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ARLB047 ARRL Board Adopts New League Identity
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ARRL Bulletin 47 ARLB047
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT July 20, 1999
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB047
ARLB047 ARRL Board Adopts New League Identity
The ARRL Board of Directors unanimously has approved the use of a
new identity for the League. Meeting July 16-17 in Rocky Hill,
Connecticut, the Board accepted the recommendation of the ARRL
Executive Committee to emphasize the initials ''ARRL'' in
conjunction with the tag line ''The national association for Amateur
Radio.'' The new identity--which is not a legal name change--will
appear on League correspondence and publications. The
traditional--and legal--name will be retained but de-emphasized.
Further discussion of any possible new name for the League has been
deferred until the Board's January 2000 meeting.
The ARRL Board also approved a proposal to hold a Hiram Percy Maxim
130-year anniversary on-the-air event September 2-11, 1999.
In other matters, the Board unanimously authorized a mail vote of
full members in the proposed new West Central Florida Section, which
includes nine counties that now are part of the Southern Florida
Section. A group calling itself the West Central Florida Section
Committee filed a petition with the League earlier this year to
create a third section in the Sunshine State.
Ballots will go out within a few weeks to ARRL members in Charlotte,
DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Polk and
Sarasota counties. Results of the balloting will be reported to the
Board on a county-by-county basis. If a simple majority of eligible
members voting approves the change, the Board will review the entire
petition file and vote to approve or disapprove the requested
change. That decision is final. There now are 70 ARRL sections.
The ARRL Board also discussed the recent Petition for Rulemaking
filed by the Central States VHF Society and plans to file timely
comments on the proposal. The petition would amend FCC rules to
formally segregate wideband and narrowband modes on VHF and UHF
bands to eliminate interference from FM and packet in the so-called
weak-signal portions of 6 and 2 meters and 70 cm.
The League's comments will support the intent of the petition, but
the Board unanimously agreed that the petition, as submitted, ''does
not sufficiently establish a basis for the regulatory relief
requested.'' As an alternative to the CSVHFS petition, the League's
comments will suggest doing a better job of educating the amateur
community about ARRL band plans. The League also plans to again try
to get the FCC to acknowledge that VHF and UHF operation in
accordance with ARRL band plans is ''good amateur practice'' and
will seek supporting compliance efforts by the FCC.
The Board also announced the winners of several ARRL annual awards.
Elisabeth Price, KC8ALW, of Worthington, Ohio, is the winner of the
Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award for 1998. The Maxim Award goes
annually to an amateur under age 21 who has demonstrated exemplary
ham radio contributions and accomplishments. The award carries a
$1000 stipend, an engraved plaque and a trip to an ARRL convention
for a formal award presentation.
Jerry S. Paquette, WB8IOW, of West Union, Ohio, and Roland Anders,
K3RA, of Elkridge, Maryland, were named the recipients of the Herb
S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award.
Barbara Pederson, KE4JZM, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, won the
Professional Educator of the Year Award.
David Timoshik, WA6AYI, of Winnetka, California, is this year's
recipient of the Excellence in Recruiting Award.
Doug Smith, KF6DX, of Sedona, Arizona, won the Doug DeMaw Technical
Excellence Award for his series ''Signals, Samples and Stuff: A DSP
Tutorial,'' in the March through September 1998 issues of QEX.
Peter Coffee, AC6EN, of Torrance, California, is the recipient of
the Philip McGan Award for his work in publicizing Amateur Radio.
In other action, the Board
* directed Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, to study the
development and implementation of electronic QSL submittals for
ARRL-sponsored awards.
* requested that Headquarters staff study the implementation of an
ARRL Web-based member survey capability and report to the Executive
Committee before the 2000 annual meeting in January.
* directed Sumner to develop and implement strategies to induce
developers ''and others who have influence in these matters'' to
relax restrictive covenants pertaining to Amateur Radio and antennas
''so that Amateur Radio activities might be broadly accommodated.''
* heard ''A Vision for Amateur Radio: Progress Report'' from Sumner
that addresses where Amateur Radio will be in 2010 and the
challenges the League and the hobby will face.
* officially recognized ''the historic and benevolent contributions
of the National Traffic System and its operators to the ARRL and the
public service program, on the occasion of NTS's 50th anniversary.
* formally put in place a mediation program, as part of the
previously approved ARRL Alternative Dispute Resolution Service.
* directed the Headquarters staff to review the effects of contest
rules pertaining to rovers and to make recommendations for promoting
the participation by rovers.
* presented a National Certificate of Merit to Nate Brightman,
K6OSC, ''for his dedicated efforts'' that have resulted in
continuous operation of the W6RO station aboard the Queen Mary by an
Amateur Radio staff of more than 100 volunteers.
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/EX
