Dick Norton, N6AA, the ARRL Southwest Division Director, recently spoke to Quartzfest, an annual gathering of hams out in the desert. This talk was recorded by Randy, K7AGE.
The video below starts at the 6:20 mark because that’s where Dick really starts into the topic of the CEO. Also, this video only covers the portion of the talk that covers the CEO. Randy notes that Part 2 will include the rest of the talk, and give us a little teaser. Right at the end we hear Dick say, “The ARRL ain’t the only game in town anymore….”
Ria Jairam says
Lol, straight shooter my foot. Let Dick tell you why he voted how he did for President and why he threatened to resign. It took 8 votes to re-elect the President and there were 9. I dissolved my “membership” in this “transparency” bloc some time ago. I still support transparency, but I don’t vote with a bloc.
Goody K3NG says
I’m ready to dissolve my ARRL life membership. There’s just way too much drama. The Board should have gotten ahead of the news being released and had a complete and informative statement, not a five sentence article on the website. Instead we’re getting dribs and drabs on Reddit and Youtube. I don’t go to the Zed or eHam.net anymore. I can’t imagine what verbal mayhem is going on over there.
Jeff, KE9V says
This ideological divide seems to be what Bruce Perens, K6BP was after when he engineered the coup that brought the latest wave of “change” to Newington. Now it’s difficult to imagine the BoD working together on anything going forward. I’m also a life member of ARRL but have lost all interest in further supporting the organization.
Tristan N7TWM says
I’m interested in who these ‘factions’ are (ie where does my director stand). I also suspect there’s other fault lines amongst the board, which probably cut across the transparency line.
As a member, I expect transparency, and I’m finding the ‘personel matters are private’ line very frustrating, given the profile of the CEO, especially when from the outside it looked like he was doing a good job.
This is a debacle of their own creation, and just further damages the reputation of the ARRL (which doesn’t seem that good). If the board views it necessary to remove the existing CEO, fine, but you need to say something about the reasons…
N5ZY says
I’m a little shocked that N6AA would suggest giving the job of CEO to a friend.. that doesn’t sound transparent at all and I’m sure it is against the ARRL’s articles of association and by-laws (I can’t seem to find the procedure). I’m a bit surprised no one there thought to ask him what the rules say are required. Everyone should apply and there should be a thorough background check – and no if someone fails a background check it’s not proper to announce why. We need someone who is a great leader and has a resume that proves it. I was impressed WB2ITX wanted to provide more podcasts and youtube’s. He understands technology and trends and he understands that ARRL is drastically behind in technology. WB2ITX actually attended many hamfests – I actually met him. I was impressed that he was out in the field listening to members. It’s got to be an awful job.. portions of the membership insisting that people should still be proficient in CW to get a license and portions insisting that we make things easier for new comers.
Dino Darling says
Do you know Dick?
Dan KB6NU says
I have met Dick Norton several times, including last week at Hamvention.