Dick, One of your statement surprised me. You may be correct, but do contesters, DXers and (oh-my-gosh) satellite users really represent the majority of ARRL members? I've always been impressed with the low percentage of hams who are DXers, for example. I do believe it is accurate to say that most serious DXers are ARRL members. Not being a true contester, I have no idea about them as a group. With CQ and so many other sources of quality contests running around the world, I'd be a little surprised if the contest fraternity is nearly as ARRL-oriented as the DX community. Anyone have any sort of valid estimates about this? Jim Weaver, K8JE Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL; http://www.arrl.org/ Chairman, ARRL ad hoc Legislative Action Committee 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040 Tel.: 513-459-0142; E-mail: k8je@arrl.org ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio Is! MEMBERS: The reason ARRL Is! -----Original Message----- From: dick@pobox.com [mailto:dick@pobox.com] Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 4:41 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:14066] Re: A Thought Regarding ARRL Contest Administration 15 MAY 2006 - 1520 CDT Hello Dick... ARRL contest administration is a noticeable item in our annual budget. But in defense of this expenditure, I would like to point out that in descending order; contesters (both HF and VHF & Higher), DXers, and satellite users generally spend much more for equipment than other groups of hams. They also have larger percentages of ARRL members, and I believe they each donate more to the ARRL than any other comparable group. =D> On this basis, I believe the expenditure of 150 K on contest, DX, and other operating awards programs is money well-spent. :-) You point out that CQ incurs zero cost with its contest (operating) programs. In this part of the country, one of the most persistent complaints is how long it takes to get CQ contests scored and the awards distributed. Some- times the CQ awards, even the certificates, arrive two or more years after the contest. :-( This is because they use unpaid volunteers who have to first earn a living before they can administer amateur radio operating programs. See you at Dayton... 73 - Dick, W9GIG