In my opinion, every ARRL member should set-aside 90 minutes and listen to the dialogue here
Yes this is a bit long.
Yes it is worth listening to
You can skip toward the last 30 minutes
If you enjoyed the recent ARRL’s CEO Reset Editorial you will love the facts that Mr. Dick Norton addresses.
Of course the CEO claims their are half truths, misleading and taken out of Context
Here is the link to the YouTube Video
Steve KG5VK
ARRL NTX Section Manager
Several members of the Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club
were spot lighted in the recent ARRL News Letter
(An Emailed Newsletter sent to those members which have signed up for same)
Steve KG5VK
ARRL Members may opt in or opt out of this Newsletter as well as news from their ARRL Division Director and Section manager.....
Free of charge to ARRL members...
Dick
Norton
Shares Comments on The ARRL CEO’s dialogue with ARRL Section Managers
during their February 2024 Team’s Meeting
The
February 2024 ARRL Section Managers Electronic Meeting was primarily a lecture
by Mr. Minster. I found a great deal of what Mr. Minster presented to conflict
with facts or to omit relevant information.
My
comments on some of the subjects presented follow.
1)
Introduction
Mr.
Minster used the word "transparency" in his introductory remarks,
claiming that he will give a "straight answer" to any question.
However, he then stated that members do not have all the information that he
does, and if you disagree with any of his answers, you need to "buckle
up," which apparently means change your thinking to match his.
However, the ARRL Organizational Structure states, "The ARRL is a
representative democracy. Its members control its policies through
the power of the ballot."
If the members control the policies, the members are entitled to information on
potential changes to policies as well as reports on impact of policies and
changes made to them.
2) Notice to Members About Potential By-Law 46 Changes
Mr. Minster said that it was not the practice to release potential
Articles-of-Association and By-Laws motions to members. However, after the 2018
attempt to enact questionable bylaw changes, the Board, as articulated by
President Roderick, promised to do exactly that. Despite that commitment, Mr.
Minster complained about a couple of Board members following through on that
promise by releasing a proposal to substantially expand By-Law 46 beyond its
original purpose.
The
notice prompted a group of prominent ARRL members to send postal-mail alerts to
donors about the implications of the proposed changes. Mr. Minster claimed the
letters had essentially no effect, something that conflicted with
communications I received from multiple donors who were even reconsidering
future gifts to the League.
Those
letters and other communication among members led to the proposed motion not
being presented at the Board meeting, although it may well resurface in a
slightly different form at a future meeting.
3) High-functioning ARRL Board
Mr. Minster claimed that the January Board meeting was great, and that we now
have a high-functioning Board. This may be a result of the "Shadow
Board" of 10 or 11 Directors who meet secretly with Mr. Minster on the
Internet, forming League policy without the participation of all the Directors.
His characterization may be appropriate to him if he confers only with those
who agree with him.
4) By-Law 46
Misdirection is a technique used by magicians to divert the audience's
attention away from what is actually causing an outcome. Misdirection was used
in the defense of the proposed changes to By-Law 46.
Mr. Minster directed attention to a part of the proposed changes that
purportedly just combined a number of relevant items into one single document,
something that no one would likely find objectionable. He did not talk about
three things that people have criticized:
a) allowing a majority of the Board to effectively vote minority or dissenting
Board members off the Board, something that conflicts with Connecticut law.
b) requiring that Board members and potential Board members sign what amounts
to a loyalty oath.
c) requiring Board members to publicly promote political ideas of the majority,
rather than act in accordance with their beliefs of what best serves the
organization, as required by Connecticut law.
Mr.
Minster claimed that the proposed changes to By-Law 46 were not another attempt
by a majority faction of the Board to concoct a mechanism to vote another
member off the Board, but the details of the motion do not support that
contention.
