Minutes of the 2007 Annual Meeting
ARRL Board of Directors
January 19-20, 2007
1. Pursuant to due notice, the Board of Directors of the American Radio Relay League, Inc., met in annual session at the Hartford/Windsor Airport Marriott in Windsor, Connecticut, on Friday, January 19, and Saturday, January 20, 2007. The meeting was called to order at 8:30 AM EST January 19 with President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in the Chair and the following Directors present:
Bill Edgar, N3LLR, Atlantic Division
George R. Isely, W9GIG, Central Division
Jay Bellows, KØQB, Dakota Division
Henry Leggette, WD4Q, Delta Division
Jim Weaver, K8JE, Great Lakes Division
Frank Fallon, N2FF, Hudson Division
Bruce Frahm, KØBJ, Midwest Division
Tom Frenaye, K1KI, New England Division
Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF, Northwestern Division
Bob Vallio, W6RGG, Pacific Division
Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, Roanoke Division
Warren G. “Rev” Morton, WS7W, Rocky Mountain Division
Frank M. Butler, W4RH, Southeastern Division
Dick Norton, N6AA, Southwestern Division
Coy Day, N5OK, West Gulf Division
Also present without vote were Kay C. Craigie, N3KN, First Vice President; Rick Roderick, K5UR, Vice President; Rod Stafford, W6ROD, International Affairs Vice President; James McCobb, K1LU, Treasurer; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer and Secretary; Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI; Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B; Chief Financial Officer Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY, and Chief Development Officer Mary M. Hobart, K1MMH.
Also in attendance at the invitation of the Board as observers were Radio Amateurs of Canada President Earle W. Smith, VE6NM, and the following Vice Directors: Tom Abernethy, W3TOM, Atlantic Division; Howard Huntington, K9KM, Central Division; Twila Greenheck, NØJPH, Dakota Division; Karl Bullock, WA5TMC, Delta Division; Gary L. Johnston, KI4LA, Great Lakes Division; Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF, Hudson Division; Clifford H. Ahrens, KØCA, Midwest Division; Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, New England Division; William J. “Bill” Sawders, K7ZM, Northwestern Division; Andy Oppel, N6AJO, Pacific Division; Patricia M. Hensley, N4ROS, Roanoke Division; Brian P. Mileshosky, N5ZGT, Rocky Mountain Division; Nelson E. “Sandy” Donahue, W4RU, Southeastern Division; Edward “Ned” Stearns, AA7A, Southwestern Division; and Dr. David Woolweaver, K5RAV, West Gulf Division. Also present were General Counsel Christopher D. Imlay, W3KD; John Chwat, of Chwat and Co., ARRL’s Washington D.C. legislative consultant; and Field and Educational Services Manager David Patton, NN1N.
First-time attendees Cliff Ahrens and Patricia Hensley were introduced by Mr. Frahm and Mr. Bodson, respectively.
2. The assembly observed a moment of silence in recollection of Radio Amateurs who have passed away since the previous Board meeting, especially Donald D. Armey, K4FVN; Richard G. Ballou, K3MQH; Joseph C. Boyd, KC5GPY; Charles E. "Chuck" Brady, N4BQW; Cliff Buttschardt, K7RR; Thomas M. Coates, W8QD; Jack W. Herbstreit, ex-WØDW; John Ingram, N9JI; Alan Kaul, W6RCL; Eddy Kosobucki, K4JNL; Alan Mattison, W5NTM; Armin Henry Meyer, W3ACE; Martin P. Miller, NN2C; Harrison W. Moore Jr., W2JQS; Donald R. Newcomb, WØDN; Debbie Norman, VA3RGM; Marshall Quiat, AGØX; Robert M. Richardson, W4UCH; Oliver N. "Olie" Rinehart, WD8V; Jerry Seligman, W7BUN; Robert W. "Wade" Walstrom, WØEJ; Glenn Williams, NØHN.
3. The President of the Radio Amateurs of Canada, Mr. Earle Smith, VE6NM, delivered his greetings from RAC. He thanked the Board for allowing him to attend this meeting as it provided new ideas for RAC. He was confident that the recent changes made by the FCC would not have detrimental impact upon radio amateurs in Canada, and he also expressed hope for an energized amateur service in the US after the most recent FCC action that dropped the requirement for Morse code testing.
4. Mr. Frenaye, as President, reported on the activities of the ARRL Foundation. There will be about 50 scholarships awarded in 2007, and the Foundation Board expects to review approximately 400 applications for those awards. The Foundation awarded a couple of small grants in 2006, to scouting groups and to support emergency communication projects.
