always working correctly. The problem has been corrected and her phone will be forwarded to the next available VEC staff member. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Third, I will remind the department heads who work for me to make sure that their voice mail is changed and/or provisions are made for someone to answer their phone when they are out of the office, whenever possible. I will also have them review the absentee telephone answering procedures for their respective departments. There is a policy that anticipated absences should be reported to the appropriate Manager and to Lisa for inclusion in In-News. However, as I am sure you realize, some absences cannot be anticipated but we'll check to make sure the proper processes are in place. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer 860 594 0220 From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Jim Weaver K8JE Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 9:46 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:19905] Contacting Staff Dave, Not long ago, there was a string of e-mail messages concerning how an SEC or other appropriate person can contact our EmComm Director in the event a major emergency arises about which he should advised. I can understand the somewhat sticky nature of developing a resolution to this situation; however, I have personally run into a somewhat similar situation that I feel should be addressed. This situation relates specifically to Maria Somma. Over this past weekend I talked to quite a number of members at two hamfests. One of the members is a VE from Ohio who is very tuned in to the need for VEs to demonstrate a high level of integrity in fulfilling their duties. As a result, he very vigorously reported what he considers to be apparent, continuing misconduct by a VE team leader (and, therefore, team) in West Virginia. Other than to say that I contacted Director Bodson to keep him aware of my follow-up with the Ohio member on his complaint, I will not address the specific problem reported to me. What I wish to address in this memo is my concern at being unable to reach Maria or at not being advised she was away from the office for an extended period. I telephoned HQ and after exchanging a few pleasantries with Penny, I asked to be put through to Maria's phone. I reached Maria's machine and left a message asking her to telephone me. I indicated I would like to get background on the situation with the VE team in the involved area. This was in early afternoon on Monday. Late Tuesday, I had received no return call from Maria so I put in another call to her. The results were the same. After receiving no reply to either of the two messages, I began to suspect she was on an extended absence. This assumption was confirmed when I received an automatic reply to an e-mail I had sent her. The reply indicated she would not return until next week. I received the e-mail after close of business on Tuesday. I am disappointed that as the head of our VEC, she failed to indicate in her outgoing message she will be out of the office for an extended period and similarly that she did not recommend someone to call for assistance. I can understand why someone in a lesser position than Maria would not think it appropriate to leave such a message, but as a member, I would expect someone at her level in the organization would have shown the courtesy as well as an obligation to the organization to provide this information. Is there a policy at HQ that governs notification of absences by key people? If not, should there be? Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040; Tel. 513-459-1661 ARRL, The national association for Amateur Radio