[SFDXA] January 2015 Board Meeting - K4AC, , Doug Rehman, Southeastern Division Director

[Bill]

I apologize for the delay in getting this update out. The weekend
immediately following the Board Meeting was the Puerto Rico State
Convention (an incredible celebration of the Puerto Rican culture and
amateur radio in a beautiful, warm location with amazing hospitality);
between travel and business, it's been quite busy!

The January Board Meeting was a very productive one on many fronts and
disappointing on others. I've already received questions about how I
voted on various Motions and why I voted for or against them. I'll go
through each of the Motions and explain my vote.

Those members that have elected to receive Board Minutes within their
profile have already been emailed a copy. (If you would like to receive
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If you did not receive the Minutes, but would like to see a copy, I've
posted them on the Division's website at:
http://arrlse.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015_January_ARRL_Board_Minutes.pdf

Minute 24: (Legislative Objectives for 114th Congress—Passed) I voted
for this Motion as the objectives include the major initiatives we
should be pursuing. This includes seeking relief from unreasonable
antenna restrictions in CC&Rs.

Minute 25: (Amendment of Article 7—Passed) This clarifies when a Vice
Director is acting as the Director at a meeting of the Board where the
Director is unable to attend. I voted in favor.

Minute 26: (Amendment of Article 12—Passed) This clarifies the
language of the Article. I voted in favor.

Minute 27: (Amendment of Bylaw 41—Passed) This changes the body
making a ruling on a conflict of interest from the Ethics and Elections
Committee to the entire Board. It also gives the E&E Committee other
duties pertaining to conflicts of interest. I voted in favor of the
motion as a the handling of a possible conflict of interest in 2014
showed that Bylaw 41 and Bylaw 45 needed changes.

Minute 28: (Rewrite of Bylaw 45—Passed) Bylaw 45 is the Conflicts of
Interest Policy and was rewritten to clarify conflicts of interest.
While I generally agreed with the rewrite, I voted against the motion
because it states, "A Board Member or Vice Director may not disclose
confidential information obtained by him or her relating to the League
to any third person or entity", but fails to define what "confidential
information" is; it is not defined elsewhere in the Bylaws or Articles
either.

When the Motion was proposed in advance of the Board Meeting, I
unsuccessfully asked for the addition of a definition of "confidential
information". I brought it up again in the Board Meeting, but didn't
receive support.

One of the platforms I ran on was more openness of the Board and its
actions. Without a definition of "confidential information" it is
impossible to know with certainty what is "confidential information"
that cannot be revealed and what is allowable to disclose.

Minute 29: (2014 George Hart Distinguished Service Award—Passed) I
voted in favor of bestowing the award on WA1ZCN.

Minute 30: (Volunteer Instructor Database—Passed) I voted in favor of
this Motion that elevates its priority and directs staff to complete
this database by the end of 2015. The database will be used to track
VIs and the classes they teach.

Minute 31: (2015-2016 Plan—Passed) I voted against the Motion to
adopt the plan. While I believe the expenditures laid out in the plan
are acceptable, I take issue with a lack of exploration of alternative
means of generating additional revenues to offset the amount by which
membership dues will need to be increased in the future.

Minute 32: (Strategic Planning Working Group Creation—Passed) I voted
against the creation of this committee because the Executive Committee
is already charged with making changes to the Strategic Plan. I also
voted against the creation of this committee as it results from my July
2014 Motion to create a Information Technology Strategic Planning
Committee which was referred to the Administration and Finance
Committee. A&F choose to propose a committee to look at everything
rather than the committee that I proposed that would specifically
concentrate on IT—an area that has become a bottleneck for progress
in many areas.

Minute 33: (Creation of Assistant Section Traffic Manager—Passed) I
voted in favor of establishing the ASTM position in the Field
Organization as a way to recognize the contribution of the individuals
that are already doing that work.

Minute 34: (Revising 160m Card Checking Rules—Passed) I voted in
favor of having staff expand the program as there are not enough 160m
card checkers.

Minute 35: (Housekeeping Changes to DXCC Rules—Passed) I made the
Motion and voted in favor of it. It clarifies language in two places
and makes no change to the intent of the rules.

Minute 36: (Remote Operation DXCC Rules—Passed) I made the Motion and
voted in favor of it. The changes are: removing the restriction against
a land based station being remote controlled from a vessel; removing
the restriction that the control operator must be in the same entity as
the transmitter; adding a restriction that the receiver and transmitter
must be located within a 500 meter circle; adding a statement that
contacts with legally licensed remote stations count for DXCC credit
(they already counted previously if they met the control operator
requirement of being in the same entity—this just makes it clear);
and adding a section stressing ethical and legal operation.

