If you are so inclined, Please consider signing the following petition at
change.org as well.
Improve ARRL transparency and respect for present and future membership.
<https://www.change.org/p/american-radio-relay-league-improve-arrl-transparency-and-respect-for-present-and-future-membership?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_page&utm_term=triggered>
Thanks.
-Neil, N0SFH
On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 8:40 PM, Jamie WW3S <ww3s@zoominternet.net> wrote:
> Also, its worth noting that Mr. Lisceno, N2YBB seconded the motion to
> censure Mr. Norton. Mr. Lisceno is the Hudson division director and is up
> for re-election this year. Maybe someone in ENY, NNJ, or NLI should run
> against him.....
>
> -----Original Message----- From: John Dorr
> Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2018 9:20 PM
> To: CQ-Contest
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and
> Code of Conduct
>
> As co-moderator of this list, I was recently asked by someone (not a NCCC
> member) to post the following statement in response to some of the recent
> actions/proposals by the ARRL Board of Directors. Perhaps you have already
> seen this email, but if not, I suggest you consider the thoughtful comments
> being offered by the NCCC below.
>
> Note that the intent is not to spin up yet another endless CQ-Contest
> thread (please!), but to be informed and ensure you are communicating with
> your Director on important matters taking place at ARRL and with its
> leadership/board.
>
> 73, John, K1AR
>
>
>
>
> NCCC members and friends,
>
> On November 22, of this year, Bob, N6TV, notified us via the NCCC Reflector
> of an article the ARRL had posted on a web page entitled, “ARRL Board of
> Directors Publicly Censures Southwestern Division Director”. That
> Southwestern Division Director was none other than Dick Norton, N6AA, one
> of the super stars of amateur radio contesting and DXing. The same Dick
> Norton who was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, in 1995. The same
> Dick Norton who is one of the very few hams to have operated in all 40 CQ
> zones. The same Dick Norton who is currently the President of the Southern
> California Contest Club.
>
> How could this be, I asked myself, as did many of you. The subsequent
> comments on the reflector have been absolutely 100% supportive of N6AA and
> 100% opposed to the ARRL’s actions. For more than a month now, the
> comments continue to dominate our reflector. While at the NCCC Holiday
> Dinner, I had many of those in attendance chat with me about it as well as
> the other NCCC Board members present.
>
> The Board took a “wait and see” attitude prior to proceeding with any
> action. We wanted to make sure we knew the facts prior to taking action
> and several of our Board members have been seeking out those facts.
>
> As a result, and having researched the facts, the Northern California
> Contest Club Board has issued a statement expressing our concern over the
> ARRL’s actions involving N6AA, as well as the specifics of the ARRL’s new
> Code of Conduct.
>
> Our letter, below, is going out tonight to the ARRL officers and board
> members:
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> To: ARRL Directors and Officers
>
> From: The Northern California Contest Club, Inc.
>
> Date: December 25, 2017
>
> Gentlemen,
>
> The Northern California Contest Club is an ARRL affiliated organization
> with approximately 300 members, most of whom are themselves League members.
> We pride ourselves upon having many of the most active hams in Northern
> California and Western Nevada among our ranks. These are hams who are
> active not only on the air, but also in ARRL matters. Over the 45 years of
> our existence, our membership has included many ARRL Pacific Division
> Directors, Vice Directors, Section Managers, Volunteer Counsels, Official
> Observers, Emergency Coordinators and a host of other League appointees.
>
> We are sending this letter to express our concern about events unfolding at
> League headquarters. Specifically, we believe the ARRL Board has made a
> serious error in its recent censure of Southwestern Division Director Dick
> Norton, and we are concerned with the lack of transparency and the stifling
> of communication we see possible under the Board’s Code of Conduct (ARRL
> Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors
> and Vice Directors).
>
> Many NCCC members were in the audience for the ARRL forum at the 2017
> Visalia International DX Convention, and we have seen the letters written
> to the ARRL Board by Mark Weiss, K6FG, and by Tim Duffy, K3LR, stating what
> happened in that forum. The events as described by Mr. Weiss and Mr. Duffy
> are accurate. In our opinion, Mr. Norton did nothing in the Forum to
> deserve the censure. We respectfully request that the Board rescind the
> censure and issue a public apology to Director Norton.
>
> As a related matter, we also have seen the letter Hudson Division Director
> Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, sent to members of his Division in which he stated “…
> there were individual witnesses who attended the forum in Visalia who came
> to us with a different story than those released by Mr. Norton’s
> supporters. … I will not discuss the specific reasons enumerated as they
> are of a personnel nature and not appropriate for discussion …”. Director
> Lisenco’s letter alarms us. Essentially, he is saying the Board censured
> Director Norton based upon secret facts (which obviously differ from what
> we, Mr. Weiss and Mr. Duffy observed) asserted by one or more unidentified
> witnesses. This lack of transparency does not put the ARRL Board in a good
> light. To the contrary, it suggests that there is an ulterior motive or
> something the Board is trying to hide, and is far more likely to bring the
> Board’s decisions into disrepute than anything Director Norton did at the
> forum.
>
> As for a code of conduct, we certainly understand why it is appropriate for
> the ARRL Board to have one. However, we believe that the specific Code
> adopted by the Board at its January, 2017, meeting is wrong for our type of
> membership organization. It inhibits the free and effective exchange of
> information between our elected Director and Vice Director and the League
> members residing in our Division. As proof of the Code’s “gag order”
> effect, we need look no farther than Director Norton’s censure and the fact
> that our elected representatives refused to discuss it with us in any
> detail for fear of violating the Code themselves. We urge you to please
> amend the current Code to provide for much more transparency of Board
> actions and a freer exchange of information (including how the Directors
> voted) with League members.
>
> Very truly yours,
>
> THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONTEST CLUB, INC.
>
> Bob Hess, W1RH (President)
>
> Chris Tate, N6WM (Vice President)
>
> Ian Parker, W6TCP (Secretary)
>
> Dick Wilson, K6LRN (Treasurer)
>
> Ron Castro, N6IE (Director)
>
> Rich Cutler, WC6H (Director)
>
> Rusty Epps, W6OAT (Director)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Although we have yet to see anyone in our club express an opinion in favor
> of the ARRL’s actions involving N6AA, it is entirely possible, with an
> organization of our size, that we may have members applauding the ARRL.
> While our statement represents the opinions of the majority of our members,
> we encourage any member in favor of the ARRL’s actions involving Dick
> Norton and the new Code of Conduct, to contact the ARRL directly to express
> their opinion.
>
> We are forwarding our statement to many other clubs and encourage our
> members and friends to forward our statement to others in the Amateur Radio
> Community.
>
> Bob Hess
>
> W1RH
>
> President, Northern California Contest Club
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
> http://www.avg.com
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
--
Neil Johnson
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|