HRN 371: Where Never Is Heard (And the Bands Are All Open All Day)

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Our cryptic title refers to the ARRL Code of Conduct for Directors, initiated in January 2017, that contains multiple provisions requiring Directors to support League positions even if they personally disagree, and not publicly speak against them. 

This program brings CQ editor Rich Moseson W2VU, blogger and podcaster Dan Romanchik KB6NU and blogger and podcaster Sterling Coffey N0SSC together with hosts David W0DHG and Gary KN4AQ for an in-depth discussion of the Code of Conduct and the underlying issues with the ARRL Board. 

We talk about how the Board has apparently been systematically removing 'disruptive' members by finding ways to keep them from running for re-election (Doug Rehman K4AC [former SE Div Director], Bob Famiglio K3RF [EPA Vice Director, seeking to run for Director]), and how we predict that will happen to current SW Div Director Dick Norton N6AA following his censure by the Board for allegedly speaking out against the Code of Conduct at the Visalia International DX Conference in April 2017.

CQ's December editorial, ARRL: Circling the Wagons, and a White Paper with even more details on what's happening at the ARRL Board, will be online soon at the CQ web site. CQ's January editorial will focus on the Code of Conduct itself.

Dan Romanchik KB6NU's blog post - What the heck is the ARRL Board thinking? - on Dick Norton's censure contains comments from prominent hams who were there and said that Dick spoke about the Code of Conduct, but not against it. The minutes of the meeting where the Code was approved show that Dick and two others Board members voted against it.

The Directors most vulnerable to criticism for their support of the Code are the ones up for re-election next year (assuming they choose to run again). They are (courtesy of N0SSC's Blog):

  • Kermit Carlson W9XA (Central Division, member of the now-infamous Ethics & Elections Committee and maker of the censure motion)
  • Mike Lisenco N2YBB (Hudson Division, member of the Executive Committee and the one who seconded the censure motion)
  • Tom Frenaye K1KI (New England Division and member of  the Ethics and Elections Committee)
  • Jim Pace K7CEX (Northwestern Division and member of the Ethics & Elections Committee)
  • Jim Boehner N2ZZ (Roanoke Division).

Links: 

Radio Rating: A++. We do show the text of the documents, blog posts and web sites, and a very few pictures, but we read all the pertinent parts. Otherwise, talking heads.

And for what it's worth, while the show clocks at about 2 hours, the pointed discussion is about 90 minutes. The last 30 minutes is our post-show confab (aka "the best part of the show").