Hi, I am writing regarding changing the name of the Membership and Volunteer Programs Department (MVP). Many of you know about this already since it was discussed at the A & F Committee meeting on Saturday and the Committee did not have a problem with it. Kay was also at the meeting and she is aware of the proposed change. I also sent a similar message to Brian Mileshosky as PSC Chairman. He is in favor of the change, and he subsequently forwarded my email to the PSC. I am sending this email since I wanted to make sure that everyone on the Board is informed. Dave Patton and I both agree that we need to change the name of MVP to two different names that reflect the actual functions of his Department. Changing it to MVP originally made some sense, but it has caused some unintended consequences. In particular, changing the Department’s name would solve some long standing confusion since incoming phone calls and emails about membership and volunteers are often mistakenly routed to the MVP Department simply because of its name. The phone call then has to be transferred to the actual membership department causing more member confusion and additional telephone time. There are misunderstandings in the other direction as well. Members calling or emailing about their awards, hamfest, contest results, etc. are bewildered when they are told to contact the Membership and Volunteer Programs Department! Dave Sumner, Dave Patton and I have agreed that the Department should now be named “The Field Services and Radiosport Department.” “Radiosport” for the branch that covers awards and contests, including LoTW, W1AW, and The Bureau. The “Field Services branch includes Field Services, Emergency Preparedness, hamfests, and the Official Observer Program. Dave Patton’s title will be: Field Services and Radiosport Manager. This is a change only to the external world. We are proposing no internal organizational or structural changes to the Department. The management and reporting structure will remain the same. We have not made this public yet, nor do we intend to make any major announcements about it. We will be phasing it in slowly since there are web pages, links and other literature that need to be changed. Except for changing some signs here in the building, there is no cost since we do not intend to reorder any printed literature until existing supplies run out. Please feel free to pass this on to the rest of your Committee and let me know if you have any questions. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL -the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594 -0220 www.arrl.org<http://www.arrl.org> _______________________________________________ ps-com mailing list ps-com@reflector.arrl.org<mailto:ps-com@reflector.arrl.org> http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/ps-com