5. On motion of Mr. Edgar, seconded by Mr. Vallio, the agenda for the meeting was ADOPTED.
6. The Chair opened nominations for Director members of the Executive Committee for one-year terms. Mr. Bellows nominated Mr. Day, Mr. Isely, Mr. Fallon, Mr. Butler, and Mr. Fenstermaker. Mr. Day nominated Mr. Morton. Mr. Morton nominated Mr. Bodson. On motion of Mr. Day, seconded by Mr. Morton, it was VOTED to close nominations. An election being required, the Chair appointed Messrs. Bullock, Donahue and Mileshosky as Tellers. The Tellers distributed and collected the ballots and found 14 votes for Mr. Fenstermaker, 14 votes for Mr. Day, 11 votes for Mr. Morton, 10 votes for Mr. Isely, 9 votes for Mr. Butler, 8 votes for Mr. Fallon, and 3 votes for Mr. Bodson, whereupon the Chair declared Mr. Fenstermaker, Mr. Day, Mr. Morton, Mr. Isely, and Mr. Butler elected as Executive Committee members (Applause).
7. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr. Vallio, it was unanimously VOTED that Frank Butler, W4RH, Frank Fallon, N2FF, and Dick Isely, W9GIG, be elected as Directors of the ARRL Foundation for three-year terms (Applause).
8. On motion of Mr. Morton, seconded by Mr. Vallio, the Board APPROVED the following items listed on the Consent Agenda:
9. Mr. Kramer outlined a planned reorganization within Headquarters that would essentially combine the Field and Educational Services Department with the Membership Services Department, with a new position added to focus on emergency communications. In addition, a new and separate Education Department would be created. The Board was in recess from 9:36 AM until 10:01 AM.
10. Mr. Shelley supplemented his written report with an overview of ARRL’s financial activities during 2006. Despite the FCC action regarding the Morse testing issue coming later than expected, the financial status at the end of the year was good. He added that 2007 looks to be a good year for ARRL and its members also. At this point Mr. Don Durand, Manager of ARRL’s Information Services Department joined the meeting and assisted Mr. Shelley with a presentation regarding the status of his department and the outline of future plans and needs. Mr. Durand departed the meeting at 10:35 AM.
11. Ms. Hobart presented the report of the Chief Development Officer highlighting a new project of the Development Department, the Diamond Terrace. The Diamond Terrace is a program that promotes the Diamond Club and involves the renovation of the walkway and façade of the ARRL headquarters building.
12. Mr. Rinaldo, by request, expanded upon the report of the Chief Technology Officer. The Technical Relations Office has been busy working on issues ranging from preparations for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference, IARU support, dealing with interference to Air Force radar systems, and working with many groups and organizations including AMSAT, the US ITU Association, ARRL’s Technology Working Groups and others.
13. Mr. Chwat presented the Legislative Relations report. The 110th Congress starting in 2007 returns control of the House and Senate to the Democrats for the first time in twelve years. He believes that this shift of control will have a great impact on telecommunications legislation, policy, FCC actions, and perhaps ARRL. Emergency communications is a hot topic this year and will allow ARRL to take different approaches to issues from those tried in the past. The Board was in recess for luncheon and a group photograph from 12:06 PM until 1:39 PM, when the Board reconvened with all persons hereinbefore mentioned.
14. At this point, at 1:40 PM, on motion of Mrs. Craigie, seconded by Mr. Roderick, the Board VOTED to meet as a Committee of the Whole to discuss regulatory matters. At 2:57 PM, the Committee of the Whole arose and reported to the Board. On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Bodson, it was VOTED to accept the report.
The Board was in recess from 2:58 PM until 3:22 PM at which time Mr. Chwat left the meeting.
15. By request, Mr. Mileshosky expanded upon the written report of the Ad hoc Committee on Scouting pointing out the group’s work towards improving scouting/Amateur Radio brochures and the information on scouting found on the ARRL website. The Committee is also actively working to improve the interface between ARRL and scouting organizations.
16. Mr. Frenaye, as Chairman, presented the report of the Administration and Finance Committee. A subcommittee, the ARRL Future Revenue Committee, submitted its report after analyzing dozens of ideas with an eye toward identifying those that had the highest likelihood of success in generating revenue for ARRL. These were narrowed down to three main areas, the ARRL Lab, short-run books and other publications, and plaques and other Amateur Radio gifts.