5) Ultra Vires Report
Mr. Minster made reference to an analysis of proposed By-Law 46 changes by an
attorney in Massachusetts, who said the proposed changes went beyond the
authority the Board actually had in that area.
a) Although Mr. Minster stated that he did not read the attorney's analysis, he
nevertheless said that he initiated action by the League's Connecticut counsel,
claiming that counsel had met with someone in the Connecticut Attorney
General's office on the matter. He represented that that the Attorney General's
office rejected the ultra vires analysis, although he has produced no written
legal opinion from either the Attorney General or Connecticut counsel to
support that representation.
b) Mr. Minster had not previously mentioned this legal engagement to either the
Board or even the Administration and Finance Committee, nor had he advised them
as to the legal fees involved, which could easily have run into tens of
thousands of dollars.
6) Life Membership Costs
Mr. Minster made a few cursory comments on Life Membership costs. He stated
that, in 1973, it was already clear that Life Membership was a bad idea, a
conclusion not supported by facts and certainly in opposition to my evaluation.
In his discussions, Mr. Minster showed that he did not understand the roles of
management, the Board, and the auditors in determining how much money can be
recognized as revenue to cover the yearly costs of sustaining a Life Member.
The assertion that you "can't take more (money) out" is not correct.
For 50 years, the League has run the Life Member program very satisfactorily,
and in all years the related revenue recognition, which is based on
management’s estimate of servicing costs combined with actuarial analysis, has
been unconditionally approved by auditors. There have never been any contrary
comments on this in any of the Annual Reports.
7) Internal vs. External Financial Reporting
For budgeting and internal reporting purposes, ARRL reports revenues and
expenses without income from bequests (understandable because they are less
predictable and cannot be managed) or unrealized changes in the market value of
the League's investments (which fluctuate with short-term market conditions).
External reporting, such as in the published annual report and in IRS filings,
includes these components. Clams that the League lost money in a certain year
may be based on the less complete internal reporting. A truer measure of
financial condition can be gained by looking at Unrestricted Net Assets. ARRL’s
unrestricted net asset balance grew over eleven of the past twelve years from
roughly $6 million to over $20 million. The decline in 2022 was due to a
decline in the market value of the investment portfolio with general market
conditions, which was most likely temporary and should largely reverse during
2023 and 2024 as the markets recover.
Mr. Minster's claims of a dire financial situation do not appear well founded.
8) Roll Call Votes
Mr. Minster defended the July 2023 motion that eliminated the ability of a
single Board member to call for a roll call vote and raised the threshold to
now requiring five members. This change raises questions in the minds of
members as to why their representatives’ votes are not all recorded and
available in the meeting minutes. He referred to some roll call votes being
“weaponized.” Why should a Director fear the electorate seeing his or her vote
on a matter? How a Board member votes on motions best describes the Board
member's performance in directing League affairs.
9) Director's Workbook Being Made Public
Mr. Minster reported that the Board passed a motion that the Director's
Workbook would be made public and that this would happen before Dayton. The
Workbook is presently on the arrl.org website and could have been made
public the day after the Board meeting. Is there something wrong with it that
requires rewriting before the public can see it?
10) Print QST Costs, Dues Increase and Projected Member Loss
Mr.
Minster defended the Board's actions in not living up to providing print QST to
term members. I have not encountered a single member who agrees with this
action in my participation in club meetings or forums. Membership forms that I
accepted at conventions specifically stated postal delivery of print QST.
About 30 years ago, the League commissioned a study which concluded that the
League would maximize its finances by roughly doubling the membership dues. The
increase from the remaining members would offset that money lost from those who
left. The Board at that time wisely chose not to go that way. They valued a
larger membership over a larger treasury. I believe that choice should still
prevail. Mr. Minster said that with every dues increase, the ARRL loses 6 to 9%
of its membership, but that it returns after 3 years. This is simply not true.
When the $39 to $49 increase took place, the League had been adding several
thousand members per year. That series of increases abruptly stopped, and the
membership has since shrunk from 170K to 150K. The membership has not
rebounded.
11) Cost Cutting
Mr. Minster stated that at some point early in his present role, he determined
that the League did not have a spending problem, but had a revenue problem
instead.
