Barry Shelley, N1VXY, to Become ARRL Interim CEO

I'm reminded of a friend telling me about his aunt and uncle. This friend managed a Friendly's restaurant. He would cringe when his aunt and uncle would dine at his store, because they'd snarf all the sugar and ketchup packets under the "justification" of "Well, we pay for them."

 

Two words, digital downloads.

 

Two words, hard copy.
(all my bills, stock reports, newspapers are hard copies).

 

Service in this sense is a regulatory construct. It does not mean -- it has never meant -- that the users/participants/consumers in/of a radio service "serve" in any way. Radio itself does the "serving."

 

That is incorrect, IMO. The license is a privelege extended to the individual under the obligation to execute mission, to the best of the individual's ability. If that SERVICE does not execute mission, the privileges are cut back or eliminated.

You are being pedantic (no insult intended),or at least didactic, IMO. We all know what the term means. The point is that the Part 97 Amateur Radio SERVICE has a mission statement that the SERVICE is obligated to achieve and execute

A huge majority of hams in the US only saw that mission statement in the context of memorizing temporary wording to get their licenses.In Part 97, many US hams 'execute mission' by on the air activity, thereby constituting a 'pool of those skilled in the art'. Unfortunately, most Techs in the last decade do NOT meet that or other mission criteria of Part 97: they don't get on the air.

Most see us ONLY as a "hobby" . Hobbies have no mission. They have personal objectives --personal goals--for the individual, but no mission as a WHOLE.

Again: Hobbies have NO mission.

Services have a mission.

And there lies the problem: our privileges of the SERVICE will be curtailed for failure to execute mission. That will be the justification for eliminating the 9cm band :-(

73
Chip W1YW

 

As long as the non-interim CEO can do that, it doesn't matter, either.

ARRL's history of promoting to GM/CEO from within gave us such active-ham GMs/CEOs as Kenneth B. Warner (the archetype) and Dave Sumner (the most recent ARRL CEO promoted from within). That those GMs/CEOs happened to be active hams well-known on the national and international amateur radio stages happened in a sort of co-evolutionary way such that it looks and feels to long-time ARRL members -- especially those with a grasp of ARRL's history -- as if there should be a = sign between GM/CEO and "active ham."

I happen to think that it doesn't practically matter whether or not the ARRL CEO/GM is an active uber-ham, one of the Keebler elves, or a brain kept alive in a jar. As long as that entity excels at what it is that the ARRL CEO/GM must do to keep ARRL viable and growing, it doesn't matter to me.

I happen to use my amateur radio privileges multiple times per week -- since I'm not a VE, the legal authority granted me by licensing applies only when I transmit -- and beyond that I listen to my fave ham frequencies on most days of each week. Much of the equipment I use is homemade, and I'm generally working on new circuits or modifications multiple days per week. (Commonly while I'm also listening. ) But you won't find me in LoTW because I generally avoid contests. I'm an active ham -- active for 50+ years, and an ARRL LM -- who by current widely-assumed-to-be-valid socialization-centric, external-validation-seeking standards of gauging ham activity (and, apparently, worthiness) is so "inactive" as to be invisible. So (lack of) appearances can be deceiving.

Early resistance to the recently departed CEO had to do with how he spoke to the membership through QST editorials. I agree: There was a certain sort of self-unaware cluelessness about how the titular leader of our particular subculture should address it. That's yet more evidence for my contention that despite the traditional history of the ARRL GM/CEO position necessarily being filled by an articulate uber-ham, it's important now more than ever that the QST editorial should _not_ necessarily be written by the CEO/GM/Head Keebler Elf/Brain in a Jar each month. So here are some concrete suggestions about that editorial:

1 The QST editorial should immediately be reverted in name to It Seems to Us, or just to Editorial. It's an editorial, dammit! (Keep Second Century if it's useful as a _different_ sort of platform for concentrating on revitalization and growth of ARRL The Organization.)

