IN-Newsletter Vol. 40, No. 42 November 25, 2015 - Covers the period November 15-21. Upcoming In-Person Meetings and Events LoTW Study Committee January 13 @ 9:00am in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee January 14 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Programs & Services Committee January 14 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Annual Board Meeting January 15-16 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT CEO Office The ARRL HQ will be closed on Thursday the 26 and Friday the 27 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Sending good wishes your way for a safe and happy holiday weekend! Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY Important note regarding the February issue of QST: The production cycle for the February 2016 issue of QST is extremely short. If you have material for the February issue, please submit it as soon as possible. The January 2016 issue of QST is at the printer. Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD A direct mail solicitation for the Spectrum Defense Fund went out to more than 72,000 members in early November, hitting mailboxes last week. To date, the Defense Fund has raised $184,154 from 2,116 donors; 53 percent of goal. This total should rise quickly as we see additional returns from this mailing. 1,033 Diamond Club members, either new or renewing, have contributed this year, garnering $258,039 to date, or 77 percent of goal. The Education & Technology Fund has raised $65,092 from 748 members, reaching our goal. An additional $70,192 was contributed by several individuals and clubs for the Teacher's Institute Program. The Legislative Issues Advocacy Fund has brought in $13,197 to support the efforts of ARRL key volunteers and staff in Washington, D.C. This amount includes $1,000 from the Temple ARC, $1,000 from the Shy-Wy ARC, and $8,923 from the Hudson Amateur Radio Council. An original Andy Warhol print ("Myths: Superman, 1981"l) donated by Dave Bell, W6AQ, and Sam Bell, W6QLT, garnered the hammer price of $150,000 at Christie's October 27, 2015 auction in New York. The net proceeds from this sale will create "The Dave Bell, W6AQ, Endowment Fund" to benefit ARRL. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Yvette Vinci reports that on Friday, November 20, a reminder emailing was sent to members with a summary of "What's trending" in December QST-taking advantage of some early analytics shared by Alli Barbieri. The notification was sent to 122,578 members. It also included a link to the commemorative digital edition of QST No. 1<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_191512/>, originally published December 1915. Jackie Ferreira has prepared some special publication promotions for the Thanksgiving holiday week, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Now shipping: The Radio Amateur's Workshop<https://www.arrl.org/shop/The-Radio-Amateurs-Workshop/> by Joel R. Hallas, W1ZR. Diane Petrilli reports that several targeted e-mails are planned for December to promote ARRL membership. E-mail will be sent to non-member LoTW users (both US and international users), possible family members living at the same address as a current member, and users of ARRL's online Exam Review software. Holiday-themed membership campaigns have been prepared, including e-mails encouraging non-members to join and upgrade their license. A mailing was also prepared to non-member radio amateurs who upgraded their licenses in August, September or October. A schedule was prepared for emailing and mailing 2016 membership renewal notices. Summary of Sales and Marketing Department telephone group, reported by Yvette Vinci: Week Ending Calls Answered Calls Per Hour Total Talking Duration Average Speed of Answer 11/20/2015 936 20.8 32:10:01 11 seconds 11/13/2015 975 21.6 30:15:18 9 seconds 11/06/2015 825 18.3 27:01:52 9 seconds 10/30/2015 986 21.9 33:59:35 10 seconds Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity, reported by Steve Capodicasa: Week Ending Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 11/20/2015 904 282 11/13/2015 802 591 11/6/2015 1,086 685 10/30/2015 1,191 520 Field Services & Radiosport Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 2 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 2-4 Business Days Number of Centennial applications processed: Centennial Challenge QSO 2765 W1AW/WAS 1968 W1AW On Monday, Matt Strelow, KC1XX, and Andrew Toth - both of XX Tower, Inc. - were on hand to perform the Autumn W1AW and W1HQ antenna/tower inspections. In addition to the inspections, the M-Square rotator on the 120' tower was replaced. Joe Carcia processed regular QSL card requests. He also assembled and began testing a new Cushcraft A148-20T 2-meter crossed-yagi that is part of the ARISS Go-Kit. He also constructed phasing lines for each side of that antenna. Scott Gee processed some VUCC applications and certificates. He also worked on fast and slow code practice runs texts for the week. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 11/26-11/27 Holiday All Staff 12/25 Holiday Leona Adams 11/25-11/30 PTO Lauren Clarke 11/25 PTO `` 12/24 PTO Steve Ewald 11/30-12/8 PTO Jackie Ferreira 12/24 PTO Steve Ford 11/20-11/25 PTO `` 12/4 PTO `` 12/11 PTO `` 12/21-12/31 PTO Dan Henderson 11/23-11/25 PTO Bob Inderbitzen 11/25 PTO `` 12/24-12/31 PTO Debra Johnson 11/25 PTO Lisa Kustosik 12/1-12/22 PTO Diane Petrilli 12/21-12/24 PTO