Here's Steve's summary of the latest SM Conference Call. Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer@arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: Ewald, Steve, WV1X Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 2:52 PM To: Patton, David NN1N; Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Subject: Notes on New England SM Teleconference Hello, Dave and Harold. Here is summary of the topics that were discussed at last night's teleconference with the SMs of the New England Division. I am also sending this directly to Director Frenaye and Vice Director Raisbeck for their information and to the SMs that were on the call. I will also post it on the SM Reflector. -- Steve Summary of Topics Discussed at the July 2007 Teleconference with Section Managers On Tuesday evening, July 17, Membership and Volunteer Programs hosted an ARRL telebridge teleconference with Section Managers of the New England Division. SMs that were able to make the conference were Art Greenberg, K1GBX (Eastern Massachusetts); Betsey Doane, K1EIC (Connecticut); Ed Emco, W1KT (Western Massachusetts); Bob Beaudet, W1YRC (Rhode Island) and Paul Gayet, AA1SU (Vermont). HQ staff members on the call were Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG; Katie Breen, W1KRB, and Steve Ewald, WV1X. ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen gave a run down on several initiatives and projects that ARRL HQ has been working on for promoting membership to new comers into Amateur Radio, retaining members and also for having former members re-join. An updated version of the "New Ham Express" - the introductory information that HQ is sends to newly licensed radio amateurs is at the printer with a revamped style and more information. The Section Mangers gave input as to how they have been promoting League membership in their sections. Many have found positive success in giving away a pocket-sized ARRL Repeater Directories to new members or renewing members. This program is described on the SM Area Web page: "Section Managers may request copies of The ARRL Repeater Directory(r) to use as incentives for membership sign-ups. The free book offer applies to brand new memberships, renewals or lapsed-renewals at the regular and senior dues amounts. Printed application forms are also available. Contact the ARRL Sales & Marketing Department for assistance, email circulation@arrl.org." Other membership recruiting tips and ideas are found linked to the SM Area Web page. What works well for you? The Section Managers described how finding qualified and interested radio amateurs to hold Field Organization appointments can sometimes be a challenge. Establishing consistent reporting from all the Field Appointees and Section Leaders can also be an issue at times. Having expressed that, some of the SMs also remarked how grateful they were to have excellent Section Leaders to handle a particular part of their Field Organization. Running a section really is a team effort. There is strong mutual assistance for emergency response among the sections. For example, a recent weekend search for a lost person in Western Massachusetts brought forth needed help in a short time from surrounding ARES groups. The Section Managers on the teleconference thanked Steve, WV1X, for his on-going work and support and also for hosting this teleconference. 73, Steve Ewald, WV1X Supervisor, Field Organization Team ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 860-594-0265 sewald@arrl.org <mailto:sewald@arrl.org>