There has never been any evidence of this presented to either the Board or the
A&F Committee.
There are many areas where costs could and should be better controlled. In one
six-figure example, management replaced top-tier volunteer (free) trademark
legal services with paid services running tens of thousands of dollars and
additionally wasted over $50,000 in trademark extension fees by not providing
trademark counsel with timely responses to repeated, documented requests.
12)
Minster Salary
In a textbook example of a "Straw Man" response to an issue of his
salary, Mr. Minster pointed out that an estimate that someone apparently made
that it was $891K per year was not true. He also correctly pointed out that he
did not give himself a $100K per year raise in April 2023.
He
never did disclose that his salary is actually about $350K per year, up more
than 40% over what he agreed to work for three years ago, but did claim that
even with the new higher salary, he was the only underpaid person on the staff.
Mr.
Minster is actually overpaid, and should be making about one half of his
present $350K. If you want to verify this, put "Median salary for
non-profit membership organization CEO in the Hartford, CT area" into any
search engine such as Google or Bing. Ignore very high salaries from large
non-profit medical or hospital groups with thousands of employees, since they
are not related to a hobbyist organization with 75 employees.
One
reference from salary.com shows: "The average
Nonprofit Executive Director salary in Hartford, CT is $139,213 as of
January 26, 2024, but the salary range typically falls
between $116,573 and $168,847."
Also
note that none of these estimates consider that many League employees have
worked for substantially less money than they might otherwise receive because
of their love of Amateur Radio and their desire to serve it.
13) Employee Morale and Satisfaction
In
response to a comment about employee morale, Mr. Minster related a comment from
a Director who reported hearing a staff member describe the ARRL like being in
North Korea. Mr. Minster countered with his claim that another long-time
employee who had recently retired stated that the last two years there had been
the best two years of the employee's career.
The reports I've received as a Director unquestionably match the North Korea
report best. I note that Mr. Minster is on his seventh
administrative-assistant/secretary in three and a half years.
Since
the ARRL Board's Standing (or permanent, not temporary) Committees now meet in
the Marriott Hotel's meeting rooms rather than at ARRL headquarters, not only
have our costs increased by several thousand dollars but Board members no
longer have their long-standing opportunity to interact with staff members.
14) Logbook of the World (LOTW) and IT Manager
Mr. Minster stated that LOTW needs to be completely redesigned and rewritten
from scratch, a conclusion actually not shared by LOTW experts.
The reason he gave that a new LOTW project manager has not been hired is that
such a project manager would report to an IT manager, and the IT manager
position needs to be filled first.
Mr.
Minster has not been able to hire and retain an IT manager position in the
three and a half years he has been on the job. He did hire a competent IT
Manager once, but that person left after a few months, citing Mr. Minster as
the reason for leaving.
Note that the person most respected as being the LOTW expert is retired
software executive Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ. Dave would be the clear choice for
someone to lead development of a future version of LOTW, and would probably do
it without charge. Unfortunately, Dave is one of a number of volunteers with
whom Mr. Minster is having a personal feud and is extremely unlikely to assist
the League while it is under control of Mr. Minster.
15) Concluding Sermon
Mr. Minster ended his presentation with what might be called a threatening
sermon.
He described people who disagreed with him as being ignoramuses.
He demanded that all SMs and volunteers talk positively about the ARRL, which
seems to mean talk positively about how Mr. Minster is running it today. Those
who wish the ARRL would operate in some different way that benefits Amateur
Radio are not welcome. If you don't support Mr. Minster, you don't belong, and
you should resign.
Some of you might now better understand what it must be like to work under Mr.
Minster. Both volunteers such as Section Managers and paid employees should be
treated with respect by management.
He lauded himself for the way he will be working at Dayton and expects
volunteers to do the same. I suspect that if any volunteer Section Manager
receives $350K per year, the SM will be happy to do so.
16) Conclusion
I found much of Mr. Minster's presentation to be inaccurate and/or
inappropriate.
