[CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and Code of Conduct

Wed Jan 3 18:28:11 EST 2018

Ron,

I agree that getting ARRL members to contact their directors is the best
step. I did so when I first became aware of the censure action and isses
with the director's code of conduct.

I think having the petition (which I didn't start) is just another way to
publicize the issue.

By the way is everyone aware of the ARRL governance changes that are being
proposed for THIS year?

The CQ magazine blog has a good summary here
<http://cqnewsroom.blogspot.com/2017/12/changes-proposed-to-arrl-governing.html>
.

If you want to go to the source the documents mentioned in the CQ post,
they can be found here <http://www.b4h.net/ARRL_2018_Jan_Redline_BOD.pdf>
 and here <http://www.kkn.net/~n6tv/N2YBB_Motions_To_Change_ARRL_ByLaws.pdf>
.

I recommend everyone review them and provide feedback to their division
director ASAP because they are supposedly on the docket for the Director's
meeting THIS MONTH.

You can find your director's contact information on the ARRL website here.
<http://www.arrl.org/divisions>

-Neil (N0SFH)

-Neil (N0SFH)

On Wed, Jan 3, 2018 at 1:32 PM, Ron Notarius W3WN <wn3vaw at verizon.net>
wrote:

> Neil,
>
> With all due respect, I don't think that a petition at change.org, in and
> of itself, will do much good.  It's just too easy for the people behind
> these changes to dismiss a single petition, no matter how many names are on
> it.  (Especially if they claim, legitimately or not, that most of the
> people on it aren't even League members)
>
> Incidents like this need to be brought to light, and be kept in the
> light.  There are two things that can easily be done:
> One is to continue keeping this in the eyes of the (amateur radio) public
> -- I just put out my monthly club newsletter, and I've got two full pages
> devoted to the subject. If members of my club (and other clubs around the
> country) aren't aware of this, then they can't do the next part.
>
> The second is to write or email or telephone our Division Directors and
> Vice Directors, and TELL THEM (politely but firmly) what we think about
> these proposed changes, and what we want them to do (as our voting
> representatives on the Board) about it.  And encourage others to do so.  My
> emails to that effect will be going out tonight.
>
> And once WE have done that, we need to encourage OTHERS to do the same.
>
> It's easy to blow off a single petition.  It's a lot, lot harder to blow
> off a couple of hundred emails and phone calls.
>
> But if we DON'T tell them, and DON'T take any action, and DON'T encourage
> others to do so, then we should have no complaint when the inevitable
> happens.  To that extent, yes, the petition is better than nothing... but
> not much better.
>
> I'm doing and will continue to do my part.  I can only encourage everyone
> else to do the same.
>
> 73, ron W3WN
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Neil Johnson <neil.johnson at erudicon.com>
> To: CQ-Contest <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Wed, Jan 3, 2018 2:13 pm
> Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA
> and Code of Conduct
>
> 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 at 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 at contesting.com >
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-- 
Neil Johnson