Hi Mike, I have to agree with you. AFAIK we only began having the EC review major news releases when we had a temporary CEO. At that point it served as a check and balance. Now we have a permanent CEO and that function has somewhat stabilized as he was re-elected for another term. So there is confidence from the Board that the CEO and HQ can do these functions without extremely close supervision. That said these small items are a no brainer really. All we are reporting are facts, not opinion. I was really surprised that the news section of ARRL.org had absolutely no mention of the Board meeting. Usually there is at least one article. Individually with my division’s members I make sure that they know what is going on. I have an upcoming division meeting to provide an update and seek input, in fact. So I have to agree with VP Raisbeck that we should have a simple synopsis of major items. And dare I say these are “safe” items. Let’s not encumber this with more layers. The members need to know. Ria N2RJ ________________________________ From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> on behalf of Mike Raisbeck via arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2022 6:14:17 PM To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Subject: [arrl-odv:33361] Re: Getting the word out ... Hi David, I would have to vigorously disagree. While there are certainly messages with enough nuance and sensitivity that extra review is reasonable, the three items I mentioned at the start of this email chain do not fall into that category. I see no reason why quick distribution of this information is not completely within the purview of HQ, and HQ alone, and I am adamant that delays in propagation of this sort of material make us look secretive and shady. Taking a broader view, we arrive at a discussion that we touched upon but largely avoided at the Board meeting - the role and function of the EC. Yes, we probably need an EC, but we need to be clear about just what its function is. The classic role of an EC is to handle matters that: 1 - require Board action 2 - are of an urgent nature and can't reasonably wait until a Board meeting The three items I mentioned - two election results and a brief announcement of a GREAT new program, (and indeed, most news bulletins from HQ) fall nowhere near either of these two requirements. Furthermore, it is an axiom of political control that s/he who controls the information controls the narrative. Have we created an EC that is grabbing control of the organization? I doubt that, at least, I doubt that it is being done in an intentional way, but nonetheless, that seems to be what is happening. We need to put a stop to this immediately. Mike K1TWF 1st VP -----Original Message----- From: Minster, David NA2AA (CEO) <dminster@arrl.org> To: Boehner, James, N2ZZ (Dir,RK) <jboehner01@yahoo.com>; 'Mike Raisbeck' <vze18vwgu@verizon.net>; arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Sent: Sat, Jan 29, 2022 5:40 pm Subject: [arrl-odv:33360] Re: Getting the word out ... I think that is a great role for EC. We’ve not sent out anything prior to minutes being approved. EC now reviews most major news items we send out. Perhaps EC can decide exactly what bullet points they’d like to see sent out to members after each board meeting and we’ll get it right out. David Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> ________________________________ From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> on behalf of James F. Boehner, MD via arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2022 5:32:01 PM To: 'Mike Raisbeck' <vze18vwgu@verizon.net>; arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Subject: [arrl-odv:33359] Re: Getting the word out ... Yes, excellent idea! I think many remember that one year when we asked Dave Sumner to immediately send out bullet points of all that was accomplished at the board meeting to ODV, so that we could immediately get the word out to SM’s, members and have appropriate, and timely discussion points for any speaking engagements immediately after the board meeting. I remember that document being 1-2 pages and was a great help. A brief story on the ARRL news crawl/ARRL letter ASAP would be welcome as well. If I remember correctly, the board minutes in July took about a month to reach the members. I wasn’t on the board then, so I do not know the particulars. ‘73 de Jim N2ZZ Director – Roanoke Division Representing ARRL members in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia ARRL – the national association for Amateur Radio Facebook Page: ARRL Roanoke Division Website: www.arrl-roanoke.org<http://www.arrl-roanoke.org/> [Text, logo Description automatically generated] . From: arrl-odv <arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org> On Behalf Of Mike Raisbeck via arrl-odv Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2022 4:59 PM To: arrl-odv@arrl.org Subject: [arrl-odv:33358] Getting the word out ... Hi All, I notice that basic information about the BoD meeting has not made to the website yet (or perhaps I'm just getting blind in my old age ...) In past years basic things have been made public rather earlier. There is no reason why we shouldn't have already published something basic about the Clean Signal Initiative, the Foundation election, and the Officer elections. No need to wait for approved minutes to get some of this out there. When people criticize us for being opaque, this sort of delay is what is setting them off. Mike K1TWF _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org<mailto:arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> https://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv
