In case you missed it, your friends at the American Radio Relay League announced this. It's something that they do annually. They also publish the meeting and agenda for the board of directors. That's what transparent organizations do. 73
This is a dilemma that befalls many large organizations. There simply is no possibility of a pure democratic process with a membership as large as that of the ARRL. But the ELECTED directors must be accountable to the membership (they're ostensibly acting on our behalf) and the best way to do that is with open meetings...or at the very least, detailed reporting on the topics, discussions and decisions of those meetings. That should be coupled with a vehicle for member input to the directors.
ARRL publishes meeting agendas, meeting minutes, and the contact information for the Division Directors. Of course they cannot force you to read all that stuff or to actually contact the Directors. But's all openly available.
In my division/section, contacting an ARRL official is like trying to contact my congressional representative...and when that infrequently occurs the results are similar.
I personally feel that QST by itself is worth every penny of the membership price. However it is imperative that we have the right skill sets in place to ensure Amateur radio survives. Corporations are constantly scouting for more and more frequency allocations. Huge money is hard at work. If we are to continue the hobby, we should in my opinion, be prepared so pay for the skills. The fight for spectrum will definitely increase as technology advances. The current compensations are well within the norms. Is it high, yes, but what is at stake is high as well. Just one man's opinion.
