[NCARC] The Demise of the NCARC

Fri Mar 23 00:24:14 EDT 2012

I second Justin's proposal.

Marty Gerlach KC0QOK

Across town or around the world, Amateur Radio can be heard!©

-----Original message-----
From: Justin King <n0aol at nti-llc.net>
To: NCARC at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Fri, Mar 23, 2012 04:10:00 GMT+00:00
Subject: [NCARC] The Demise of the NCARC

Members of the club:

It has come to my attention that an illegal board meeting has taken place
tonight without notice to the general membership per bylaws Part 3, section
3a and on top of that not all of the board was invited to the meeting.

Section 3a. Executive Committee and Club Board meetings are open to the
General Membership, however, only members of the Club Board may vote on
business before itself. The Executive Committee or Club Board is permitted
to hold closed sessions as they deem necessary. The minutes from any closed
sessions will not be made public. However, all votes and decisions resulting
from any closed session will be posted on the Corporation's website.

As of right now the club repeaters are apparently operating without a
station trustee which is a violation of FCC rules for being an amateur radio
club.  After the last club meeting, which I missed, our Trustee K1TJ voiced
his intent to resign from the board.however after cooling down withdrew that
resignation realizing that would put the club's operating license in
jeopardy.  Chris, our president, also voiced intent to resign as the club
president.  What you don't realize is a couple months ago Bill Abbot (member
at large) also voiced intent to resign from the board and later withdrew
that resignation as well.keep in mind he was not a club member for the
required 12 months before being voted into the board as per the bylaws.

>From what I am seeing on the clubs website officer positions at
http://ncarc.net/node/3  After tonight's un-announced meeting where not all
the board was invited, it appears our trustee has been removed from his
position against his will.  A screenshot of the clubs officer positions was
taken at 9:50 PM and can be seen here. http://n0aol.nti-llc.net/ncarc.jpg
Willy has become the president as per the bylaws, and the vice president
position is now open.  However Bill's resignation was not accepted.so he
shall remain on the board.  Folks, it is time that the club understand the
hostile takeover that has taken place of the NCARC.  You might all finally
be putting together the pieces as to why we have had so many board members
resign in the last year and half.

As you can read in the attached email, it is my opinion that Willie is
encroaching on the 1st and 2nd amendment rights of some of our club members
as seen in the below communication. Keep in mind the Buckhorn site project
was started in mid-2009 and completed in 2010.  Then added onto and enhanced
in 2011 for all licensed amateurs to use, and multiple club members helped
see this project through.  Without the efforts of Marty KC0QOK this buckhorn
radio facility would not be in the excellent condition it is in today.  This
project has been complete for some time now!

One item to note in regard to the linking project: As seen in the March 2011
newsletter, http://ncarc.net/files/1103.pdf, Willie motioned to set aside
the money for the linking project and from what I can see lately seems to
want the project dismissed.  Below is an email communication to the board
members.

Before I send you off to read the below communications I will close this off
by stating the following:

It is my opinion, even though missed the last club meeting, that Marty
finally said what needed to be said.  The board is dragging their feet on
stuff and quite frankly quite a few of us are getting tired of it.  The
commentary below of use of firearms as intimidation is completely out of
line, and Chris's email response addresses this is great detail.  The few
club members that open carry is just the tip of the ice berg to those of us
that Conceal Carry on a regular basis.

The only way I can see this club moving forward is by demanding the
resignation and immediate replacement of our now Club President Willie
W5WIW, and an immediate review of our PAO position and Board Member at Large
position holders.

I was voted into the Interference Coordinator position in January of 2011,
that position was once a voting board member position.  After the bylaws
change was made that voting position was stripped and the interference
coordinator is no longer a board member per the revised bylaws as well as
the ham fest chair position

I hereby propose (in violation of the bylaws) that we move elections up to
the April NCARC general membership meeting to be held 4-21-2012, and these
voted positions take effect immediately to get the club back on track as
soon as possible.

Thank you for your time reading this long email, it is time the NCARC be
returned to the fun club is should be.

Justin King

N0AOL

===================================

On 3/18/2012 2:24 PM, Willard Williams wrote: 

Tom 

I am very upset about the way you try to go around the rules and regulations
of the club.  There has not been any explanation about the linking system or
what good it will do the club.  There was not a written proposal before it
started.  I don't believe the club was told about the link of 220 and
147.700 at this time.  I have not seen in minutes where the club voted to
link these frequencies.   We have not finished a project in over 4 years.
Now we are starting a new project without paper work.  I know how mad you
get when you are told no and the recourse you take.  You have talked about
the hogwash and the time you have wasted at board meetings and how they are
filled with nonsense.  I know you have been a part of that too because you
don't want to follow the By laws.  When we asked for the numbers off the
equipment for insurance you stated that we don't need them.  When we wanted
to set up an inventory of club assets you said we didn't need that.  The
club has a lot of money in asset and should know where to find the
equipment.  You fuss about Eugene wanting run things but he did bring up
things to get the club thinking about the business we are in.  Sure he said
things we didn't want to hear but it made sense.  I did not know that we had
that equipment and worth that much money.  There is probably a lot more
equipment out there that we don't know about.  I did not know about the
contracts and how they were written until I got involved in the insurance.
I know you got mad and said thing to other people about me but I tried to do
my job.  I probably have put as much in the club as you have but I did not
say much.  You voted for the bylaws and we should follow them.  I talked to
several people after the meeting and they did not know the board had set the
project aside or they would not have voted for it.  Chris would not let
Eugene tell that at the meeting before the vote was taken.  I was not going
to say anything because I knew that I would cause trouble, and I felt
threatened by the man carrying a weapon and his words and tone of his voice.
As of people doing their job and left alone to do their job, what about the
budget they are to use.  Do you think these people are to have an open
expense accounts??  There is always a need to control the money in a club. 

