[InHam] K9DUR, ARRL Section Manager Nominee

[Ray, K9DUR]

Greetings,

I am Ray Andrews, K9DUR, and am a nominee for the position of ARRL 
Section Manager for Indiana.

As a starting point, please visit my web site to learn a little more 
about me. On the main page is a link to a campaign flyer that I have 
put together which not only gives some biographical information but 
also lists what my goals and objectives would be as Section Manager, 
if elected.

The URL is: http://www.qsl.net/k9dur

I am not the type of person who goes into a position like this with 
my own agenda. I believe that it is the responsibility of the 
Section Manager to serve the amateur radio operators in his section, 
whether ARRL members or not. His agenda should be that of the 
amateurs he serves; and therefore he should listen to the amateur 
community as a whole and work to improve those areas where they are 
not being served adequately.

If you go to the ARRL By-Laws and read the section about the position 
of Section Manager, you will find that the SM does not make ARRL 
policy, that is the job of the Division Directors. The primary 
responsibility of the SM is to manage the ARRL Field Organization in 
his section. Consequently, first and foremost the SM must ensure 
that the section staff and their appointees are efficiently serving 
the needs of the amateur community in their respective areas of 
responsibility. This does not mean however, that the SM has no role 
in the ARRL policy-making process. It the duty of the SM to maintain 
a close working relationship with the Division Director and to make 
certain that the Division Director is aware of the concerns of the 
amateurs in his section so that the Division Director can make 
informed decisions. 

One of the areas needing to be addressed that is not adequately 
covered by the ARRL Field Organization is in the area of recruitment 
of new amateurs. The ARRL Field Organization guidelines state that 
recruitment is the responsibility of all ARRL appointees. I would 
take that one step further: recruitment is the responsibility of all 
amateurs. However, the ARRL Field Organization does not include a 
specific position tasked with providing leadership to and 
coordinating recruitment efforts throughout the section. It would be 
my intention to appoint an Assistant Section Manager with the 
specific responsibility of performing that task. Without a single 
person to coordinate the recruiting efforts throughout the section, 
those efforts, while not necessarily doomed to failure, would 
definitely not be as successful as they could be.

One thing I have learned in 40 years of working in industry, first as 
an electronic design engineer and later as a software engineer, is 
that you must determine who your customers are and work to meet the 
needs of those customers. The customers of the Section Manager are 
the amateur radio operators throughout the section. I will work to 
meet the needs of ALL amateur radio operators in Indiana, both 
directly and through the ARRL appointees across the state. I dislike 
leaders who have "tunnel-vision" and concentrate on their pet 
projects to the detriment of other areas which also need attention. 
I promise, I will not do this.

Can one person personally perform all of the tasks required to 
support and enhance amateur radio across Indiana? Of course not! 
That is why maintaining an efficiently functioning Field Organization 
is and must be the primary task of the Section Manager.

Looking forward to hearing your comments.

73, Ray, K9DUR