2 The QST editorial should not necessarily be written by the ARRL GM/CEO.

3 The QST editorial should be written by ARRL The Organization leadership as often as possible. (If a given ARRL Prez happens not to be as fluent with wordage as a Warner or a Sumner or a Huntoon, no problem; even the US Prez has speechwriters.) It would be really good to hear from the ARRL Prez through QST often, but the writer of ISTU doesn't have to be the Prez. (If the GM/CEO/Head Elf/Jar Brain running HQ can occasionally participate, fine.)

4 Having the QST editorial written by guest editorialists would be fine and even laudable. Inspiration can come from anyone who can inspire.

5 Consider adding to QST a closing editorial, to be written by any of the players implied above, with emphasis (particularly in this case) on guests. Maybe call it Over or Until the Next or QRU something similarly QSOish. (Maybe even a play on words against ISTU: It Seems to Me.) A place to send us off for another month's hamming in a personal or quirky or fun or thought-provoking way.

Best best regardsses,

Dave/W9BRD

 

No problem with me if you continue to be incorrect. You simply are.

Yes, it matters that amateur radio has a large population, and one that's at least active enough with their computers in rulemaking matters to make FCC notice. but there is no mission; you just don't understand how radio regs are structured. The "basis and purpose" part of the AR rules were added when the Administrative Procedure Act required that all subparts of government regulations had to begin with B&P so lawmakers would have a framework within which to craft and evolve regulations. It did not make of every radio amateur a Radio Soldier in any sense.

 

'Radio soldier': silly coined phrase (by you) IMO with no basis whatsoever as a summary of my comments, Dave.

Kindly read my response carefully.

IMO you missed the point. I was quite clear about the distinction of the individual, versus the service.

Of course there is a mission statement. You may choose another word than 'mission' but it certainly has a 'mission statement'..again, let's not get annoyed with definitions of a specific word.

WHY there is a mission statement and how it was invoked is immaterial to the fact that it exists, and defines objections and obligations of the service.

The mission statement is not a regulatory convenience of description. It is a justification for spectrum , which essentially defines the capabilities of the service.

Speaking of which, have you been on the air lately? Just wondering...

Surely you agree that if 99.9% of the Part 97 licensees lay radio-silent, for example, that the 'mission' of Part 97 would not be met, and therefore suspect for future existence....

The 9cm band will be lost in part or in toto because the service as a whole will be shown, by others IMO, as failing to meet the mission of Part 97 for that band.

73
Chip W1YW

 

I don't agree with all of this, but they are important points to consider.

The existing bylaws call for a CEO, not a GM.

If the board goes back and changes that to a GM, by revision of the bylaws, I am of the opinion that a huge 'myarrl' type --bigger-- objection will be raised, by those who see the CEO as the voice of the organization of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AMATEUR RADIO.

That voice MUST be an active ham.

And thanks for the clarification that you ARE active Dave.

73
Chip W1YW

 

Members rightfully shouldn't care a flying figurine what the position is called. That's why I kept slashes/between/so/many/naming/options. C-level-ism is just corporate faddism. In a decade or three, chief will likely have been replaced in corpSpeak by some other attributive noun, like head. (I will say that Grand has a certain ring, as in Grand Poobah. See how much it matters to one for whom two generations of the family worked for HQ?)

Probably the best solution will be to:

1 Have the actual CEO work done by whoever fits the qualifications for CEO.

2 Have a public figurehead publicly appear to be the CEO so those who need the CEO to be Someone Sufficiently Like Them are satisfied while they aren't busy being hypnotized by chasing laser-pointer dots.

3 And then have a competent and inspiring ghostwriter handle the public written appearances, like QST editorials and emails, in place of both of the first two functions, in case neither can fulfill this one.

 

Dave,

The reason WHY the membership SHOULD care about what the position is called is because of what the position needs to do beyond the management of 225 Main Street

I discussed that at length in earlier posts on this thread.

Have a great morning--go work the TI9!

73
Chip W1YW

 

I think those are some really good suggestions

 

The percentage of hams that execute the "mission" is maybe 5% therefore there is justification for eliminating 95% of our frequencies.
No where in Part 97 is the word hobby used.
From the ARRL:
Radio amateurs, often called “hams,” enjoy radio technology as a hobby. But it's also a service –a vital service that has saved lives when regular communication systems failed.

 

99.99993% of the time however it's used as a HOBBY.