As far as Bill he told us in the Board meeting about what his problem was
and we voted to take the problem to the general meeting and was voted on
there and it passed. 

The motion that Marty made was out of line and he or anyone that wanted that
motion to carry did not follow the BYLAWS and should have been stopped but I
think the members of the club did not want to start a fight.  None of the
other members of the board would say anything because Chris would not let
them talk.  He should have stopped the motion for lack of proposal, as set
forth by the bylaws. 

You know that the reason I feel that way about people with guns is because
of all the shootings we hear about now.  We don't know when if it will
happen again.  I don't think guns have a place in a club meeting. 

Willie 
====================================

Response:

Date: 

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:17:07 -0600

To: 

Board Reflect  <mailto:board at ncarc.net> <board at ncarc.net>

Tom had nothing to do with the proposal, it was made by Marty.  There HAS
been a linking system proposal, it was made verbally, prior to the
ratification of the current by-laws.  Therefore, it is not subject to the
current requirements for a project.  Why does this get brought up every time
we try to discuss a completely different topic.  Every week we are rehashing
topics that have already been decided.  The reason we haven't completed a
project in 4 years is because the board has wasted the time we spend
together, fighting old battles, and groping for consensus where there is
none to be had. 

The voter proposal that was made to the board was shot down because some
thought it was lacking a coherent proof of concept.  In other words, they
didn't think we needed it or it was not feasible.  The proposal that was
made at the meeting yesterday, was intended to give us the means to achieve
the requisite proof of concept.  The reason that I stopped Eugene from
speaking was because the motion had yet to be made, therefore, the floor
wasn't open for discussion.  My mistake was letting anyone speak before the
motion was made and seconded.  But, I didn't want to be accused of being
Draconian and tyrannical, which are both words that board members have used
to describe me in the past for simply trying to do my job and keep us on
track and following the rules.  When it was open for discussion, no motions
to table until the proposal could be made properly, were made.  The proper
course of action was not to stop the motion from being made, but to wait
until it had been made, then move on the motion to amend, table, or
otherwise modify the motion.   The point that Eugene had been trying to
make, although valid, was out of place, non actionable (it was an
observation, not something we could act on), and it was not clear to me that
he had been saying we were violating the by-laws, I thought he was
expressing his personal objections.  He was correct in his assessment of the
by-laws with regard to the situation.  I do not have the by-laws memorized,
and I did not recall the clause that Eugene, Bill, and Willie all pointed
out to me AFTER the meeting, but anyone of you could have, at the RIGHT
TIME, called a point of order, or put an actionable item up for a vote.

Every single one of us regularly violates the by-laws, rules of order, or
both.  People are quick to point out when someone else steps out of line,
yet show very little regard for the rules when it is their pet topic up for
debate. This is the subject that caused me to lose my temper with Bill after
the meeting yesterday.  Every one of us is guilty of speaking out of turn,
making an invalid motion, otherwise causing a procedural fault, or
intentionally obstructing progress.  I would like to apologies to Bill,
Willie, Jerry, and anyone else whom I may have offended by the way I
expressed my frustrations, but I stand by everything I said, it needed to be
said. 

With regard to the allegations that I somehow conspired with Marty to push
this thing through, I am appalled.  I did have prior notice that Marty
intended to address the issue, and I did talk with him before the meeting to
ensure his discussion was actionable.  I did not know exactly what his
motion was going to be.  It is irrelevant that the board had discussed a
similar topic, any club member has the right to bypass the board and call
for a direct vote on any topic.  Maybe if we would quit the infighting and
take the actions our constituents want us to take, they wouldn't be forced
to bypass the board altogether.  I didn't cut anyone off who was not
speaking out of turn.  Willie and Eugene were allowed to speak freely after
the motion had been made and seconded.  All I heard were what appeared to be
personal opinions, and not a single one of you used the procedural tools at
your disposal (motion to table, motion to amend, point of order for a review
of the by-laws, a counter motion to dismiss) to stop this, apparently, gross
injustice from moving forward.  

I never told Ed that his question had to go back to the board, that is a
flat out lie.  I gave him the option to make a motion for a vote by the
general membership, or a request that the board review the topic a second
time.  He chose the latter.  Marty chose the former, because he didn't
believe the board would act.

The thought that I used the fact that Marty and I were both armed to scare
the club into passing the voting receiver measure, is ridicules.  There were
only four people opposed to the measure, I'm not menacing enough to bully
over 30 people to vote in favor of something that they feel is wrong.  Get
real.  The straight forward allegations, that one of us would have started
shooting, which have been made, are insulting and entirely unfounded.  I
carry a firearm for personal defense, and would never EVER think of using it
unless someone's life were in peril.  Willie, the only people who should
fear me are the ones who intend to harm someone else. Anyone who feels
otherwise has grossly misjudged my character.  I have never become violent
or threatened anyone while at a radio function, while carrying a fire arm,
or while in a position of leadership.  What makes you think I would start
now?

The past year and a half has been one of the most stressful times in my
life.  This is in no small part due to the behavior of the Club board.  Ham
radio is a hobby, not a business and should not be a source of anxiety
attacks, which it has for me, on many occasions.  The behavior of this club
board is destroying the club and the enjoyment of the hobby for many of
those involved.  I have tried everything I can think of to get you all to
stop bickering like teenaged girls and start acting like adults, and can no
longer allow the behavior of a few self-riotous individuals to cause me so
much frustration and anxiety, and sap all enjoyment out of a wonderful
hobby.  I hereby resign as the President of the NCARC.

This term has seen the loss of TWO presidents, a control op., and countless
threats to quit from several other positions within the board.
Something is systemically wrong here.

73,
KD0EGE

==========================

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