As you may know, there will be an election shortly for ARRL Roanoke Division Director. The Roanoke Division includes Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. I would like you to consider supporting and voting for Jim Talens, N3JT. Jim has a unique blend of experience and training, including 22 years as an FCC attorney, BSEE and MBA degrees, and many years of law firm and consulting experience – all of which he will use to improve the ARRL.

In addition to his experience and training, he is an active radio amateur. He was first licensed in 1960, has won the ARRL DX contest, and has written articles for QST and the National Contest Journal (NCJ). In addition, Jim co-authored ARRL’s Morse Code book, and co-founded the 3,500-member CW Operators’ Club. He also supports the League financially as a member of the Maxim Society and Diamond Club,

Jim believes that key to the future of ham radio is change in the current leadership of ARRL. In his opinion, our member-centric organization needs:

• Transparency (too much is done in secret)
• IT competence and protection
• An aggressive school program to entice young people into the hobby
• More work on spectrum preservation
• Continuing lobbying in Washington, DC
• Reduced internal drama (politics) at headquarters (approx. 50 staff members have left in the past few years)
• A more focused effort to push federal legislation assuring that virtually every ham can put up an outdoor antenna

To achieve these objectives, he needs your vote! For more information about Jim and his positions, visit his QRZ page. And, if you feel as strongly as Jim does and I do about the ARRL board needing some new faces and some new ideas, please consider donating to his GoFundMe campaign. I”ve made a small donation, and I don’t even live in the Roanoke Division!

Yesterday, the ARRL published a report on the second board meeting of the year. There’s a lot to like here:

• I like the new mission statement. “ARRL’s mission is to promote and protect the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio, and to develop the next generation of radio amateurs” is short and to the point, and  I like the emphasis on developing the next generation of radio amateurs.
• The report notes that the president will “appoint a study group to review the current structure of ARRL governance and the Field Organization.” This is long overdue.

Of course, there are some things that I would rethink:

• It almost seems like they’re giving up on increasing membership. Instead of increasing membership, the report says that they will be trying to , “develop new sources of revenue and seek support from donors and grants from both public and private organizations.” Without more members, I don’t think the ARRL will be successful.
• Targeting middle- and high-school STEM education programs is a good thing, but I think that targeting a little older and more technically sophisticated audience, like those I encountered at the HOPE Conference might be a more effective strategy for developing the next generation of radio amateurs.
• Aside from the mission statement, there’s nothing in the report that points to the ARRL taking a leadership position in technology development. This is a technical hobby, and the hobby’s “national organization” should take a leadership role in the technology.

That’s all for now. Here’s the complete report. The bolding was all done by the ARRL

ARRL Board Completes 2024 Second Meeting, Approves Report to Advance a 3-Year Strategy

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, gaveled in the 2024 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors on Friday, July 19, in Windsor, Connecticut. The Board meeting was preceded by standing committee meetings held on Thursday, including Administration & Finance chaired by Rocky Mountain Division Director Jeff Ryan, K0RM; Emergency Communications and Field Services chaired by Great Lakes Division Director Scott Yonally, N8SY, and Programs & Services chaired by Dakota Division Director Bill Lippert, AC0W.

President Roderick recognized new Officers and Board members including First Vice President Kristen McIntyre, K6WX (January 2024), Second Vice President Mike Ritz, W7VO (January 2024), Hudson Division Director Ed Wilson, N2XDD (July 2024), Northwestern Division Director Mark Tharp, KB7HDX (January 2024), Northwestern Division Vice Director Michael Sterba, KG7HQ (February 2024; not present), Pacific Division Director Tony Marcin, W7XM (January 2024), and Pacific Division Vice Director John Litz, NZ6Q (April 2024).

Here are highlights of some of the actions taken at the meeting:

Strategy

• The Board unanimously accepted a report establishing a 3-year strategy for ARRL, and recognized the efforts of the Strategy Working Group. They authorized CEO David A. Minster, NA2AA, to proceed with further planning.

The report included a revised mission statement: ARRL’s mission is to promote and protect the art, science, and enjoyment of amateur radio, and to develop the next generation of radio amateurs.

The strategy articulates continued commitment and enhancements to our existing advocacies:

• • Promoting Amateur Radio
  • Protecting Amateur Radio

A new advocacy is being created, committing ARRL to develop the next generation of radio amateurs through the expansion of existing programs and the creation of curriculum-based initiatives targeted at middle and high school STEM education programs:

• • Inspiring and Educating Youth

The strategy calls for investments in Information Technology to continue along the path of ARRL’s Digital Transformation. This will include evaluating membership models, content delivery methods, and next generation software products along with the infrastructure improvements required to support them:

• • Serving Members and Driving Growth Through Technology

In committing to dramatically expanding our capabilities and activities in the STEM education space and investing in upgrades and additions to our Information Technology platform, we recognize that revenue from membership dues is insufficient to fund these initiatives. In fact, dues contribute less than half the revenue required to operate ARRL. Efforts are required to develop new sources of revenue and seek support from donors and grants from both public and private organizations:

• • Expanding Our Means and Financial Capability

• The Board requested the President establish the ARRL Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC), acknowledging the importance of providing information technology-based services to ARRL members, and to improve and protect ARRL systems. The ITAC will engage experts in the field of IT to help oversee the development, operations, and evolution of the ARRL IT system infrastructure and applications.
•  The Board reassigned the Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) Maintenance Committee to the newly established Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC). ITAC will support the Maintenance Committee’s responsibilities with LoTW® development, including technical changes and future upgrades to the system.

Advocacy

The Board recommended and authorized the creation of additional publications, including books and online resources, and products, such as antenna kits, to help expand ARRL’s commitment to help hams who are faced with limits on station building capabilities due to space limitations and/or limited resources.

Governance

• The Board requested that the President appoint a study group to review the current structure of ARRL governance and the Field Organization and suggest changes that would improve the organization and better support the membership.
• The Board requested that the President establish an ad hoc committee to review the ARRL Director’s Workbook and establish an annual review process to keep the document up to date with Board practice and procedure.
• The Board approved expanding the policy for recording roll call votes to being required for any pending motions pertaining to ARRL governance documents.

Trademarks

Following recent review of ARRL’s trademarks and the completion of related registrations and trademark renewals, the Board requested the CEO to provide a report at its next meeting consisting of efforts and actions taken during 2024 to identify, remedy, and protect the use of its trademarks by other parties.

The complete minutes of the 2024 Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors will be available soon on the ARRL website.

The next meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors will be January 17 – 18, 2025.