This is to bring you up to date on progress towards finding a candidate to recommend to the Board as the next Treasurer. The search committee is composed of Directors Frenaye and Ahrens, Barry Shelley, Dave Sumner, and me. The deadline for statements of interest in the position was November 14, and 9 statements were received. On November 18, the search committee met in person in Connecticut -- Cliff and I were in town for the A&F meeting -- to review the resume's. For quite some time, the Treasurer has also managed the ARRL's investment portfolio. In searching for a new Treasurer, we have assumed that this dual responsibility would not continue. At the A&F meeting on November 19, in fact, Jim McCobb outlined several approaches to managing the investment portfolio if the new Treasurer will not be doing it himself. The search committee discovered that, working independently, we had divided the applicants the same way into 3 groups of 3. Three of those who expressed interest did not have the necessary qualifications to do the job, and those resume's were set aside. A second group of applicants had very good credentials and if we were looking for an investment portfolio manager, they would likely fit the bill. However, we were looking for someone with broad and deep financial leadership experience, preferably in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, who is qualified to manage a portfolio manager but who would not be asked to do that job himself. Three applicants' resume's showed the kind of qualifications we were interested in. At the A&F meeting, I reported the results to date of the search and distributed copies of the three top applicants' resume's to the A&F. Members of the A&F were invited to suggest questions that might be asked of the applicants, including questions for all them and questions for specific applicants based on their resume's. Marty Woll suggested a number of questions that were very helpful in talking with the applicants. No member of the A&F took issue with the qualifications of the three applicants. Personal interviews with the applicants were held in Charlotte, NC, on December 2. Each interview lasted somewhat more than an hour. After each interview the search committee briefly discussed the apparent strengths and weaknesses of the applicant. After all the interviews concluded, we discussed the total interview experience. No applicant was eliminated on the basis of the interview. Following discussion, the search committee agreed on the ranking of the three applicants. With three such excellent applicants, we will have a well-qualified candidate to recommend, even if for some reason the preferred candidate drops out of the picture. At this time, references are being sought and checked by Dave. When that formality is done, the candidate's eligibility will be determined by the E&E Committee. At that point we will be ready to make a formal recommendation. It's expected that the candidate will be invited to attend the A&F meeting in January and, assuming all goes well there, to attend the Board meeting and be nominated for Treasurer. The future management of the League's investments will be taken up following election of the Treasurer. We will get that responsibility off of Jim's plate as soon as possible thereafter but not before the various options have been examined carefully. That's where we stand at the present time. 73 - Kay N3KN