I'll preface by saying, I have spent my entire adult life dealing with society. I have seen and dealt with all kinds people and just when I thought I have seen and dealt with them all, I am confronted with yet another one I thought could never exist. You ask, what do I have in mind? My common sense. It allows me see things and people for what they are. The ARRL currently is what it is. Until the powers that be vacate the building, it will remain that way. There is no sugar coating it. There is nothing good about it. I see no silver linings. The cup is not even close to half full. Again, until the responsible parties leave, change will never come. Therefore, I will patiently wait and call it what it really is. Now Chip... Only you know why you say and do what you do.
You may ask: I am always forthcoming. In case you never noticed, I love taking the underdog's side, if FACTS allow. As they do here. In the case of the ARRL, its a non profit I have explored in terms of legacy donations. This happens when one get old, sometimes. The short summary is that I am shocked , to small and large degrees, by what I see in the non profits (including schools) I have scrutinized. The ARRL is on the 'small degree' side, There are many so-called elite institutions I have checked that are just plain crooks: city-states with bizarro social systems that don't apply well utside of the gates..The ARRL is at worst, 'meh' on that sort of scale. The point is its a bit silly to put people in boxes Tony. Certainly people who know me would be heavily amused to have you characterize me as a sycophant;-) And for the ARRL? I mean really: to what end? Sometimes Tony, the training that suggests that one can size another person up in 10 seconds is, well, off the mark. As to 'change will only come when you kick the bums out'--to metaphor your comment-- How did the Who say it...ah yes! "Meet the new boss--same as the old boss'... 73 Chip W1YW
BTW Tony, I have my own 'scorecard' rating system trying to sort out which nonprofits get into my will and how much they get. On a scale of 1 to ten (ten is best), Harvard gets a 1 for example. BU got a 3. None of the 12 non profits (I include schools) I explored (all have some afffiliation with my past or present) got past 5. U Iowa was the top at 5+ The ARRL is 4+ on my scale. There were no 6's or higher. A 'five' or lower is a mediocre basis for giving IMO. So I won't. It was very disappointing to go through this exercise. IOW the ARRL--on MY list-- is among 'the best of the worst', and there were no betters or bests at all. It is a sad state that charities have fallen into the last decade, and especially the last 3 years.. Essentially I do not trust ANY of these nonprofits to execute good, and good will , beyond my years. That may change, but that was my conclusion in 2023. The outcome of that is to can ALL of those possibilities and either kick the can by starting a foundation, or letting my son deal with it. Assuming I am here to review it, I will look again in 2 years, assuming I am around. Anyway, that was how I decided on such legacy donations, Others may have other methods. And I dont expect others to be guided by my personal decision on this. Hope that helps on my 'motivation'. One with a purse cannot be a sycophant;-)Nor chooses to be one.
I am in favor of "sunshine" and public ventilation of the contentious; it has proven sanitizing effects. A healthy League benefits all. The exceptions are very few: National Security, some law enforcement. In these rare cases, a formal application for secrecy needs to be made. I hear those who say, "Enough! I'm gone!", though I cannot agree. If one disagrees and leaves, then there is one less voice to advance the alternative view. -Whatever the satisfaction of pique of the moment. Rather, I intend to stay and support principles of open governance and accountability, recognizing that this can be uncomfortable on occasion but essential for a healthy future League. 73, John KX4QC
According to the legal analysis by K1VR, it's clear that ARRL is taking corruption to a whole new level.
This is important stuff, at this moment read by 55439, of whom a mountainous 650 (1.17%) actually got off the duff to write something. I'll leave you to do the straw-poll of how many of these 650 posts contributed something constructive to the discussion. So how to ensure the success of Amateur Radio when not even one-in-a-hundred participants feels an obligation to support it here? FWIW, Amateur Radio gives me such fun and companionship that I have no hesitation supporting it. Should it be better? Sure! Maybe it's up to us to make it better?
You are somehow equating the ARRL with amateur radio. The ARRL supports ham radio, but it does comparatively little to run ham radio. For hams outside of the U.S., the ARRL is virtually meaningless. Ham radio will continue whether or not the ARRL continues. I'd say that close to 100 in 100 participants here on QRZ support amateur radio. This is regardless of their gripes and complaints that are mostly voiced here in an effort to make it a better experience for themselves. And this includes the ARRL as much as it includes some lid that broke into someone's QSO.
Fair point, though for advancement of standards, organization of events, representation before national and international regulators, there is not so much besides ARRL. At last look about 22% of licensees are members, or put another way, about three quarters are not. Perhaps ARRL needs competition from another representative organization (which?), or as proposed in this thread an overhaul to bring it more in line with members and those who might otherwise be members?
Yes, I would gladly support such a properly run organization. We do need an advocate, but it's got to be aligned with our own ideals, not the ideals of some elitist group using our funds and numbers as influence.
When you talk about the ARRL, you have four different components. These are: - Volunteers, including the section managers and section officials. - ARRL staff, mostly in Newington - Paid staff at the top, whose half-life is under four years in their role because they're largely at the pleasure of the board, and, the vice directors, and directors-- the board. - The members who paid to be part of The League. Of the aforementioned, only one category can bring about change. The volunteers at the section levels, all the way up to the board, do a lot of work and are unpaid for it, a few privileges at best. The board is also unpaid, but seem (to me, anyway) to be isolated in some opinions from the rest of us-- but most are very active hams. They work among us, but also have direction for the top management category. They run the organization, this combination of board and top staff. Despite its large membership, The League is small compared to other organizations, but as a hobby organization, has parallels to much larger organizations. The AOPA's members spend a lot more $$$, and the NRA a lot less per member, typically. These are supposed to be our advocates, and liaison with their member's desires with various US Federal Agencies of various flavors. Alignment with ideals means understanding membership needs and applying them where possible. Education. Advocacy. Development. You have to express your ideals to the board and top management. There is no direct route to express those beyond email and other correspondence, so we use places like QRZ to do so. Haranguing ARRL staff at Dayton HamVention isn't likely to get you anywhere Talking, actual discussion with ARRL directors and top management, may indeed get you some place, because only they make the decisions, and their policies go hierarchically to staff and volunteers. If you don't want to waste your time, poise your ideas in an amicable fashion to those that might be able to bring about change. All others are volunteers and staff who do the bidding of this hierarchy-- management and board. All other discussions are invited, I'm sure, but getting the change you seek accomplished has only two possible routes. Your voice is louder if you're a large donor, and/or spend a lot of hours as a ham radio advocate within our outside of the ARRL. Your voice is softer if your fingers are in your ears. There is a lot of brain power on the board and top management. This isn't about the problem being a battle of wits, rather, real and practical problems; accepting democracy (and the privilege of a vote) is being able to accept that you may not win, but overall remain part of search for good solutions. I have swallowed my defeats, and hope for none others, knowing that I'm only one vote in many. 73 Tom W9YW
On the donor issue-- People donate when they are alive to control. They donate when they are dead to continue. The multiple quixotic change of the CEO situation at the ARRL took it off my will draft. An indicator of problems ahead with long term continuity. That's why its off my list, among other reasons. Perhaps they can stabilize it. Maybe I will be around long enough to reach that conclusion, but it won't happen soon IMO. The outside the ARRL call to 'reform' the governance around 'progressive ' lines does not work for me BTW. Your criteria and opinion may differ and probably should.
Dick Norton said they just voted on the price increase. There is nobody on the HQ staff that can change that.
I hear you but with only 6 out of 15 directors supporting (possibly fewer than 6) what hope is there ?
