I know that I don't want to spend another snowed-in weekend at Hartford. However, Jay has pointed out the even greater impact that bad weather in the Hartford area can have upon those who will be attending from there. Additionally, his other concerns are germane and central to the issue. I appreciate his concern for those of us living west of the "Big Muddy;" but, perhaps we are saddling ourselves with the potential for an even worse outcome. I understand the need for haste to retain our seats at Houston, and I know that Dave wants to take action very soon, but can we take one more day to consider Jay's concerns? I'll take my chances with Hartford, if that's what it comes to, or hope for the best if we opt for Houston. Bob, W6RGG On 9/12/07, John Bellows <jbellows@skypoint.com> wrote:
Actually the motion was:
"Moved, that staff is instructed to investigate an alternate location for the 2008 Annual Meeting."
While this may be a done deal, Bill's question as to cost seems a fair one. If we are going to be "snipping and trimming" as part of the Budget/Plan come January I respectfully suggest that asking what the relative costs of meeting in the vicinity of HQ and Houston.
Dave Sumner suggested that Committee chairmen may have some comment about the impact on their committees. From my perspective as PSC chairman the ability to meet the new Contest Manager, plus hear from Deb Johnson, Maria Somma, for example is most helpful. I didn't mention Dennis Durda because I assumed he would be at the January meeting. Though Dave Patton will be at the meeting it is unreasonable to expect him to be familiar with every aspect of the PSC areas. For that matter neither Education nor VEC are part of his portfolio. A move offsite may have less impact on A&F since Dave Sumner, Barry, Harold, Mary and most of the elected officers will be at that meeting to cover the agenda items. Written reports from staff are helpful but don't come close to the opportunity to discuss matters face to face or at least follow-up with questions,.
K1ZZ went on to "observe that ……it is a mistake for a committee to wait until the day before a Board meeting to take up substantive decisions. The scramble to turn a committee action into a motion that is ready for Board consideration, literally overnight with everything else that is going on, sometimes does not result in the best work product." Assuming that were the case I would agree. The practice in PSC has been to prepare draft motions (sometimes in the alternative) prior to the pre-Board meeting.
From time to time other matters arise that may require some last minute "scramble." That is unfortunate, but it part of any meaningful meeting process. If we didn't need to address "substantive decisions" at a Board meeting there really wouldn't be a reason to meet in Hartford, Houston or Heavens-knows-where, we could just mail our votes in.
Finally this whole warm weather meeting location baffles me. If the weather is bad in CT there is as great a risk that HQ personnel can't fly out or will get delayed or hung up in some distant airport as that we may have travel problems. With a hub and spoke airline system bad weather in Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit or any other hub, can have ripple effects for flights throughout the country. We are all at the mercy of the weather. We're there to attend a committee and Board meeting and will likely be in the hotel from Wednesday until the meeting ends. Most of us are on plane back home on Sunday. What difference does it make if the sun is shining outside?
I appreciate the fact that while staff and most of the Board live east of the Mississippi, several West Coast Board members routinely have to travel coast to coast to attend Board meetings. In spite of my reason for preferring meeting in the vicinity of Hartford from time to time they deserve a break.
If we can get some more specific information on the cost of meeting in Houston vs. CT and some assurance the staff reports will be out in time so that the committees can forward written questions to those staffers not attending I could be persuaded to vote in favor out of deference to the Board members living west of the "Big Muddy."
Jay, KØQB
-----Original Message----- *From:* Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] *Sent**:* Wednesday, September 12, 2007 6:01 AM
*To:* arrl-od *Subject:* [arrl-od:2377] RE: [arrl-od:2374] RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Bill, what staff has done is to obtain a proposal at another venue that replicates as nearly as possible the facilities that are available at the Windsor Airport Marriott, at a similar overall cost.
The hotel is holding the space for us and is awaiting a response. It really can't wait until next week.
When Joel posed the original question it was to answer this question: "[W]e need to know if the board desires to select a location other than the Hartford area for the January meeting." I believe the Directors understood that it would cost a bit more to meet elsewhere in January when they voted. Cost-wise, Houston is the best option we could find.
