Honorable Pacific Division Director of the ARRL, Bob Vallio, W6RGG
I respectfully request you vote against the Motion to Amend the ARRL by-Laws to make the ARRL President and Vice-Presidents voting members of the ARRL Board of Directors.
Board decisions should be made only by elected members. What perceived problem is going to be fixed by having appointed voting Board Members? Just because these officers were picked and/or elected by the BoD doesn’t make it right—they still weren’t elected by the membership.
If these non-voting board members need to be voting members then the membership should elect them. I could see a national election process where the President and Vice Presidents were elected by the membership on a National Basis. A second alternative is to have a Parliamentary type of system where the Board of Directors vote these positions to be filled from themselves--the elected Board of Directors.
Suppose this were a City with a City Manager and City staff with an elected City Board of Directors. This proposed change applied to a City Charter would be giving precious voting rights to un-elected Representatives—Just whose representatives are they? And, how could a City Council justify such a decision to the electorate. Are we going to hold the ARRL to a lower standard?
The Elected Board of Directors are now and should remain the only voting members of the ARRL Board of Directors.
David Engle, W6DE
ARRL Life Member
Placerville, California
cc: MLDXCC