[SCCC] Fwd: Re: [NCCC] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and Code of Conduct

Sat Dec 30 22:36:32 EST 2017

FYI

Jim N6TJ


On 12/29/2017 7:14 PM, Robert Hess via NCCC wrote:
> 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
> 
> 
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