The ARRL Executive Committee is scaling back
proposed changes to its Articles of Association and By-Laws after a release of
their preliminary versions caused a firestorm among League members and
affiliated clubs.
In a very informative
posting on his division webpage, ARRL Central Division Director Kermit Carlson,
W9XA, explains to the members of his division what his priorities are in regard
to the proposed changes, along with the final - revised - versions of the
actual motions. Based on these updated motions, it appears that proposals
regarding membership revocation and disciplinary action against directors and
officers will not be on the table. In addition, Carlson has posted the text of
a motion he will introduce to amend the so-called "code of conduct"
for directors to remove prohibitions on directors telling their members how
they voted on various motions, as well as the statement that board members
"must accept and publicly support Board decisions." Instead, the code
would state that directors may not make public statements that "have the purpose or
effect of undermining, discrediting or disparaging the decisions or actions of
the Board."
All of this is posted on
the ARRL Central Division webpage at <http://www.central.arrl.org/>.
We recommend that
everyone read Mr. Carlson's excellent letter as well as the current texts of
the motions that will be considered next weekend. Of course, final decisions on
the wording of each motion will be up to the board members when they meet.
Motions may be amended, adopted, deferred or defeated, and we won't know the
final disposition of any of them until after the board meeting on January 19
and 20.
We thank Kermit for
sharing this updated information with his members and, by extension, the entire
amateur radio community. We also thank the Executive Committee for its
responsiveness in making appropriate changes to address valid member concerns.
This is representative democracy in action.