On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr. Vallio, it was unanimously VOTED that the ARRL, Inc. 2007-2008 Plan as recommended by the Administration and Finance Committee is adopted.
After a short discussion completing the report of the Administration and Finance Committee, on motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr. Vallio, the Board VOTED to meet as a Committee of the Whole at 4:14 PM to discuss personnel matters. At 4:45 PM, the Committee of the Whole arose and reported to the Board. On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Edgar, it was VOTED to accept the report. The Board was in recess from 4:45 PM until 8:32 AM, Saturday, January 20, 2007, reconvening with all persons hereinbefore mentioned except Mr. Chwat.
17. Mr. Bellows, as Chairman, discussed the written report of the Programs and Services Committee. The committee has identified several concerns, and will be monitoring progress in addressing them as the Headquarters reorganization described earlier by Mr. Kramer proceeds.
On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Morton, it was unanimously VOTED that the following resolution be ADOPTED:
RESOLVED, in light of his long and distinguished career, including 17 years as Sacramento Valley Section Manager and his numerous contributions to the radio amateurs of his community, section, and the ARRL, the ARRL Board of Directors confers the Joe Knight Distinguished Service Award on Jettie Hill, W6RFF (Applause).
The Board was in recess from 9:30 AM until 9:52 AM.
18. Mrs. Craigie, as Chairman, presented the report of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee. This Committee was appointed by President Harrison one year ago following the direction of the Board found at Minute 51 of the 2006 Annual Meeting. The committee worked over the last year to provide recommendations to the Board that would improve ARRL’s national preparedness. Mrs. Craigie noted that these wide-ranging and sometimes challenging recommendations require responsiveness to rapid political and technological changes.
On motion of Mrs. Craigie, seconded by Mr. Leggette, the following resolution was ADOPTED:
WHEREAS, there is an increasingly-common practice among served agencies of requiring volunteers, including radio amateurs serving the agencies under the auspices of ARRL-sponsored programs, to submit to personal background investigations; and
WHEREAS, the ARRL acknowledges that agencies with which the League has Memoranda of Understanding and others which are served by local and Section ARES groups have legitimate reasons for instituting background investigation requirements; and
WHEREAS, the ARRL acknowledges that some types of background investigations raise valid concerns among the League’s volunteers regarding personal privacy and identity theft; and
WHEREAS, the ARRL must define and safeguard its own organizational interests as well as act in the best interests of individual volunteers serving under ARRL auspices, and should negotiate Memoranda of Understanding with served agencies based on well-reasoned policy on background investigations;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the President will appoint an ad hoc committee instructed to study issues related to background investigations as they apply to Amateur Radio volunteers serving under the auspices of programs sponsored by the ARRL and to recommend a policy on background investigations which addresses the interests of both the league and its volunteers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee will provide interim reports to the Executive Committee and will present its policy recommendations to the Board not later than the Annual Meeting of 2008.
19. On motion of Mrs. Craigie, seconded by Mr. Isely, the following resolution was unanimously ADOPTED:
WHEREAS, the National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC) has completed its work and reported its recommendations to the Board;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the ARRL Board of Directors receives the NERPC report; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the First Vice President, the chairman of the Programs and Services Committee, and the Manager of the Field and Educational Services Department are instructed to review the NERPC report, identify action items, and refer these action items as appropriate to Staff for administrative implementation, to the Programs and Services Committee for consideration and action, or to the Board for consideration and action at the 2007 Second Meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NERPC is now dissolved, with the ARRL’s gratitude for the contribution of members’ expertise and their devotion to the important task of improving the League’s national-level preparedness for Amateur Radio response to major disasters (Applause).
20. Mr. Oppel, as Chairman, supplemented the written report of the Technology Task Force. He noted that it recommended the formation of two new Working Groups, Digital Multimedia Above 50 MHz and Activity Detection, and continuation of a third, Software Defined Radio, along with initiatives in other areas.
On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Norton, it was VOTED to ADOPT the following resolution:
WHEREAS, in order to increase the understanding and involvement of radio amateurs in new technologies; and
WHEREAS, technology advances are not necessarily limited to introduction of new technologies, but also include solving everyday problems of radio amateurs; and
WHEREAS, the Technology Task Force has outlined a program for technical development for 2007,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the proposals for 2007 Working Groups in the report of the Technology Task Force are adopted.
21. On motion of Mr. Edgar, seconded by Mr. Bodson, it was unanimously VOTED that the ARRL Board of Directors has selected R.J. Harris, W3HP, of Mechanicsburg, PA as the winner of the 2006 Bill Leonard, W2SKE, Professional Media Award (Applause.)