I
welcome your comments on the Section Manager meeting.
73,
Dick
Norton, N6AA
Proposed ByLaw 46 is a Terrible Idea
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NfMGQ5B07_wZmKJ3ar2VnF5StqLroL7p/view?usp=sharing
and
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vTWDLWZYISyRDuEEiVdqoPqXu99FRqa/view?usp=sharing
Steve
KG5VK
A buddy of mine (K8KI) recently said
"He had heard of both tools but was unsure how he would benefit from their use"
I decided to document my answer here...
Stream Deck (Manufactured by Elgato)
I use the Stream Deck tool for two things:
Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs and online services in new and interesting ways.
It provides a browser-based editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using the wide range of nodes in the palette that can be deployed to its runtime in a single-click.
IOW it is a Browser based tool for building a Program to do something with Hardware or other software, without the requirement to get a degree in C# Computer programming or even have a basic understanding of C#
So how do I use Node-Red tools:
Mainly for both local and remote control of equipment with my Ham Radio shack
I mainly built this to use when I am on the road and want to use my station remotely and be able to select different antennas, rotate an antenna etc.
My display layout is a bit rough, but it works for me
You will note two exact columns of beam heading on the right side
The Left column is for my 40m beam and the right one is for my HF Log periodic
I do not have a Flow installed on my Raspberry Pi that holds my Node-Red software and Scripts
which would show the Radio's different meters, I do have two other Node Display pages, which are available by clicking on the ICON to the Top Left of My Callsign on the page shown.
They look like this....
 |
| (Seated Left-Right, John Robert Stratton N5AUS The ARRL West Gulf Division Director, Steven Lott Smith KG5VK ARRL North Texas SM, and Deputy Mayor Maria Tu of Plano, Texas) |
Attendees included friends and family members of the award recipient, as well as officers and members of more than a few ARRL affiliated clubs from North Texas and the former ARRL North Texas Section Manager Jay Urish W5GMThe Check accompanying the award is presented by
West Gulf Division Director John Robert Stratton N5AUS and ARRL NTX SM Steven Lott Smith KG5VK, while the honorable Deputy Mayor Maria Tu of Plano, Texas looks on.
While Katherine is the first ever North Texas amateur Radio op and the first YL in Texas to receive this prestigious award, she is far from a stranger to receiving awards and making milestones. Having received her first Amateur Radio license at the young age of 15, in 2018 she was the recipient of the First place award in the Plano, Texas District Science Fair and went on that same year to secure second place in the Dallas Texas Science and Engineering Fair.
In early 2019 while campaigning to become the ARRL North Texas Section Manager (SM), I was afforded the opportunity to see a Ms. Forson do a rehearsal presentation for her third science fair competition, I was so impressed I decided that if I became the new SM I would waste little time asking her and her parents if she could be our Section Youth Coordinator.
In May of 2019, I appointed Ms. Forson KT5KMF as the ARRL North Texas Section Youth Coordinator, She has of course excelled at her position being one our most active and engaged ARRLNTX Section Staff Members. It is a great honor to have come to know her and her parents. (Steve KG5VK)
KG5VK
Steven Lott Smith
Born Miami Florida September 1955
First Licensed in 1972 as WN0FOI
Graduate of Parkway High School Manchester Missouri 1974 (But I am class of 75)
Entered Active Duty with The United States Air Force September 1974 where I
trained as an Aircraft Electrician.
Met my Wife who is from North Texas, while we were both stationed in
California.
Next tour was at Spangdahlem AFB in West Germany for three
years.
We lived in West Texas from 1981 - 1985 (Dyess AFB)
During that time, I was twice president of the Key City Amateur Radio Club in
Abilene, Texas.
From Abilene we went to Grissom AFB in Indiana.
Following that assignment we were at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, where I was
the President of the Shreveport Amateur Radio Association for 3 years
consecutively and two more years later.
