From: Larry Smith <larryesmith@rocketmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 10:42 PM
Subject: Letter to ARRL Board of Directors and League Leadership
Dear ARRL Officers, Directors, and Vice Directors:
As an elected representative of the Majors Field Amateur Radio Club, I have been asked by vote of our membership to represent all 35 members and trustees of our club, and write to you to express our concern about recent ARRL actions. Our membership, many who are also members of ARRL, has always been supportive of the ARRL, and we wish for ARRL to continue to thrive. This is the first time our club has felt the need to write to ARRL officials, as the events and proposed by-laws and articles changes in recent weeks and months have so concerned us that we deem it vital to provide urgent feedback to all of the ARRL leadership before your January board meeting.
We ask you to remove from consideration, now and forever, the proposed by-laws changes offered up by Director Lisenco and Director Norris that are on the table for the January (or future) meeting(s), and urge the board to retool the “code of conduct” and its use, so that it is not used to encourage secrecy that leads to the censure of directors who openly discuss how they vote on ARRL business. As a democratic organization, we believe it is crucial that the spirit of elected directors be sustained and bolstered, and that Board members be encouraged to dialogue with the membership at large about their voting record, and issues that impact the membership. Further, we do not believe that more board members, who are not elected by membership, should be “appointed” and given a vote, as is now being proposed. Elected representation is how ARRL is governed, by and for the members, and we seek for that to be preserved. Also, we ask that the board undo your censure of Dick Norton, N6AA, based on the evidence to date and secrecy shrouding the Board’s initial decision, and to turn back from engaging in actions such as censure or disqualification of directors without giving transparent, clear evidence to the membership.
On behalf of our entire membership of 35 active Radio Amateurs, I ask that you work to restore trust and faith to the members by permanently removing from consideration any and all parts of the recently proposed changes to the by-laws and articles. I expect and look forward to hearing from you, so I may share your responses with our club members and others.
Sincerely,
Larry Smith, K5XB
Life Member, ARRL
President, Majors Field Amateur Radio Club
president@wd5gsl.org
http://www.wd5gsl.org/