These changes came about after prolonged discussions by the Programs
and Services Committee which I serve on. We took into consideration the
report of the DX Advisory Committee as well as member input (I solicited
input from our Division membership several months ago). The PSC explored
a wide variety of options, including distance limitations and a separate
DXCC award. In the end we came to the conclusions of what was passed by
the Board. We felt that ethical remote operations are within the spirit
of Amateur Radio, that the development of remote stations furthers the
art and science of Amateur Radio, and the location of the operator and
the length of the  "wires" between the operator and the equipment makes
no difference in the fact that radio communications occurred between the
two stations.

The DXCC program belongs to all of the membership. As such, it is my
responsibility to consider the positions of all members. I heard very
different things from the hardcore DX community where the members are
in competition with each other  than I did from the rank and file
membership which includes Amateurs that have struggled or are
struggling to reach 100 confirmed and see it as a very personal
achievement. Amateurs located in CC&R restricted communities and
amateurs that have been forced to give up competitive stations due to
aging benefit immensely from the ability to operate using remotely
controlled stations.

Minute 37: (Changes to VHF and Above Contest Rules—Passed) I voted in
favor of this Motion that adopts the recommendations of the VHF and
Above Revitalization Subcommittee that I also serve on. The changes are
primarily concerning the use of assistance such as self-spotting and
simultaneous transmitting on multiple bands. (If you are interested in
knowing the specifics, please read the Motion in the Bylaws as it is
very detailed.)

Minute 38: (Thanking the Second Century Campaign Committee and Others
Helping the SCC—Passed) I voted in favor of this Motion.

Minute 39: (Technician/Novice RTTY/Data Privileges—Passed) I made the
Motion and voted in favor of it. At the July 2014 Board Meeting, I
proposed that Technicians be given limited digital privileges in the
80, 40, and 15 meter bands; the proposal was referred to the Executive
Committee for study. The EC recommended that input from the membership
be solicited for adding digital privileges for Technicians and Novices
in the 15 meter band. Interdependently, the HF Band Planning Committee
was soliciting member input on the HF digital band plan; their
recommendations include adding digital privileges for Technicians and
Novices in the 80 meter band. This motion marries the EC and HF Band
Planning Committee recommendations so that when HFBPC solicits member
input on their recommendations, the solicitation will include
Technician and Novice privileges in both the 80 and 15 meter bands.

Technicians and Novices already have digital privileges on 10 meters.
Providing privileges in other HF bands will encourage them to
experiment with HF digital communications as they will have bands with
propagation around the clock and the investment in HF equipment will
allow for use on more than just 10 meters. Years ago, the limited CW
privileges for Technicians and Novices allowed them to experience a
taste of HF operations including DX. Once hooked on HF operations, a
large number upgraded so that they could access a greater portion of
the bands and voice. Giving digital privileges will recreate that
possibility. Given the younger generations' affinity for text based
communications, digital modes should be particularly attractive to
them.

Minutes 40 & 41: (Electing Past Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson
an Honorary Vice President—Elected) I voted in favor of these Motions.
Dr. Bodson served as the Vice director from 1993-2000 and the Director
from 2001-2015.

Minute 42: (Awarding the Bill Leonard Award—Passed) I voted in favor
of bestowing the award which recognizes professional journalists whose
outstanding coverage highlights the enjoyment, importance, and public
service value of the Amateur Radio Service in three categories (Audio,
Visual, and Print & Text).

Minute 43: (Creation of the Information Technology Review
Committee—Failed) I made the Motion and voted in favor of it. The
committee would have examined both the existing Information Technology
operations and network architecture. Using the information obtained,
the committee would have created a plan in conjunction with staff that
maximizes the IT services provided to League members and Headquarters
staff, both currently and in the future. This was similar to my Motion
at the July 2014 Board Meeting to create an IT Strategic Planning
Committee (see Minute 32 above) which ultimately failed to create such
a group.

IT has become a bottleneck to most projects. Additionally the League
suffered two network intrusions in the past 6 months, at least one of
which could have been prevented if proper network monitoring protocols
were in place. Several members of the Board are faculty members in the
IT field at colleges, myself included. The committee could have
leveraged this knowledge to improve the League's IT.

I have already been asked by members why this Motion failed. It failed
for a number of reasons, but the primary one is that it is seen by some
as an intrusion into the turf of the Administration and Finance
Committee. Bylaw 38 describes the A&F Committee's duties and states,
"Monitor and review key infrastructure projects, including capital
improvements and significant information technology changes". This has
been misinterpreted to mean that anything dealing with IT is the sole
purview of A&F.

The requirements for the proposed IT committee include that the members
have a high level of IT knowledge. This was done so that politics could
be removed from the committee's considerations and instead attention
could be paid to IT Best Practices. As such, the committee membership
requirements would have excluded most Board members from consideration
as members.

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73 de K4AC

Doug Rehman
Southeastern Division Director

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ARRL Southeastern Division
Director: Doug Rehman, K4AC
k4ac at arrl.org