22. On motion of Mr. Weaver, seconded by Mr. Fenstermaker, the following ARRL Legislative Positions for the 110th Congress were unanimously ADOPTED:
Objective #1: The ARRL seeks legislation to extend the requirement for “reasonable accommodation” of Amateur Radio station antennas (a requirement that now applies to state and local regulations) to all forms of land use regulation.
Objective #2: The ARRL seeks legislation requiring the FCC to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the interference potential of broadband over power line (BPL) systems to public safety radio services and other licensed radiocommunication services. Further, the ARRL seeks Congressional instruction to the FCC, based on this evaluation, to adopt improved rules to prevent the deployment of BPL systems having a potential to cause destructive interference to radiocommunication systems
Objective #3: The ARRL opposes legislation that would diminish the rights of federal licensees in favor of unlicensed emitters, especially unintentional emitters.
Objective #4: The ARRL seeks recognition of the unique resources, capabilities, and expertise of the Amateur Radio Service in any legislation addressing communications issues related to emergencies, disasters, or homeland security.
Objective #5: The ARRL supports the complementary legislative objectives of other radiocommunication services, particularly the public safety and scientific services that require spectrum access and protection from interference for noncommercial purposes that benefit the public.
23. Mr. Weaver reported on the activities of the Ad-Hoc Legislative Action Committee and with assistance from Mr. Edgar, demonstrated new web tools available to the Board members and their appointees. The Board was in recess for luncheon from 11:54 AM until 1:01 PM, when the Board reconvened with all persons hereinbefore mentioned except Mr. McCobb, who left the meeting.
24. At this point, Mr. Harrison announced the committee appointments as follows: Administration and Finance: Directors Frenaye, Chairman; Edgar, Vallio, Bodson, Leggette, Vice Director Sawders, and Treasurer McCobb. Programs and Services: Directors Bellows, Chairman; Weaver, Norton, Frahm, Fallon, and Vice Director Raisbeck. Ethics and Elections: Directors Frenaye, Chairman; Frahm and Leggette. Technology Task Force: Vice Directors Oppel, Chairman; Huntington, Stearns, and Chief Technology Officer Rinaldo. Ad-Hoc Scouting: Vice Director Mileshosky, Chairman; Directors Edgar and Fenstermaker, and Larry Wolfgang, WR1B staff liaison. Public Relations: Sherri Brower, W4STB, Chairperson; Vice Director Birmingham, Board Liaison. Historical: Vice Director Johnston, Chairman. Legal Defense & Assistance Committee: Director Bellows, Chairman. Electromagnetic Compatibility: Director Bodson, Chairman. Ad-Hoc Background Investigation: Director Edgar, Chairman; First Vice President Craigie, Director Bellows, Vice Director Bullock, General Counsel Imlay, and Mr. Patton. Bandplanning: Director Roderick, Chairman. RF Safety: Greg Lapin, N9GL, Chairman. VHF/UHF Contest Advisory: Lauren Libby, WØLD, Chairman. DX Advisory: Bob Allphin, K4UEE, Chairman. Contest Advisory: Ward Silver, NØAX, Chairman. Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator: Joe Moell, KØOV.
25. On motion of Mr. Vallio, seconded by Mr. Bodson, it was VOTED to explore the possible advantages to be gained by listing the ARRL on www.craigslist.org as a community resource, with appropriate links to www.arrl.org, including information about how to find clubs.
26. On motion of Mr. Weaver, seconded by Mr. Fallon, the following resolution was unanimously ADOPTED:
RESOLVED that the Grassroots Legislative Action Committee is now dissolved, with the ARRL’s gratitude for the contribution of members’ expertise, resources and diligence (Applause).
27. There being no further business, those present were invited to make informal closing comments.
28. On motion of Mr. Frahm, seconded by the entire assembly, the following resolution was unanimously ADOPTED:
WHEREAS, the Annual meeting of the ARRL board has been conducted efficiently and effectively due in great measure to the diligence of staff;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the entire board family thanks staff for the warm welcome to Headquarters and assistance at their committee meetings. We most especially recognize Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ, for supporting our deliberations and arranging a comfortable and pleasant venue for this Meeting (Applause).
The meeting was adjourned at 3:25 PM. (Time in session as a Board: 9 hours, 28 minutes. Time in session as a Committee of the Whole: 1 hour, 48 minutes)
Respectfully submitted,
David Sumner, K1ZZ
Secretary