Jay,
I fully endorse your suggestion.
Jim
Weaver, K8JE, Director
E-mail: k8je@arrl.org; Tel: 513-459-0142
ARRL
ARRL,
the Reason Amateur Radio is!
Members,
the Reason ARRL is!
-----Original Message-----
From: John Bellows [mailto:
Sent:
To: arrl-odv
Subject: [arrl-odv:13279] Tis Better to Give ---- Can We Still Afford It?
For as long as I can
remember ARRL has been the premier advocate, resource and promoter of Amateur
Radio and radio amateurs, ARRL members and non-members alike. As the national
association for Amateur Radio we should expect no less. We all know the task of
continuing to perform those roles at a time when fewer and fewer people are
inclined to join membership organizations, particularly service or hobby
organizations. ARRL has undertaken a substantial effort to meet current
challenges and future needs by establishing an effective Development Department
and has now targeted the membership recruitment and retention issue by hiring a
membership manager.
While ARRL needs to maintain
its role as an advocate and promoter for all of Amateur Radio, there is an
ongoing question as to the extent to which the League ought to be an open
resource to non-members and other organizations. We all agree the League ought
to provide information and assistance to those interested in becoming Amateurs
or current Amateurs interested in furthering the goals of ARRL. I think a more
open question exists as to the extent to which the League ought to provide
access to ARRL resources and other assistance to non-members have expressed
little or no interest in joining the League and other organizations who look to
dealings with the League as “all take and no give.”
There is a limit to the
ability of ARRL to stretch our dollars to provide needed services. Though ARRL
is the national association of Amateur Radio, we owe a heightened duty to those
individuals and organizations that support the League and its goals. It seems
to me that it would be worthwhile to devote some portion of the January Board
meeting to considering the extent to which we ought to continue to make League
services freely available to “all take and no give” individuals and
organizations.
73,
Jay, KØQB