73,
Dave K1ZZ
------------------------------
*From:* Bill Edgar [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net] *Sent:* Wed 9/12/2007 2:40 AM *To:* Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ; arrl-od *Subject:* RE: [arrl-od:2374] RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Dave,
Would you be able to provide better cost comparisons once you are back in Newington?
Thanks.
- Bill N3LLR
*From:* Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] *Sent:* Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:52 PM *To:* arrl-od *Subject:* [arrl-od:2374] RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Bill, I am replying to OD instead of ODV because that is where the proposal was posted.
The combined sleeping room/meeting room charges are about the same for Houston as for Windsor (higher sleeping room rate offset by free meeting room). I have not compared the banquet charges but I have no reason to believe they would be significantly different.
As for travel expenses, Houston is a competitive airfare market. There will be a few more plane tickets to purchase than there would be to Hartford, but I believe the Board took that into account in its original decision to authorize the search for an alternate site since the same would be true of any alternate site.
There is significantly less disruption of normal HQ functions when the Board meets elsewhere, although I do not equate interaction between staff and Board members with "lost productivity" since it generally serves a useful purpose.
Committee chairmen are in a better position to comment with respect to the impact on their committees. I would observe that from my own perspective I believe it is a mistake for a committee to wait until the day before a Board meeting to take up substantive decisions. The scramble to turn a committee action into a motion that is ready for Board consideration, literally overnight with everything else that is going on, sometimes does not result in the best work product.
I hope this is responsive to your questions. It's about the best I can do from here at the Region 2 Conference in Brasilia.
73,
Dave Sumner, K1ZZ
------------------------------
*From:* Bill Edgar [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net] *Sent:* Tue 9/11/2007 6:08 PM *To:* arrl-odv *Subject:* RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Joel,
Much appreciated.
Some other factors that might affect the cost outside of normal travel, hotel and meal expenses could be:
· Lost staff productivity in travel time for those staff attending the board meeting
· Potential loss of productivity in committee reports by not having information available from department managers/staff who normally provide presentations/answers to the committees
Wonder if we could include estimates for these as well?
Thanks!
- Bill N3LLR
-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 8:26 AM
To: arrl-odv
Subject: RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
QSL.
Dave is preparing a response to you other request regarding the cost
comparison.
73 Joel PY/W5ZN
-----Original Message-----
From: n3llr@earthlink.net [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 6:21 AM
To: w5zn@arrl.org; arrl-odv
Subject: RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Ok. Thanks.
-----Original Message-----
From: "Joel Harrison" <w5zn@arrl.org>
Subj: RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Date: Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:37 am
Size: 12K
To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org>
Bill,
As is the case with all of our "mail votes" via email, each
director's
vote will be recorded from their email response and the tally of who
voted
aye and who voted nay will recorded and made public at the conclusion
of the
vote.
73 Joel W5ZN
From: Bill Edgar [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net]
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 10:13 PM
To: arrl-odv
Subject: RE: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Dave,
What are the cost projections for board meetings at Hartford and for
board
meetings at Houston, TX.
Additionally, I'd like a roll -call vote for this vote to go on
record
publically.
- Bill N3LLR
From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org]
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 10:43 PM
To: arrl-od
Subject: [arrl-od:2373] January 2008 Board Meeting Location
Earlier the Board authorized staff to investigate an alternate
location to the Hartford area for the January 2008 Board Meeting.
Staff completed its investigation and has reported to the Executive
Committee that the best available site is Houston, Texas. Space is
being
held for us at the Marriott-Greenspoint North, about 15 minutes from
Houston's Intercontinental Airport.
As authorized by the Executive Committee,President Harrison has
instructed
me to offer the following resolution for consideration by the Board:
"Moved, that the 2008 Annual Meeting be held in the vicinity of
Houston,
Texas."
An "aye" vote is for the meeting to be held in the Houston area; a
"nay"
vote is for the meeting to be held in the Hartford area.
Please respond, either to me or to arrl-od @arrl.org, with your vote.
David Sumner, K1ZZ, Secretary