I served in Desert Shield / Storm from December of 1990, through March of 1991
with the 801 Bomb Wing (B-52's)
August of 1993 I served as the Electro-Environmental NCOIC
on the KC-135 maintenance team at Riyadh Saudi Arabia during Operation No Fly.
Retired from the USAF October 1st 1993 and started a Professional Photography
Business (Lott's Photo), continued that line of work and also began teaching
photography at Bossier Parish Community College in 2001 to late 2014
In 2015 My wife and I moved from Louisiana to North Texas
In 2016 I started work at Main Trading Co. Paris, Texas.
In 2018 I retired from working a day job and ran for election as the ARRL North
Texas Section Manager.
In 2021 I ran as the ARRL NTX Section Manager again, this
time unopposed.
I greatly look forward to hearing your concerns and accolades on what the
league can and has done, for you my fellow ARRL members as well as recruiting
new ARRL members.
A member of the Dallas Fort Worth Contest Club,
Lone Star DX Association, CW OPS (#1806), A-1 Operator Club
and of course The ARRL.
DXCC awards:
5 Band DXCC Award,
DXCC CW with 298 entities
DXCC Phone with 283 entities
DXCC Digital with 127 entities
Early 2021 Attained confirmation of entity 331 (mixed)
and
was accepted in to The DXCC Honor Roll
I pledge to be Transparent and available to your
communications
KG5VK at ARRL dot ORG
This morning January 21, 2021
I officially became a proud member of the DXCC Honor Roll
I started this journey back in 1981, when my DXCC mentor
Tom Blackley KR5D told me "Steve, Just submit your cards, you have plenty for Mixed and Phone DXCC certificates" Of course since I started my Ham Radio journey in 1972 he was very correct.
About a week ago I worked my 331st Current DXCC Entity
Leaving me in need of nine more countries to have all 340 confirmed
I thank Tom KR5D for getting me started on this journey
and Marshall KA5M for the continued encouragement to stay in pursuit of our goal.
The Nine I still need are:
North Korea
Bouvet Island
Crozet Island
Johnston Island
Kerguelen Island
Pratas Island
San Felix Islands
Syria
Turkmenistan
My Journey to get all current entities continues
And I also start focusing on Top Band (160m) DXCC
If I live long enough, after that maybe Moon Bounce.
73
Steve
KG5VK
From the Desk of your ARRL North Texas Section Manager
Steven Lott Smith
Steve KG5VK
Greetings fellow ARRL North Texas Amateur Radio OPS
I am seeking a second term as your ARRL North Texas Section Manager
I have proudly served 17 Months as of this writing
I am asking for your continued confidence in me
by way of nominations for SM for the period of 2021/2022
I took office on April the 1st, 2019
During my Campaign to be your Section Manager
I pledged I would be a visible Section Manager,
I hope you feel I have done that and much more.
I am now seeking a second term.
Before taking office, I gladly took many phone calls,
and emails with questions and comments, I continue to talk with fellow
ARRL members on a weekly sometimes daily basis.
While I have not solved everyone's concerns. I have always listened and
followed up with answers to questions that I may not have had at the
time of initial contact.
I have been publishing a Monthly Newsletter since my appointment as your
Section Manager, this is a small part of the process of staying in
touch with the members I serve.
Some highlights of specific accomplishments:
Greetings fellow North Texans!
Update:
Since the ARRL North Texas Website Update
Now contains all of my newsletters, including the current one
I no longer duplicate those posts here.
So Please visit https://arrlntx.org/WP/news/newsletter/
*** Many of you are already aware that the ARRL Now has a new CEO
You may not know that he is a very active On The air amateur Radio operator
He is a Life Time member of CWOPS group and a fellow DXER and Contest OP
He received over 2/3rds of the Votes by the Board of Directors, which to me shows
the over whelming majority of our Board Members at ARRL have confidence in him
He is David Minster NA2AA
*** The Board also seated a member to a brand new position at Headquarters....
The ARRL ECOM Director is Paul Gilbert KE5ZW
We can all be proud that Paul Gilbert KE5ZW is a fellow Texan
Paul
is the current South Texas Section Manager, he has a wealth of
background in Federal, State and Section Level ECOM and will be a valued
asset to all of us. A new Section Manager will be elected for South Texas, watch ARRL News for more info.
