Key Issues
Knowledge Over Bias
My work on the ARRL Board has focused on clarifying responsibilities, strengthening governance, and helping the Board stay focused on the issues affecting amateur radio and its members.
I believe good decisions start with listening, understanding the facts, and bringing the right experience to the table. As I look ahead, five priorities deserve particular attention: membership value, financial strength, spectrum protection, member communication, and the next generation of amateur radio.
“We need to clearly communicate the value of membership.”
Better Value For Members
Membership should deliver value members can see and use. ARRL already provides a wide range of services, from licensing resources and contest support to Logbook of The World, publications, technical information, and education. I want to keep improving the quality of those services while making it easier for members to understand and use everything available to them.
We also need to look ahead. Digital publications and web-based services should continue to improve, and new technologies, including AI, should be evaluated for ways they can make ARRL resources easier to use and more responsive to member needs. Improving the member experience is only part of the job. Both current and prospective members should easily understand what their dues support and what resources are available to them.
“Accountability matters as much as revenue.”
Strong Financial Foundations
ARRL needs the resources to serve amateur radio for the long term. We must have the financial strength to invest in member services, advocacy, technology, and education—and the people needed to support them. I believe ARRL should continue looking for responsible ways to generate revenue beyond membership dues alone.
We must evaluate opportunities connected to ARRL’s real estate and other assets, which might include developing products or services that can generate income. The ARRL must also examine funded programs to understand the value they return for the money invested.
Programs should have clear objectives, and the Board should have the information it needs to evaluate whether those objectives are being met. At the same time, increasing membership and demonstrating the value of that membership remain important parts of improving ARRL’s financial position.
“ARRL has an important role in representing amateur radio when radio-frequency regulations are under consideration.”
Protect Our Spectrum
Without access to spectrum, amateur radio cannot do what it was created to do. Our frequency allocations make experimentation, communication, emergency response, technical education, and countless operating activities possible. Protecting frequency access requires sustained technical, legal, and regulatory work in the United States and internationally.
There will likely be attacks on power levels and frequency bands by those who misunderstand and misrepresent hazards associated with radio frequency radiation. ARRL has been successful in fending off many of these attacks, and that’s because the ARRL has talented leadership as well as talented technical and legal staff in place to wage this battle. We must also have state-of-the-art electronics and analytical techniques to reinforce our arguments and legal positions.
“Active listening should lead to useful information the Board can act on.”
Improve Communication With Members
Members need information from ARRL, and ARRL needs information from its members. What that means in practice is that members should have a clear understanding of Board actions, available services, organizational priorities, and the reasons behind important decisions. Our Board and staff also need reliable ways to hear what members are experiencing and what they value.
There will always be information a nonprofit corporation cannot make public, including certain personnel matters and confidential business planning. But confidentiality should not prevent ARRL from communicating clearly wherever it can. I would also like to see more formal member research. Surveys can help us better understand what members value, why some choose not to renew, and where services may need to change.
“We need to celebrate successful clubs in meaningful ways. And we need to have the help of those successful clubs in raising the level of success of clubs that are faltering.”
Grow The Next Generation
There is little doubt that the average age of amateur radio operators is increasing. I view getting someone licensed as the beginning, while keeping them involved is often the bigger challenge.
ARRL has made developing the next generation a current organizational focus, including student membership options and youth-oriented education programs. We need to understand what interests newer generations and show them where amateur radio connects with those interests. Robotics, satellites, emergency communications, software, smart-phone applications, and other technologies can all provide an entry point, but more importantly, we need to connect new users to our larger community.
Amateur radio clubs are the vital glue that sustained most of us during our early amateur radio careers. We need to build and rebuild clubs through education on club structure, procedures, and opportunities.
