Earlier this week, the Dayton Hamvention announced its 2026 award winners. This year’s Technical Achievement Award winner is Bob Famiglio, K3RF. It’s hard to argue with this choice. As the Hamvention press release points out:
Robert B. “Bob” Famiglio, K3RF, has spent almost 60 years in amateur radio, blending technical expertise, legal knowledge, and leadership in emergency communications. Licensed at age 13, Famiglio later earned a BSE in electrical engineering and a doctorate in law. For more than 40 years he has served as volunteer counsel, advising hams on PRB-1 matters, zoning and antenna ordinances, RFI enforcement, and club governance. His technical understanding of station engineering and interference resolution has informed effective legal strategies and regulatory comments.
But, he’s also noted (notorious) for being one of the “transparency party” members of the ARRL Board and recently resigned from said board. I guess “transparency” and “member rights” are bad words around the ARRL these days. When they published this news, they decided to delete these from their news item.
The Hamvention press release read:
Elected to ARRL leadership for multiple terms (EPA Section Manager, Atlantic Division Vice Director, and later Director), he championed member rights, transparency, and representative governance. Previously, Bob served several terms as Vice President & General Counsel of the Radio Club of America and functioned as corporate counsel for the board.
The ARRL published:
Famiglio served in many ARRL leadership roles, including EPA Section Manager, Atlantic Division Vice Director, and later Director. He also served several terms as Vice President & General Counsel of the Radio Club of America and functioned as corporate counsel for the board.
Need I say more?
Sad. If two people left ARRL, things would likely be quite different. And better.
ARRL CEO answers in the April QST:
He asks, “who owns ARRL?” and many won’t like his answer:
“The answer is: No one. ARRL is not a ham radio club. ARRL does not have shareholders. The members of the association do not own ARRL… Some people do not seem to like this, but that’s the way it is.”
“What the Board is not. It is not a representative democracy… Again, this is one of those topics where proponents wrap themselves in the argument that ARRL is some kind of governmental body run by the members, and get wound up if they are not supported in this misbelief”
“What about Section Managers, who are also member-elected? They do not, as some people believe, report to their Division Directors. There are even Section Managers who have been told this, and know this, but refuse to accept it.”
Oh, and about the tired phrase, “transparency”:
“This term has been weaponized to hurt ARRL’s reputation, and yet it is a double-edged sword. For those who would speak out against ARRL, there are both members and staff who would like to see ARRL respond or retaliate. That’s not who we are. And yet, there are members who would love to see us speak publicly about bad behavior by this or that Director, or false statements made to a blog or social media group by this or that person — who many times isn’t even an ARRL member! We’re not doing it. It takes us right back to that fundamental question we always ask, not only at ARRL but in our ARRL Foundation meetings as well: *How does this benefit amateur radio?* And ask yourself this question: how does *their* behavior benefit amateur radio or ARRL?”
The obvious answer to this is that if the ARRL needn’t be responsive to its members, then why be members at all? Why keep sending money to an organization now being run by a megalomaniac? they may be asking “How does this benefit amateur radio?” but it seems to me that they’re coming up with the wrong answer.
That’s a fair question, and one that every member or potential member should ask themself.
But it’s not fair to claim the ARRL is a speedy oil change place and then bitch when they won’t change your oil. Minster has a lot of work to do to explain and educate folks on what the ARRL is… an isn’t.
I just think that what Minster and his toadies on the board want the ARRL to be is a losing strategy, and obvioiusly, if you look at the dropping membership numbers, most hams think that’s the case, too. It’s a real shame because if the ARRL had even 50% more members it could do so much more for amateur radio and wield more influence with legislators and the FCC.
I like the idea of the ARRL being some sort of lobby that represents the interests and well being of the amateur radio licensees in the United States. The image that the ARRL is fighting for me, seems like a good thing in my mind. However…as Jeff KE9V has pointed out, a lot of us have the wrong idea about what the ARRL actually is/does. I probably, admittedly, don’t totally understand what the ARRL is today or was yesterday. Admittedly I am not a current ARRL member, I have been in the past probably 25 out of 30 years…no animosity toward the ARRL I just don’t feel like the value is there. Is $59 going to force my cat to eat generic cat food? Probably not. I do send a donation to the legal fund every year…it’s not much but it’s what I feel comfortable with. I’m not anti-ARRL..I don’t know what’s going on in Newington, too many other things to worry about these days.
Congrats to Bob Famiglio on being the Hamvention Technical Achievement of the Year Award winner.