Tom, I appreciate your remarks and I have no intention of commenting on your main point which is policy oriented. However, I take very, very strong exception to your inclusion of Barry Shelley in your most inapt “three strikes” metaphor. I think you owe Barry an apology, honestly. Barry bravely stepped up when Tom Gallagher walked out with virtually no notice at all. He didn’t ask for the CEO job, it was thrust upon him. He has done an admirable job since then under the circumstances. I think it is highly debatable whether Gallagher was not a good choice. I think the case is easily made that the divisiveness of the Board would have driven any competent CEO away, and it is in fact what drove Gallagher, a good CEO, away. But that is an argument for another day. We all owe Barry a huge debt of gratitude for bailing us out. Of course his tenure was temporary. But to call Barry Strike Two (even if you buy the argument that Gallagher was strike one, which I don’t at all) is grossly unfair. He has done a terrific job as CEO and we should be telling members that constantly. 7:, Chris Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 21, 2018, at 11:19 PM, Tom Frenaye <frenaye@pcnet.com> wrote:
I've spoken to a number of you about the CEO selection process over the last month since our July Board meeting. We have a difficult vote to make Wednesday night and I want to be sure you know why I will be voting not to approve the contract with Mr. Michel. You deserve to know this ahead of time.
I was one of those who voted against extending a contract to Mr. Michel in July. I felt that while the CEO Search Committee did a serious job of evaluating applicants, as a Director I was concerned about my ability to fulfill my duty to members and to the ARRL. I noted that the search process did not provide me with a selection of candidates, but just one candidate. During the discussion we had in the Committee of the Whole, several Directors, including me, asked the group to delay the decision until the following day so a more careful review could take place. The majority of the Board said no. The candidate’s resume was provided to me just 24 hours before the Board meeting. That left most of us with a very brief time to review his credentials and to have a very brief conversation with Mr. Michel at the reception the evening before the Board meeting.
Questions asked by Board members of the Search Committee during the CoW did not leave me with the confidence needed to support going ahead with the recommendation made. There were too many open questions I had about his ability to lead ARRL and his Amateur Radio background. In the month since the July Board meeting, those questions have grown considerably.
I strongly feel that Mr. Michel is not the right candidate for the ARRL at this time. We have had the recent experience of Mr. Gallagher as CEO, with a fairly limited understanding of ARRL and a relatively small involvement in Amateur Radio activities. Since January we’re had Mr. Shelley as CEO and though he was a good choice for the moment, we all know he is here for less than another year.
Going ahead with a split Board vote would be disastrous. It wouldn't be fair to Mr. Michel and it would not be good for the long term health of the ARRL.
I think we need to learn our lesson about the demands and requirements of the CEO position, and both the leadership and Amateur Radio depth of knowledge needed to be successful. We don't have the right person yet. We need to regroup and have some discussions within the Board about how to move forward. If we don't do that, I'm afraid that members will be telling us that after three strikes (Gallagher, Shelley, Michel), we’re out.
-- 73 Tom
===== e-mail: k1ki@arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444
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