Members of the Board, As Rod implies in his e-mail, none of us should discount, belittle or dismiss the legitimate views of members of a Board which is being asked to approve an individual to the position of CEO of our organization. The constant drum beat of there being only one choice and the Board having no other options is contrary to the very purpose, role and responsibility of each of us as Board members. Questioning the candidate’s qualifications or commitment to our avocation is not “character assassination”, it is a legitimate inquiry that should be welcomed not scorned. This is the very function of a deliberative body. A “dysfunctional” Board would be one that abdicates is responsibilities There was no priority established for the factors to be considered in choosing a candidate. Indeed, Rick mentioned the absence of any specific emphasis when he disseminated the initial draft of the job description for comment: “As we evaluate individuals, the search committee and the Board may place more or less emphasis on characteristic 1 or 2 or 3.” ([arrl od: 3527] emphasis added.) However, the question of ham radio credentials was immediately raised, discussed and added to the job description: Rick, This is good; however like Rod has stated and based on recent experiences I think we should add the following as No. 4 under Required Education and Experience – Active or Knowledgeable Amateur Radio Operator and ARRL Member for at least the preceding four years. " This is as Rod points out, a requirement for service on the Board. Also, the members will be far more accepting of an experienced ham candidate of known quantities or qualities than an inactive or inexperienced candidate. I think these should be requirements. We can’t mess this one up. 73 ES TU David A. Norris, K5UZ Director, Delta Division ARRL The National Association for Amateur RadioTM Obviously, we can disagree on what this means but, it is also not helpful to exaggerate the requirement. We do not need a top level contester or DXer in order to demonstrate a passion and commitment to Amateur Radio. The Committee did an excellent job of culling the field of candidates, but I believe we need to step back and further consider the matter. There is no crying need to rush to judgment; we have the time and the candidates to make this most important of decisions. 73, Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT Pacific Division Director

On August 22, 2018 at 10:16 AM Rod Blocksome <rod.blocksome@gmail.com> wrote:

Colleagues,

Tonight's vote is of critical importance to our ARRL organization. We all have different and varying concerns on the decision we are about to make - and that, in my opinion, is good. It is the power of an elected board from across the nation and across the many aspects of Amateur Radio. We, the board, collectively bring a wide range of experience, knowledge, expertise, intuition, etc. to bear on the issues we face. And a healthy debate is how we bring this all to bear on board decisions.

Change is one of the biggest issues and perhaps the most difficult for human beings to deal with. We are naturally fearful of making the wrong choice - or a wrong decision. We can easily imagine many things that could go wrong and the consequences of any decision one way or the other. And, yes, there will always be people who agree with your decision and those who do not.

So we must weigh all of the possible negative as well as the positive consequences - and then decide. I, for one, prefer to focus on the positive consequences and devote most of my time and resources toward these goals while being prepared to mitigate negative issues when they arise.

We the board, chose our leaders. A CEO selection committee and the selection process was approved. With those actions, we the board, collectively put our trust and faith into those individuals and the defined selection process to bring forth the best candidate for the CEO job.

Thanks for reading & 73's Rod, K0DAS _______________________________________________ arrl-odv mailing list arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org https://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv