[K3CAL] Open letter to the board

Fri Mar 4 15:47:23 EST 2016

So I just read the email above  from Charlie and I am confused about
something.  I saw an email response from Eric beneath it.  Either my email
is messing up, or Eric chose to reply to a limited number of people and not
post his response on the reflector for all to see.  I am a bit disheartened
by this as such an action could easily be seen as purposely trying to hide
information from the members.  I'm not implying in any way that this was
the intent, I'm just saying that this lack of transparency can have very
negative consequences on your reputation.

Also I have a bit of an issue with Eric's message, which I'll quote here:

*Dave Weaver's Initial Statement:*
> It was brought to my attention that the installation of new equipment
> for the repeater for Prince Frederick project was to be halted at March
> Meeting until a new written plan was in place. As per the new president
> Ed Noell.

*Eric's Response:*
No, this is neither what happened nor what was intended to happen.  We
were specifically talking about *future* projects and trying to actually
create a plan going forward for what we want to do 1, 3, and 5 years out
as well as completing the Prince Frederick Project.  Work is continuing
on the Prince Frederick Project (see below).

Now the issue I have is that this is just not correct.  Eric reported from
the Repeater Committee about the 1, 3, and 5 year plan that was being
constructed as to what the plans were for the repeaters in the future, in
which he discussed ideas about linking the two repeaters (.950 and .985)
and possibly adding a digipeater to the .950 machine.  Jim (K3UGA) asked
why we weren't going to just finish the project with the PF machine that
had already been approved and which had funds already allocated.  Eric
responded that we were going to do that, as well as these other things too,
as outlined in the new 1, 3, and 5 year plan.

>From what I understand of this exchange, David (W3PQS) is stating that one
of the above plans has already been approved and has had funds allocated
for it.  I'm guessing this is the plan to link the repeaters, but I'm not
sure, because again, this club's administration needs to work on its
transparency.  So if I'm right, Eric said that this work was going to
happen, along with other work that was part of the proposed 1, 3, and 5
year plan.

If this is the case, then Dave is 100% correct.  You cannot just halt work
that has already been approved, with money allocated from the treasury,
because you want to additional work and you haven't even come up with the
full plan of the additional work you want to do.  If we had a plan that was
approved by the membership and which had funds allocated, then we need to
finish that plan.  Any future plans (1, 3, and 5 year or otherwise) are
separate orders of business, and until voted on and approved (with
allocation of new funds) do not count for anything as far as the
organization is concerned.

And yes, Ed did "table" the discussion until the Repeater Committee came
back with a finalized plan to submit to membership.  Now, it is my belief
that he wasn't intentionally trying to stop a project that was already
approved.  However, because the Repeater Committee was trying to lump that
already approved work in with new work (if I'm understanding this
correctly), that is effectively what happened.

Eric also states that "And from what I've seen participation is up,
attendance is up".  I think this might have a bit to do with people coming
to the meetings to try to figure out what is going on.  Because let's be
honest, there's one side of the issue that is speaking out loud and often,
and the other side that is sending emails only to specific people, and when
asked say things like "it's a long story" and "I don't want to get into it
right now".

I've said this before and I will say it again.  CARA is the only link some
of us have to Amateur Radio and whatever happens needs to happen for the
betterment of the organization. This nonsense needs to be resolved and we
need to move forward.

On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 2:54 PM, Charlie Lumadue <fishkeeper1109 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> ERIC  YOU HAVE  F---ED UP THE CLUB  WE HAD THE BEST REPEATER REMEMBER
>  ECHO LINK SURE WAS FUN. GUESS WHAT YOU F----ED THAT UP TO. YOU HAD NO
> RIGHT  TAKING ME OFF THE TREE!!!! SO PUT ME BACK ON THE TREE OR WISH YOU
> HAD. THIS GI JOE BULLCRAP HAS GOT TO GO.  AB3LE  ALL BANDS ALL MODES ALL
> THE TIME GRID DONT NEED NO STINKIN GRID.  YOU HAVE NO RIGHT AND YOU DONT
> HAVE THE SUPPORT YOU THINK YOU HAVE.
>
> On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 2:22 PM, Eric Christensen <eric at christensenplace.us
> > wrote:
>
>> I don't want to engage in back and forth negativity, but I will take
>> this opportunity to clear up a few inaccuracies.
>>
>> On 03/04/2016 12:57 PM, David Weaver wrote:
>> > Hello all Cara members and Board members.
>>
>> > It was brought to my attention that the installation of new equipment
>> > for the repeater for Prince Frederick project was to be halted at March
>> > Meeting until a new written plan was in place. As per the new president
>> > Ed Noell.
>>
>> No, this is neither what happened nor what was intended to happen.  We
>> were specifically talking about *future* projects and trying to actually
>> create a plan going forward for what we want to do 1, 3, and 5 years out
>> as well as completing the Prince Frederick Project.  Work is continuing
>> on the Prince Frederick Project (see below).
>>
>> > Instead I was told to return
>> > everything and stop work. I still would like to complete this project as
>> > I think it would benefit all of Calvert County and its amateur radio
>> > operators North and South. I do need the support of the board and
>> > Calvert amateur radio Association members. That means I would be put
>> > back on repeater committee as the chairman so that I can get the support
>> > of the right people at the right time to get this equipment that we have
>> > donator our money to operational in a timely manner.
>>
>> You originally said you wanted the support from 100% of the members and
>> that just isn't going to happen.  Honestly, I'm having to go back and
>> figure out what has been done to both repeaters because you just started
>> doing stuff instead of bringing ideas to the membership and properly
>> documenting the project.  I don't want to do this haphazardly and going
>> forward I want to be methodical and make educated choices.  I also want
>> to document everything so we have a solid baseline to work from if we do
>> implement improvements or need to troubleshoot a problem.
>>
>> > Some of you may not know that we have frequencies allocated by T Mark
>> > for our link system. If we do not use these frequencies by putting them
>> > on the air by April we will lose them they go back to T Mark to be
>> > reassigned.
>>
>> Yes, you brought this to my attention last week and I acknowledged it.
>> I suspect we wouldn't lose the frequencies from T-MARC since linking
>> frequencies aren't in high demand and I also think that we'd be able to
>> get an extension (much like we did for the 444.950 repeater pair) or get
>> a new assignment later if we can't get an extension.
>>
>> > If you are interested in getting this equipment running and working you
>> > must let the new president know.
>>
>> The new President knows, the Board knows, the whole club knows.  I'm not
>> sure why you make it sound like the President, myself, or anyone else on
>> the Board is deaf to what the membership wants.  The meeting last night,
>> which was very well attended, had lots of discussion about what the
>> membership wants and I am pressing forward with that.
>>
>> > I hear a lot of you complaining that you don't understand what's going
>> > on you must stand up and say something.
>>
>> From whom?  I sincerely wish to know since I have not been hearing these
>> complaints and I would like to address any issues that members have.
>>
>> > Hopefully we can get this Association back together working as a team
>> > right now there is no team too many people are being left out.
>>
>> The only people I'm aware of that have been "left out" have taken it
>> upon themselves to not participate.  From what I've seen our Board and
>> regular meeting have been well attended and people have been open to
>> discussing ideas.
>>
>> > *Some
>> > people can not join Ares* because they're not liked and are a little
>> > different when   they get on radio. Others were just taken off because
>> > leadership did not like them.
>>
>> The proper attitude is what it takes to be a successful member of ARES.
>> I cannot, and will not, have members who think it's okay to threaten
>> physical violence on my team. If I can't trust someone to keep a cool
>> and level head about themselves then they are of no use to me. It has
>> nothing to do with being liked or being different.
>>
>> > And others are being excluded because they
>> > were attacked and the board is still not following the bylaws by keeping
>> > that person on the board emails list.
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean.  AFAIK, Bob has control of the
>> board at k3cal.org email redirector so if he's taken someone off that list
>> I'm not aware of it.
>>
>> > Let's get this club under control
>> > and bring it together as a team I know we all can work together. I think
>> > the new administration has great ideas. They just need to learn how to
>> > implement them with the Association support which I don't hear or see
>> > right now.
>>
>> And from what I've seen participation is up, attendance is up, we've
>> gotten input from the membership regarding changes to the bylaws that
>> the Board has given the thumbs up on and the attendees at last night's
>> meeting seemed to support.  There are plans for speakers, show-and-tell,
>> radio build projects, and more coming up and I'm listening for more
>> suggestions.  I think I've received enough ideas to cover the rest of
>> this year and half of the next!
>>
>> So, looking positively towards the future, I think we're moving in the
>> correct direction based upon the reactions of the members at last
>> night's meeting and from other interactions I've had.  Honestly, the
>> best part of last night's meeting was the discussions we had where
>> everyone (at least appeared) to be comfortable asking questions or
>> providing input.
>>
>> I'll be asking for input on a couple of plans very soon (I'd be doing
>> that now but...) so I hope you and all the other members will provide
>> feedback so we can progress in a positive manner.  Gross negativity only
>> tears us apart as a community and there's been too much of that as of
>> late.
>>
>> In closing, I invite all members to help grow our community in a
>> positive manner instead of stooping to trying to dig up malice where
>> none exists.
>>
>> 73,
>> Eric WG3K
>> CARA Vice President
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