DOC #22
Rev. A

Volunteer Resources Committee Report
To The ARRL Board of Directors
January 18, 2002

The following summary report is submitted to the ARRL Board of Directors on behalf of the Volunteer Resources Committee.

1. Minute 67 of the 2001 Annual Meeting

1.1 Introduction.

The VRC has been continued with its review of the ARRL Field Organization, in accordance with Minute 67 of the 2001 Annual Meeting. In person meetings during the second half of the year consisted of two in-person meetings, one at the July board meeting and one other in November, plus eight teleconferences. Seventeen teleconferences were held by the committee during the year. The committee has found teleconferences to be a highly effective way of taking care of business at a modest cost.

1.2 Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization

The primary result of the VRC's efforts is given in Appendix A, our revision of the Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization. The document is now gender neutral, extensive, although individually minor changes were made to the language, and some rearranging of topics was made, all in order to make the document more readable and understandable.

1.3 Major recommendations.

Some changes we recommend can be considered to be major, and worthy of special note. A copy of our recommended revision is given in Appendix A. A copy of the current ("old") version is given in Appendix B, for comparison. Those changes we consider to be major are as follows.

- Paragraph 1. The basis and purpose of the Field Organization has been reworded somewhat and expanded.

- Paragraph 3. A sentence has been added containing language prohibiting a SM from committing, obligating, or binding the League unless the agreement has been reviewed by the F&ES Manager and approved by the ARRL President or the President's designee

- Paragraph 4. Language has been added that prohibits an individual who has been removed from office from running again for SM in the next election following removal from office. Further, if the person was removed by action of the Executive Committee, the consent of the Executive Committee must be obtained to be eligible to run for that office again.

- Paragraph 6 (formerly Paragraph 7). The sentence "The Section Manager is the senior elected ARRL official in his section" has been replaced by "The Section Manager is accountable for carrying out the duties of the office in accordance with ARRL policies established by the Board of Directors and shall act in the best interests of Amateur Radio. In discharging these responsibilities, the Section Manager:"

- Paragraph 11 (new). This entirely new paragraph states "Any Field Organization Appointment may be canceled by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interest of the ARRL to do so.

- Paragraph 12 (formerly paragraph 11). Removes the wording "These rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of the By-Laws of the League." To "These Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization may be amended by a majority vote of the ARRL Board of Directors."

1.4 Questionnaires.

During the course of the review of the Rules and Regulations three questionnaires were submitted to Section Managers via the ARRL SM reflector. Although some useful comments were received, on the whole it was not a resounding success. Some individual SMs performed admirably, but the vast majority simply did not participate. 31 comments (from about 20 different SMs) were submitted for the first questionnaire, 32 for the second, and only 11 for the third. We still believe that the SMs should be involved in studies of this sort, but we have not yet found the formula that will ensure such participation. Certainly major changes that have a dramatic effect on the way SMs do their job and interface with members will generate much more interest, as has the recent proposal to move Section News to the web.

1.5 Field Appointee Terms of Reference

Part of the job of revising the Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization consisted of a review of the many appointments available to members in the field. This must be considered to be work in progress, for only about half the appointments have been reviewed thoroughly and revised. The full package of recommended revisions will be presented to the Board for their review during 2002. There does not seem to be any strong justification for deleting any of these appointments at this time. The remainder of the TORs are proposed to be reviewed as part of the follow-on study discussed in Paragraph 3.0, below.

2.0 Revised Criteria for the Public Service Honor Roll

As a result of some criticism of the criteria for listing in the Public Service Honor Roll, the F&ES Department initiated a study of the criteria in 2000. Broadly speaking, the criticism was that the PSHR point system was too heavily biased toward traffic handling and net operations, and that public service events and emergency events were not defined and categorized adequately. A questionnaire was circulated and the results tabulated by Steve Ewald in F&ES and reviewed by the VRC in November. As a result of this study the VRC recommends that the criteria be changed to those given in Appendix C. The present criteria are given in Appendix D, for reference.

3.0 Homeland Security and Follow-on Work for 2002: Emergency Communications

The national interest on homeland security following the attack of September 11, 2002, will have an as yet unknown impact on Amateur Radio emergency communications. The VRC believes, however, that ARRL should be proactive in achieving visibility within the homeland security community, and should continue with the discussions already in progress, such as the Haynie White Paper of Dec. 19, 2001 (ODV:6543. Moreover, during the review of the present Field Organization rules and regulations and terms of reference, it became increasingly obvious to the committee that some follow-on effort is necessary related to Field Organization structure, and especially ARRL programs related to public service communications and emergency communications. As a result, one or more motions will be presented by the VRC at the January board meeting for the purpose of stimulating board discussion as well as receiving authorization to continue studies in these areas, including homeland security.

The shortness of this report's introductory text belies the fact that this has been an unusually active VRC. The committee consisted of Frank Butler, W4RH; Fried Heyn, WA6WZO; George Race, WB8BGY; Wade Walstrom; W0EJ; Kay Craigie, WT3P; Rod Stafford, W6ROD; and Rosalie White, K1STO. I extend my personal thanks to all for patiently working through long agendas during our nearly bi-weekly teleconferences. Special thanks goes to F&ES Services manager Rosalie White, for patiently handling my questions during our frequent telephone conversations.

Respectfully Submitted

Jim Maxwell, W6CF
Chair

Appendix A

1. The League maintains a Section level Field Organization whose programs provide opportunities for volunteers to further the objectives of the ARRL, provide assistance to fellow radio amateurs, and promote amateur radio's service to the American public. Principal areas of responsibility of the Field Organization are emergency communications, message traffic relay, technical activity / problem-solving, volunteer monitoring, government relations, public relations in the general community, information services for amateurs, and cooperation with affiliated clubs.

2. For the activities of the ARRL Field Organization, the territory of the League is defined as consisting of territorial Divisions described in By-Law 30. The ARRL Divisions are further subdivided into ARRL sections for the administrative purposes of the Field Organization. Information and guidance on proposals for changes to the boundaries of the administrative sections are available from ARRL Headquarters.

3. In each section there will be an elected Section Manager (SM) who will have authority over the section's Field Organization, and, in cooperation with the Division Director, will foster and encourage ARRL activities and programs within that section. No Section Manager shall have the authority to commit, obligate or bind the League in any dealings with individuals, entities or governmental units or agencies unless the agreement has been reviewed by the F&ES Manager and approved by the ARRL President or the President's designee.

4. Any candidate for the office of Section Manager must be a resident of the section, a licensed amateur of Technician class or higher, and a Full member of the League for a continuous term of at least two years immediately preceding receipt of a petition for nomination and throughout the subsequent term of office. A Section Manager shall not simultaneously serve as an Officer, Director or Vice Director. A person who is removed from the office of Section Manager by a recall election or by action of the Executive Committee shall not be eligible to be a candidate for Section Manager in the next election following removal from office. Further, any person who is removed from the office of Section Manager by action of the Executive Committee must receive the consent of the Executive Committee to be eligible to run for that office again.

5. Each Section Manager shall be elected for a two-year term of office in accordance with the following procedure:

a) The Field & Educational Services Manager shall solicit petitions of nomination on or before December 31, March 31, June 30, or September 30. The solicitation shall show the name, call and term ending date of the incumbent in each section solicited, and shall give full instructions for filing. On any date not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the tenth day of March, June, September and December, respectively, of each year, nominating petitions signed by five or more Full members of specified sections and naming a Full member of each such section as candidate for Section Manager may be filed with the Field & Educational Services Manager.

b) If there is only one eligible nominee on the appropriate listed closing date for receipt of petitions, the Field & Educational Services Manager shall declare the nominee elected without balloting. If there is more than one eligible nominee, then on or before April 1, July 1, October 1 or January 2, respectively, the Field & Educational Services Manager shall send by mail a ballot to each person who on the date coinciding with the respective closing date from paragraph 5a above of that year was a Full Member of the League in the section in which the election is being held. If that mailing date falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, then ballots shall be sent out no later than the following Monday. The ballot shall be accompanied by information on the Amateur Radio background of each candidate.

c) Ballots to be counted shall reach the Field & Educational Services Manager not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the 20th of May, August, November or February, respectively, and shall be counted the following Tuesday, under the supervision of the Field & Educational Services Manager. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes in each case shall be declared elected. The candidates shall be notified by mail and the results of election for Section Manager terms beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 or April 1, respectively, shall appear in the first available issue of QST.

d) If there is no eligible nominee, the procedure in 5a, b and c shall be repeated in six months and the term of office of any Section Manager elected under this resolicitation procedure will be shortened to 18 months. If there again is no eligible nominee, the person holding office shall continue in office until the next regular election established by these rules for said section.

e) Should a dispute arise concerning the qualifications, campaign, balloting or ballot-counting pertaining to a Section Manager election, a summary of the dispute, together with all correspondence specifically relating thereto, shall be promptly forwarded to the Election Committee which shall render a decision thereon. Appeals to the Board from a decision of the Election Committee shall be processed as provided in disputes pertaining to elections of Directors and Vice Directors.

f) Vacancies in the office of Section Manager occurring between elections shall be filled by appointment by the Field and Educational Services Manager in consultation with the Director. The outgoing Section Manager's recommendation may be solicited as part of this procedure.

g) The Section Manager shall, within the section of responsibility, be subject to the provisions of By-Law 24 and Article 7 of the Articles of Association and By-Laws regarding recall petitions, except that the cutoff date shall be not less than six months prior to the expiration of the Section Manager's term of office, and the territory embraced shall be the Section represented, rather than the Division, and the affected Section Manager shall be notified of the fact of receipt of a notice of proposed recall.

6. The Section Manager is accountable for carrying out the duties of the office in accordance with ARRL policies established by the Board of Directors and shall act in the best interests of Amateur Radio. In discharging these responsibilities, the Section Manager:

a) Recruits, appoints, and supervises section-level staff to administer the Field Organization's principal areas of responsibility in the section. These areas are emergency communications, message traffic relay, technical activity / problem solving, volunteer monitoring, government relations, public relations in the general community, information services for amateurs, and cooperation with affiliated clubs.

b) Appoints qualified ARRL members in the section to other volunteer positions in support of Field Organization objectives, and may authorize section-level staff to make such appointments.

c) Keeps well informed concerning matters of ARRL policy so as to administer the Field Organization in accordance with current policy and so as to provide correct information in response to members' inquiries.

d) Supervises the activities of the section-level staff, monitors the performance of the Field Organization volunteers, and provides guidance as necessary to ensure that appointees act in the best interests of Amateur Radio and in accordance with ARRL policies.

e) Maintains liaison with the Division Director; makes periodic reports to the Director regarding the status of Section activities; receives from the Director information and guidance pertaining to matters of mutual concern and interest; serves on the Division Cabinet and renders advice as requested by the Director.

f) Conducts correspondence and other communications with ARRL members and affiliated clubs in the Section; makes personal visits to clubs, hamfests, and conventions; responds to members' questions and concerns or refers them to an appropriate person or office in the League organization; maintains liaison with representative frequency coordinator(s) having jurisdiction in the Section.

g) Writes, or supervises preparation of, a monthly "Section News"; uses electronic communications, such as the Internet, to distribute information about Section activities and to encourage member participation in the Field Organization.

h) Promotes recruitment of new amateurs and new ARRL members; encourages attitudes and actions which welcome new radio amateurs and integrate them into League and club activities.

7. The office of any Section Manager may be declared vacant by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interests of the ARRL to do so. Grounds for declaring the office vacant include, but are not limited to, move of permanent residence outside the Section from which elected, expiration of ARRL membership, and expiration or cancellation of Amateur license. On such declaration, the Field & Educational Services Manager will appoint a new Section Manager as provided in Rule 5f.

8. Section-level staff appointments in the Field Organization, made by the Section Manager, shall be available to qualified ARRL Full Members in each section. These are Assistant Section Manager (optional at the discretion of the Section Manager), Section Emergency Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager, Official Observer Coordinator, State Government Liaison, Technical Coordinator, Affiliated Club Coordinator, Public Information Coordinator, and Bulletin Manager.

9. In support of the Section-level staff, other Field Organization appointments shall be available to qualified ARRL Full Members in each section. These are Official Relay Station, Official Bulletin Station, Official Emergency Station, Official Observer, Technical Specialist, Public Information Officer, Local Government Liaison, District Emergency Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, and Net Manager. The Section Manager may authorize Section-level assistants to make these appointments.

10. Guidelines concerning the qualifications for and duties of Field Organization and all appointments shall be provided to appointees, and published in appropriate ARRL publications and on the ARRL Website.

11. Any Field Organization appointment may be canceled by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interest of the ARRL to do so.

12. These Rules and Regulations of the ARRL Field Organization may be amended by a majority vote of the ARRL Board of Directors.

Appendix B

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE ARRL FIELD ORGANIZATION

1. The League maintains a Field Organization for the following purposes and objectives: emergency communications, message traffic, volunteer monitoring, RFI problem-solving, support of affiliated clubs, state government liaison, encouragement of technical activities and dissemination of on-the-air bulletins.

2. For the activities of the ARRL Field Organization, the territory of the League is defined as consisting of territorial Divisions described in By-Law 30. The ARRL Divisions are further subdivided into ARRL Sections for the administrative purposes of the Field Organization. Information and guidance on proposals for changes to the boundaries of the administrative sections are available from ARRL Headquarters.

3. In each Section there will be an elected Section Manager (SM) who will have authority over the Field Organization in his or her section, and, in cooperation with his Director, will foster and encourage ARRL activities and programs within that section.

4. Any candidate for the office of Section Manager must be a resident of the Section, a licensed amateur of Technician class or higher, and a Full member of the League for a continuous term of at least two years immediately preceding receipt of a petition for nomination and throughout the subsequent term of office. A Section Manager may not simultaneously serve as an Officer, Director or Vice Director.

5. Each Section Manager shall be elected for a two-year term of office in accordance with the following procedure:

a) On any date not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the tenth day of March, June, September and December of each year, nominating petitions signed by five or more Full members of specified sections and naming a Full member of each such section as candidate for Section Manger may be filed with the Field Services Manager. The Field Services Manager shall solicit such petitions of election on or before June 30, September 30, December 31 or March 31 respectively. The solicitation shall show the name, call and term ending date of the incumbent in each section solicited, and give full instructions for filing.

b) If there is only one eligible nominee on the appropriate listed closing date for receipt of petitions, the Field Services Manager shall declare him elected without balloting. If there is more than one eligible nominee, then on or before April 1, July 1, October 1 or January 2, respectively, the Field Services Manager shall send by mail a ballot to each person who on the date coinciding with the respective closing date from paragraph 5a above of that year was a Full Member of the League in the section in which the election is being held. If that mailing date falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, then ballots shall be sent out no later than the following Monday. The ballot shall be accompanied by information on the Amateur Radio background of each candidate.

c) Ballots to be counted shall reach the Field Services Manager not later than 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time of the Friday prior to or corresponding to the 20th of May, August, November or February, respectively, and shall be counted the following Tuesday, under the supervision of the Field Services Manager. The candidate receiving the greatest number of votes in each case shall be declared elected. The candidates shall be notified by mail and the results of election for Section Manager terms beginning July 1, October 1, January 1 or April 1, respectively, shall appear in the first available issue of QST.

d) If there is no eligible nominee, the procedure in 5a, b and c will be repeated in six months and the term of office of any Section Manager elected under this resolicitation procedure will be shortened to 18 months. If there again is no eligible nominee, the person holding office shall continue in office until the next regular election established by these rules for said section.

e) Should a dispute arise concerning the qualifications, campaign, balloting or ballot-counting pertaining to a Section Manager election, a summary of the dispute, together with all correspondence specifically relating thereto, shall be promptly forwarded to the Election Committee which shall render a decision thereon. Appeals to the Board from a decision of the Election Committee shall be processed as provided in disputes pertaining to elections of Directors and Vice Directors.

f) Vacancies in the office of Section Manager occurring between elections shall be filled by appointment by the Field Services Manager in consultation with the Director and, except when the vacancy results from a recall election, upon recommendation of the outgoing SM.

g) The Section Manager shall, within his section, be subject to the provisions of By-Law 24 and Article 7 of the Articles of Association and By-Laws regarding recall petitions, except that the cutoff date shall be not less than six months prior to the expiration of the Section Manager's term of office, and the territory embraced shall be the Section represented, rather than the Division, and the affected Section Manager shall be notified of the fact of receipt of a notice of proposed recall.

6. The office of any Section Manager may be declared vacant by the Executive Committee whenever it appears to be in the best interests of the membership to do so. On such declaration, the Field Services Manager will appoint a new Section Manager as provided in Rule 5f. Grounds for declaring the office vacant shall include, but are not limited to, move of permanent residence outside the Section from which elected, expiration of ARRL membership, and expiration or cancellation of Amateur license.

7. The Section Manager is the senior elected ARRL official in his section. In discharging his responsibilities, he:

a) Recruits and appoints section-level assistants to serve under his general supervision and to administer the following ARRL programs in the section: emergency communications, message traffic, official observers, affiliated clubs, public information, state government liaison, technical activities and on-the-air bulletins.

b) Supervises the activities of these assistants to ensure continuing progress in accordance with overall ARRL policies and objectives.

c) Appoints qualified ARRL members in the section to volunteer positions of responsibility in support of section programs, or authorizes the respective section-level assistants to make such appointments.

d) Maintains liaison with the Division Director and makes periodic reports to him regarding the status of Section activities; receives from him information and guidance pertaining to matters of mutual concern and interest; serves on the Division Cabinet and renders advice as requested by the Division Director; keeps informed on matters of policy which affect section-level programs.

e) Conducts correspondence or other communications, including personal visits to clubs, hamfests and conventions, with ARRL members and affiliated clubs in the section; either responds to their questions or concerns or refers them to the appropriate person or office in the League organization; maintains liaison with representative repeater-frequency coordinating bodies having jurisdiction in the section.

f) Writes, or supervises preparation of, a monthly "Section News" column in QST to encourage member participation in the ARRL programs in the section.

g) Recruits new amateurs and ARRL members to foster growth of Field Organization programs and the amateur service's capabilities in support of public service.

8. Forming a major part of the ARRL Field Organization are the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS) for emergency and traffic operations. Details concerning ARES and NTS (as well as the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service -- RACES -- which is administered by the U.S. Government's Federal Emergency Management Agency) are contained in the ARRL Public Service Communications Manual.

9. Field Organization leadership appointments from the Section Manager shall be available to qualified ARRL Full members in each section. These appointments are as follows: Assistant Section Manager (optional at the discretion of the Section Manager), Section Emergency Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager, Official Observer Coordinator, State Government Liaison, Technical Coordinator, Affiliated Club Coordinator, Public Information Coordinator, Bulletin Manager, District Emergency Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator and Net Manager. These appointees shall assist the Section Manger in specialized functions. Other leadership appointments may be established by the Executive Vice President with the approval of the Executive Committee. Complete details of the qualifications for these appointments shall be provided to appointees and be published in appropriate ARRL publications.

10. Field Organization station and individual appointments from the Section Manager shall be available to qualified ARRL Full Members in each section. These appointments are as follows: Official Relay Station, Official Bulletin Station, Official Emergency Station, Official Observer, Technical Specialist, Public Information Officer, and Local Government Liaison. Complete details of the qualifications for these appointments shall be contained in appropriate ARRL publications.

11. These rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of the By-Laws of the League.

Appendix C

Public Service Honor Roll
Proposed
January, 2002

This listing is to recognize radio amateurs whose public service performance during the month indicted qualifies for 70 or more total points in the following 6 categories (as reported to their Section Managers). Please note the maximum points for each category:

1.) Participating in a public service net, using any mode. --1 point per net session; maximum 40.

2.) Handling formal messages (radiograms) via any mode. --1 point for each message handled; maximum 40.

3.) Serving in an ARRL-sponsored volunteer position: ARRL Field Organization appointee or Section Manager, NTS Net Manager, TCC Director, TCC member, NTS official or appointee above the Section level.

-- 10 points for each position; maximum 30.

4.) Participation in scheduled, short-term public service events such as walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, parades, simulated emergency tests and related practice events. This includes off-the-air meetings and coordination efforts with related emergency groups and served agencies. -- 5 points per hour (or any portion thereof) of time spent in either coordinating and/or operating in the public service event; no limit.

5.) Participation in an unplanned emergency response when the Amateur Radio operator is on the scene. This also includes unplanned incident requests by public or served agencies for Amateur Radio participation. -- 5 points per hour (or any portion thereof) of time spent directly involved in the emergency operation; no limit.

6.) Providing and maintaining

a) an automated digital system that handles ARRL radiogram-formatted messages;

b) a Web page e-mail list server oriented toward Amateur Radio public service

-- 10 points per item.

Amateur Radio stations that qualify for PSHR 12 consecutive months, or 18 out of a 24 month period, will be awarded a certificate from Headquarters upon written notification of qualifying months to the Public Service Branch of Field and Educational Services at ARRL HQ.

Appendix D

Public Service Honor Roll
Present Criteria
January, 2002

This listing is to recognize amateurs whose public service performance during the month indicated qualifies for 70 or more total points in these 8 categories:

1) Checking into a public service net, using any mode, 1 point each; maximum 60.

2) Performing as Net Control Station (NCS) for a public service net, using any mode, 3 points each; maximum 24.

3) Performing assigned liaison between public service nets, 3 points each; maximum 24.

4) Delivering a formal message to a third party, 1 point each; no limit.

5) Originating a formal message from a third party, 1 point each; no limit.

6) Serving as an ARRL field appointee or Section Manager, 10 points each appointment; maximum 30.

7) Participating in a communications network for a public service event, 10 points each event; no limit.

8) Providing and maintaining an automated digital system that handles ARRL radiogram-formatted messages; 30 points.