In the August 7 issue of the ARRL Letter, in the report on the ARRL Board meeting, there was this little tidbit:
In other business, the ARRL Board of Directors voted, without offering specifics, to support “a significant increase in the resources directed to generating new amateurs, with particular emphasis on increasing diversity.” The ARRL staff was directed to propose a course of action to meet that goal.
Being a ham radio instructor, I’ll be very interested in what the ARRL staff comes up with. I would certainly urge them to diversify the group working on this, and get a good cross-section of the current amateur radio community to assist them in coming up with a plan. The ARRL could be so much more successful if they would just tap into the talent that’s out there.
Jan DK3LJ says
Dan, compared to our local bunch here in Germany (called DARC), the ARRL is SOOO DYNAMIC, diverse, professional and almost futuristic, one can almost not believe. Things here got stuck in the 1980’s.
Enjoy! 73 Jan DK3LJ
Les KB0MEF says
Diversity yes and it must start at the club level. If ARRL would support and promote growth in the clubs it would have a better chance to support diversity. My contribution is to become an approved instructor, working with BSA as a Radio Merit Badge Counselor and Technician License Prep, an easy one two step process into the hobby. If every club had just one or two approved BSA instructor and offered just one class a year our growth would exceed all expectations and diversity would be achieved. Yet I find very few who would consider this route to support the hobby.
Cale KK4HSX says
As great as scouting has been for the hobby, amateur radio desperately needs to branch out into other groups if we really want to grow. Targeting professionals in software + hardware engineering disciplines, university level ham clubs, and the entire Maker movement would really help jump-start a new batch of amateurs and build on the diversity of the current crop of hams.
Dan KB6NU says
You’re certainly right, Cale. Les’s interest is mainly in Scouting, but there are certainly other groups out there, too. Here in Ann Arbor, I’ve helped many in our “Maker” community get their ham licenses.
Tom KQ4FKQ says
It would be great to see a more diverse radio community become a reality. We can talk about diversity, but how do we make it happen? Last post in this thread was in 2014. This is about being welcoming to traditionally marginalized communities and creating a more dynamic community for everyone.