[SCCC] N6NB's message of concern

[n6vi at socal.rr.com]

Hi, Wayne.

Thank you for writing such an articulate argument for the ARRL Board's need to do the right things.  May I have your permission to repost it?

73,

Marty N6VI/6
Benicia, CA


---- Wayne Overbeck via SCCC <sccc at contesting.com> wrote: 
> Members of the Board of Directors
> ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio
> Newington, CT 06111
> 
> 
> Dear Members of the Board:
> 
> As a former four-term vice director and ARRL member since 1957, I never before
> considered submitting a letter like this to the Board of Directors.  However, the
> board now faces the most serious threat to its credibility since the incentive licensing
> controversy 50 years ago.  In fact, the current crisis is more serious because so
> many of those who are concerned about recent and proposed board actions are
> prominent and highly respected leaders of amateur radio.
> 
> I believe the board must act quickly to reaffirm its commitment to democratic principles
> if it is to avoid long-term damage to ARRL's effectiveness and its endowment. 
> 
> The new code of conduct, which is widely perceived as a gag rule to silence directors
> who may disagree with ARRL policy, must be abolished.  It cannot be saved by
> wordsmithing or spin-doctoring.  Directors must be free to express their views on
> all matters to the members who elected them, even if what they say could be deemed
> to disparage ARRL itself. Their primary loyalty must be to the membership.  The code
>  of conduct is fundamentally at odds with that principle. 
> 
> Moreover, the board needs to reaffirm its commitment to free elections.  No committee
> should be allowed to disqualify board candidates who meet the written qualifications for
> the position.  The membership must be free to elect any legally qualified candidate,
> regardless of his or her stance on any issue or any undefined "conflict of interest."
> A committee that can remove candidates from the ballot with seeming arbitrariness
> reminds a lot of us of a "guardian council" that disqualifies potential candidates for their
> lack of ideological purity in some countries.  It has no place in a democratic organization. 
> Equally undemocratic is the proposal to allow ARRL memberships to be arbitrarily
> revoked.  That could also be used to undercut free elections.  And the recent proposal
> to dilute elected directors' votes by giving a board vote to persons not elected by the
> members is still another action that would undermine ARRL's status as a democratic
> organization.
> 
> Above all, the board must bring sunshine to its governance process. Frankly, during
> the many board meetings I attended, too many things happened that would never
> withstand public scrutiny.  The minutes rarely provided a complete picture of what
> really happened at those meetings.  The best solution is to open board meetings to
> any member who wishes to attend.  When ARRL was established and its governing
> documents were written to allow closed board meetings, sunshine laws were rare
> even for government agencies.  The federal Freedom of Information Act was not
> enacted until 1967 and the Government in the Sunshine Act came even later. 
> Now we live in a different time.  Today the public and ARRL members expect even
> private membership associations to be far more open and transparent than they did
> when ARRL was founded. 
> 
> In short, I believe the board must work to restore public confidence by recognizing
> full freedom of speech for directors, assuring free elections and opening board meetings
> to members.  It's been very heartening to see the huge outpouring of support for an
> open and democratic ARRL.  Now the board needs to address these issues.
> 
> In addition, the board should reconsider the recent censure of director Norton.  His
> alleged offense was nothing more than making members aware of the existence of the
> new code of conduct.  After hearing him discuss this issue in two venues, I believe
> his presentations were not only accurate but also very much in the best interests of
> ARRL and its members.  He deserves praise, not censure, for supporting members'
> right to know.
>  
> 
> Respectfully submitted,
> 
> 
> Wayne Overbeck, N6NB
> Life member and former vice director
> 
> (Circulated Jan. 10, 2018)  
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