Dear Howard and ODV Members:
This is exciting news for the membership. Before the announcement goes out, I encourage ODV members to review the bureau’s webpage at: http://www.arrl.org/Outgoing-QSL-Service to understand what questions members may ask us, and also what suggestions we may have before the announcement is made.
I have one FAQ suggestion and one disclaimer. The suggested FAQ will be how the new rates will impact, if at all, bundled ARRL affiliated club submissions. Here in the Roanoke Division we have at least one club which actively collects members’ cards at its monthly meetings and sends them as a batch to the outgoing bureau. The club then assesses each submitting member on a pro rata basis. I anticipate clubs will want to know how fairly to charge its members for batching under the new rates, although my reading is that it should be easier without the transaction fee. The current webpage on club submissions reads:
ARRL Affiliated Club stations may use the service to submit club QSLs for its members in bulk (“pooling” their members’ cards together in one package) by indicating the club’s name inside the package. Club secretaries should check their club’s affiliation on the ARRL website to ensure i t is current. In a “pooled” package, each club member using this service must also be an ARRL member. Cards should be sorted “en masse” by prefix, and proof of membership should be enclosed for each ARRL member. QSLs for unaffiliated club calls may also be sent via the outgoing bureau to foreign destinations if the trustee of the club call is a member in good standing. The trustee’s proof of membership must be included with the club call-QSLs.
Secondly, from my days on A&F, the previous administration stridently insisted that the outgoing bureau was losing money under the 2011 rates. Perhaps it would be prudent to add in the announcement that management will review the cost structure periodically, and reserves the right to make rate adjustments when justified. Part of the money loss was attributed to the alleged practice of stateside QSL managers sliding in cards of non-ARRL members, hence the “proof of membership” requirement.
Any day a QSL card comes in the mail is an exciting one, but we also need to remain mindful stewards of our members’ money.
73 de Bill Morine, N2COP
Vice Director – Roanoke Division
Representing ARRL members in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia
Facebook Page: ARRL Roanoke Division
ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio™