NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 22, 2001--Meeting over the weekend in Irving, Texas, the ARRL Board of Directors voted to increase membership dues from $34 to $39 annually for full members younger than 65, and from $28 to $34 for full members 65 and older. The dues hike goes into effect July 1, 2001.
The Board also revised its position on whether Morse code proficiency should continue to be an international requirement to license operation below 30 MHz. The Board approved a resolution that "recognizes and accepts" that the Morse requirement likely will be dropped from Article S25 of the international Radio Regulations at the 2003 World Radiocommunication Conference. But while the Board acknowledged that Morse will disappear as an international requirement, it held the line on retaining a domestic Morse requirement, saying that each country should be allowed to determine for itself whether it wants to have a Morse code requirement.
Many countries, including the US, have lowered their Morse code requirements to embrace a single 5-WPM examination element.
 Attending their first meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors were new Rocky Mountain Vice Director Warren "Rev" Morton, WS7W (left), and new Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG (center). Returning as Hudson Division Vice Director was former ARRL First Vice President Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML. [ARRL Photo] |
Dues Last Raised Nearly Four Years Ago
The last ARRL dues increase was in July 1997. The increase in ARRL membership dues this time resulted from a need to fund initiatives to expand the League's advocacy activities on behalf of Amateur Radio--including the defense of amateur spectrum--and to enhance ARRL Headquarters' abilities to serve members during a period of projected deficits. The Board okayed a $1 greater increase for seniors in an effort to narrow the dues gap as more and more ARRL members fall into the senior category.
At the same time, the Board approved the hiring of development and sales and marketing professionals on the Headquarters staff as part of an overall plan to augment revenues.
"The ARRL carries out a lot of activities that no longer can be fully funded by dues or publication sales revenues," ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, explained. While voluntary contributions towards Amateur Radio advocacy are helping greatly, "we need to professionalize these activities if we are going to sustain them," Sumner said.
 ARRL International Affairs Vice President Rod Stafford, W6ROD (center), is flanked by Federacion Mexicana de Radio Experimentadores President Pedro Mucharraz Gonzales, XE1PM (left), and Radio Amateurs of Canada President Ken Oelke, VE6AFO (right). [ARRL Photo] |
Sumner pointed out that the ARRL is one of the few organizations of its size that lacks a development manager. "It's the only route to financial security for the organization--to put more emphasis on voluntary contributions," he said. "If this strategy is successful, there will be a significant source of alternative revenue available to support ARRL activities and initiatives." Among those programs is "The Big Project" educational initiative proposed last year by ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP.
The Board also agreed to adjust the management structure at ARRL Headquarters. Publications Manager and QST Editor Mark Wilson, K1RO, will serve as the ARRL's Chief Operating Officer. In that position, Wilson will oversee sales and marketing, publications, field volunteer and membership services, the ARRL Lab, and other day-to-day Headquarters activities. In addition, the Board okayed the hiring of a publications projects manager and an ARRL Lab EMC specialist.
Morse Resolution Calls for Each Country to Decide
| Read the full text of the Board's Morse Code resolution. |
The Board's Morse Code resolution, which did not receive unanimous approval, declared that deletion of the Article S25 international requirement at WRC-03 "should not automatically or immediately mean a similar removal of the Morse code from Part 97 of the FCC rules." Morse code, the Board affirmed, deserves continued support as an important operating mode as well as in terms of spectrum and "should be retained as a testing element in the US." The resolution also called on ARRL Headquarters staff to "develop a program designed to promote the use of Morse."
 ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP (left), accepts a $50,000 check from ARRL Foundation President Ed Metzger, W9PRN. The money is earmarked to help get Haynie's educational initiative, dubbed "The Big Project," off the ground. [ARRL Photo] |
The resolution supersedes all previous Board policy statements regarding Morse code and Article S25. It means the ARRL will not vote against proposals at the IARU Region 2 Conference next October or at WRC-03 that might call for elimination of the Morse requirement from the international Radio Regulations.
When the ARRL membership was last surveyed on its opinions about Morse some four years ago, a majority of League members supported retention of the international requirement. But the same survey results acknowledged that the requirement could be left up to individual administrations. The Morse requirement is not likely to come up as a US regulatory issue until 2004 at the earliest.
 Former Central Division Director Ed Metzger, W9PRN (center, with microphone), addresses the ARRL Board after being named an ARRL Honorary Vice President. Metzger served as Central Division Director from 1981 until this year and has 44 years of service as an ARRL elected official. On the left are ARRL Vice Presidents John Kanode, N4MM, and Kay Craigie, WT3P, and First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN. On the right is ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. [ARRL Photo] |
In other action, the Board:
 ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP (right), presents the Armadillo Award to West Gulf Director Coy Day, N5OK, during the ARRL Board of Directors meeting January 19-20 in Irving, Texas. The award recognized Day's division for having the largest percentage growth in membership during the past year. [ARRL Photo] |
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