Barry Shelley, N1VXY, to Become ARRL Interim CEO

Well - this thread is now 23 pages long! Plenty of discussion regarding ARRL's structure and opinions about everything that should be changed, or was bad in the past, or other general bitching about the organization. But so far I've not seen any reason or explanation about why Howard Michel was "dismissed".

Per my earlier post .... I met Howard Mitchel at HRO Milwaukee's Superfest in late September. His presentation, vision for the future, background and overall qualifications were quite impressive. So what happened? What did the Board of Directors suddenly "dislike" so strongly that he was removed with (presumably) an active contract still in effect - and how much did that "buy-out" cost the membership???

 

Ask your Division Director or Howard directly. Then get back to us.

 

I and others have been calling for this since September of 2018. This took too long.

 

IMO-----It's beginning to sound like the CEO position is being phased out and that Barry is a 'place holder' for that transition . GM to 'manage' Newington. That's what I read between the lines....

Truly a mistake: one can imagine several CEO candidates that can actually turn around the org, AND bring in bucks....as well as serve the membership.

Why would they be interested at this point?

Oh well, there is still HTERS near Newington! Yummy cheeseburgers;-) A TRUE cultural advantage as it were... and farther up the road is Rein's deli!

 

BTW...

Howard was the keynote at Winterfest. Next week.

It seems to me the ARRL has an OBLIGATION to get Barry or Rick to take his place.....

 

---
I agree with Ria. She has been and is a strong advocate for change/innovation at HQ. I want to publicly thank her for her work behind the scenes to bring forward the Digital NCJ. I have been working on it a long time also, and met strong resistance from the last CEO, who was inappropriate in some of his comments to me as the Editor. Like Ria, I was completely unaware of its transition to a digital format plus the print format. We are happy to soon have a digital version but this decision was a pleasant surprise. My guess is that Steve Ford and others likely made it happen for the good of the hobby despite the CEO's initial resistance.

The Staff in Newington are amazing - they work for lower than average wages and are dedicated to our hobby efforts. They deserve a new CEO who is a ham first, who is active and on the air like K1ZZ was, and who will facilitate their work and creativity. There are several strong candidates and one extremely strong candidate from the last round of interviews. I hope the Search Committee gives him full consideration again - he checks all of the boxes and adds a lot of new strengths.

My hat is tipped to our staff in Newington, and to Steve Ford and Becky Schoenfeld for their strong leadership in publications as well as many others for their work in DX, contesting, EM Comm activities and support of League members. I also applaud the work of the Board and officers who are striving to make the ARRL a better and more member responsive organization.

 

Whether Howard was not 'renewed' for appropriate reasons is immaterial to the matters that transition created, which are: how the transition was handled, and who were the candidates for the replacement.

It is improper to assume that the board had a variety of candidates which it reviewed in their assessment. There is no evidence proffered that the board reviewed any and all candidates it had solicited.

Barry is fine in the elevated 'GM' type position as CEO Interim...

The immediate issue is to have the 'voice of the membership' , the 'point person', speak at Winterfest and be at Hamcation. No one gets a 'pass' on this--it is an obligation to the MEMBERSHIP.

Will Barry do that?

Or will the missteps--IMO-- done in the last week continue?

 

All true!


But--


When will the board learn that a few choice words, at the right time, have big positive impact on future options and outcomes?

In their absence, confusion and negative speculation takes its place, thwarting the very efforts it hopes to champion.

Better check with those candidates and see if they and their families NOW want to potentially go through this present sort of treatment, in a high risk job.

Look: Barry will keep the ship afloat. A very good man for that--and he is very much doing the board and the membership a favor. I personally and publicly thank him for that, as a LM! But he can't speak to the membership about the thing that they love most--on the air activity.

73
Chip W1YW

 

This has always puzzled me. I tried to research the history of when this changed. I will find the answer someday. This will probably help explain a lot of things.

But in my opinion it should be the President writing the monthly column. I write newsletters and editorials to my division and while it takes work, it certainly is appreciated. People appreciate the inside view. People appreciate the candor and openness.

The President gets his (or her, thank you Kay Craigie) picture posted at the front entrance of 225 Main Street, and per bylaws speaks for the organization. This person is supposed to be the face of the organization.

Perhaps it's time to revisit this. An elected President, someone who is a volunteer, and does it for the love of it should be detailing to membership the vision and direction of the organization. The ceo, manager, executive VP, or whatever the job title is should be executing the vision set out by the President and the Board. He or she can certainly have his or her own ideas, but in the end the overall governance needs to come from the membership, via representatives chosen by you.

 

The job was always general manager, then executive vice-president. The term CEO came about when one Board member suggested it to give us more "clout."

But if you look at other nonprofits, many of them don't have a CEO. Is ARRL big enough that we need one?

Personally? I would like to have someone who works with the Board. Someone who works with us to develop ideas. We need a who won't just look at the Board as a formality to get a rubber stamp from for initiatives and ideas. And yes, someone whose primary function is to manage staff.

The "front man" (or woman) for the League should be the President.

The staff can still develop ideas, present them to the CEO/GM/Exec. VP and then in advance, present them to the Board for their input and subsequent approval. But absolutely nothing must be a surprise, and there must be a cooperative effort.

ARRL needs to not devolve into a corporate entity. Yes, it is a corporation but in the end, hams do this for the love of it.

 

Hello Ria,

Yes, I obviously see your points, and actually agree with most. The problem is that a volunteer President has limited practical ability to be the 'point person'. Dave Sumner became CEO (title given him) because the title was the best reflection of his responsibilities and activities. This set the bar for what the membership expected. It still expects that.

Having the CEO interact with the membership in a highly accessible way is the very best means to keep the CEO informed on members' needs, opinions, and so on. He or she can then convey this to the board, which may or may not have the ability to get that feedback through the ARRL system of regional appointments.

In the ARRL having a CEO makes a lot of sense, whereas it does not in many orgs.

Hope to see you in Orlando-- having a 65th birthday open celebration (NO PRESENTS) at the Drury Friday night after 9:30 (when people return from dinner), in the lounge area. You and others should all feel welcome to come by for a friendly crowd and a piece of cake!

No politics, but certain exaggerations in DXing and contesting permitted

73
Chip W1YW

 

The President is usually retired or close to it and has time to devote.

If you’re going to advocate having a paid figure head then we might as well just abolish the whole governance structure and make the ARRL into just another corporation.

But in reality we need someone to run the organization, as in actually do stuff.

Figure heads can be had for free.

 

I am merely reminding you of the reality of the organization, which at present, includes a 'point person' CEO.

There is synergy that can be had with a CEO and President that will not happen with a GM and a President. For example, the former (pair) has greater cred when asking for money. The former (pair)has greater strength in working with industry and government. Obviously both of these --may-- have been lacking in the prior two CEO appointments.

I don't believe the choices made previously are a basis for questioning the value of the system in place K1ZZ is a tough guy to replace, so disappointment was bound to happen, just not necessarily in the magnitude that was apparently encountered.

ARRL's money issues (assuming there are) are caused by failure to capture market , and failure to ask the right people, or ask them in a nice way that makes them part of the solution. Gee whiz, look at the demographics---lotsa money if tapped constructively.

Look where ARRL is imploding (small, not yet alarming) right now, and compare that to places in ham radio where there is growth. What people made the difference?

People love buying into dreams -- with dreamers with a track record. One of those radio-active dreamers would be the best of CEO's.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Ria, thank you for making this a point. This is exactly how it should be!