Barry Shelley, N1VXY, to Become ARRL Interim CEO

If the incentive is to save money, going to a GM is a poor way to do it (as a monetary differential). A CEO, or 'Executive Director' often has as one of his or her tasks direct fundraising in a non-profit. This becomes a tangible indication of value, as the board can easily set targets that are multiples of the CEO's compensation.

If money is the issue then its time to let the elephant into the room...

225 Main Street is not a holy relic. There is no historical significance to the site...ARRL used to be in West Hartford. '225' was a plot out in the sticks. Now its a campus-island in the midst of a corporate and 1/8 acre lot sprawl. It used to be farm land. Now its high congestion and ripe for picking. I would conservatively set it at 30-40 million dollars. If the ARRL moved elsewhere, spectacular sprawling digs with multiple antenna farms for remotes could be had at a fraction of that cost. Likely in move-in condition.

Sell 225 Main Street.

Move.

Be closer to a major airport.

Pocket 20-40 million dollars for the organization.

And keep the CEO position...

 

20 miles straight up I-91 to Bradley International (BDL) is too far?

How about 7 miles to Brainard Field (HFD)?

 

Hartford is not a major airport. Too hard to make connections. Now: some will tell you otherwise, but the reality is that Hartford is tough for connections.

 

Curious how you derived that valuation. Best I could find online is $3m.

 

How can the ARRL's real estate be valuable to another business if it isn't close enough to a major airport? There is plenty of vacant commercial property in Newington. A good sized supermarket just closed in Newington a few months ago. It may be years before it houses another business.
Converting property to residential is can be difficult in many New England towns.
I've been told that the value of property in this area is tied to the number of homes you can build, not the lot size.

 

Hmm, you could find cheap land for an antenna farm in the rural Midwest or South, or almost any rural area, for that matter.

But if they should move, I nominate Delaware.

It's not too far, so relocation of some staff wouldn't be out of the question. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC have significant airports.

Most importantly, having W1AW in Delaware would make WAS more accessible.

North Dakota is another option.

Just casually brainstorming...

 

Hi Zack,

As you know, there are many corporate headquarters within 15 miles of Newington. Those companies tend to use private jets or charters. That makes it accessible for Bradley Ain't no charters for ARRL I presume.

That's wrong. The lot is perfect for a 5-10 story corporate headquarters campus, even multi-tenant. Not a space for Corvette Corner to expand.... Campus....that's where the value comes from. And Newington would likely give tax breaks just to get that piece of the pie.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Think UP, not sideways....

and don't forget the inestimatable value of having Hters 5 minutes away! That's worth several million premium for sure!

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/1815b84c-a058-4bfd-bbac-cc9d3042fa44

 

The lot may be, but you're assuming that local zoning would go for sticking a 5-10 story building smack dab in the middle of suburbia. You're also assuming the lot size would also accommodate sufficient parking for all the folks in that 5-10 story building. I'll make a WAG that it wouldn't fly.

 

ARRL has announced a search for a new CEO.

 

Nope I did my homework.

Underground garage in basement floor...standard stuff.

Not in the middle of suburbia. The area is mixed use.

Newington is hard up for bucks and would easily agree to zoning change, if needed.

 

Not many stones left unturned. If the BOARD doesn't know what they WANT in a CEO (for example: A CEO is not a 'general manager') they shouldn't waste candidates' time until they figure it out.

The ham world is small; you don't look people over and THEN decide what you want.

The board has to take SOME responsibility for 4 prior years of shake rattle and roll...

The passengers are now driving the bus and it's a sellers market.

 

First, I’m a proud member of the ARRL and thankful Mr. Shelley stepped in as interim.
Question I have is, has Mr. Shelley only been a licensed amateur since 2015 as a Technician!? Yes he has organizational and CFO experience which is critical to the ARRL, but I was honestly a bit taken a back.
Again, thank you Mr. Shelley!