*** The Second West Gulf Director Round Table meeting with ARRL NTX Club Officers and myself was held on the 29th of this past month (August). Due to COVID19 this round table was held virtually
by way of Zoom conferencing. We had over 24 club officers represented and I feel it was a very progressive meeting. Your Club officers gave Director John Stratton and myself more than a few issues we could work on.
Per the request I have formed an On-Line discussion area where club officers can have a working dialogue with myself and the rest of the North Texas Section Management Staff on any topics that their members wish addressed.
A couple of your officers mentioned what happen to the ARRL Club Coordinator position that the Board of Directors were working on. This position was not seated before we found the need to find a new CEO. Now that Mr. Minster NA2AA has been appointed as the CEO and once he has found his way around the inner working of Headquarters, we hope to see some momentum on this new position.
The Club Coordinator at Headquarters will allow greater attention towards affiliated club needs.
*** Once again I make my plea for Safer Tower Climbing to everyone.
If you think Free climbing, or climbing with a Climbing Belt is Safe
You are only kidding yourself.
Every Ham Radio Club should take time out to present a video or two on Safe Tower Climbing
Every amateur radio OP owes it to their family and loved ones and them self to learn the right way to climb and work on towers. By the way Climbing Belts have not been OSHA approved for many years.
The right Gear begins with Boots and a Climbing Harness that has two Fall arrest lanyards and a positioning lanyard as well as the knowledge of when it is safe and unsafe to climb.
The recent fatality was from only a 50 foot tower!
Here is a link to an Excellent Video https://youtu.be/uJO-L3td_p8
If you are unable to view the Video, please email me for another link.
I implore Clubs to help promote Tower Safety, maybe even an OSHA approved climbing kit for member use, everything but the Boots.
*** ARES and ECOM
Please never self Deploy, you will only burden resources that are not prepared for your arrival.
Greg Evans K5GTX and I work closely with all neighboring Section Leaders and we would love for everyone to take heed of the following message he and I have created on this subject.....
"If you are considering volunteering as an ECOM resource during any emergency
Please make sure you first notify Section Management (SM & SEC) within your Section before
expressing your willingness and readiness to any served agencies and/or other Sections.
We appreciate willingness, however we need to do our part as a Team.
Please, allow us to do so by communicating with us first.
Steven Lott Smith KG5VK
ARRL NTX Section Manager
Greg Evans K5GTX
ARRL NTX Section Emergency Coordinator"
One should also consult their respective County ARES EC and if your an EC up channel to the District (DEC)
*** ARRL North Texas Ham of The Year 2020/2021
As of Today (September 3,2020) I have received only one Nomination !!!
I am again accepting nomination packages for the ARRL North Texas
Amateur of the Year award
Please title the email with the Nomination "ARRLNTX 2020 HOY"
The Nominee must be an ARRL member and Reside in North Texas
Deadline for nominations is 1 October 2020
Nomination packages emailed to myself should include the full name and call sign of the Nominee
and Bullet statements of accomplishments with short paragraphs or a few sentences of justification under each bullet statement. Again the Deadline for nominations is the First of October.
Please remember I am available to attend any Virtual Club Meetings while we all continue to Social Distance, my last announcement of this last month netted only Two invites to attend meetings.
Most important I still come bearing a Door Prize or two, dependent on how many attendees are in the meeting. I can bring a presentation that last about 15 minutes or just be on had for questions your group may have. Of course you can always drop me a line any time, email is preferred but I am welcome to phone calls as long as you are willing to leave a message if I do not answer with the topic.
No sign of Fall weather, yet. So please stay safe in this heat.
Hydrate, Hydrate, and take cool breaks away from the heat.
73
Steve KG5VK
Tele 318-470-9806
KG5VK@ARRL.ORG
