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January 22, 2025

ARRL Board Reviews and Approves By-Law Changes. Establishes Technical
Standards Committee.


The ARRL Board of Directors met in Windsor, Connecticut, for its Annual Meeting, January 17 - 18, 2025. ARRL First Vice President Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, presided over the meeting in place of President Rick Roderick, K5UR,
who could not attend.


Vice President McIntyre welcomed new Board members including New England Division Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, and Division Vice Directors David Galletly, KM2O (Hudson), Andrew Milluzzi, KK4LWR (Southeastern), and Joshua Long, W9HT (Central). She also recognized Central Division Director Brent Walls, N9BA, who previously served as Vice Director.


Prior to the Board meeting, Board committees met on January 16th with the following actions highlighted below:


The Programs & Services Committee and headquarters staff from the Radiosport Department are moving ahead with the creation of a new DXCC award -- DXCC Trident -- which will recognize those who achieve DXCC using CW, phone, and digital modes. Higher achievement endorsements can be earned at the 200, 300, and Honor Roll levels. The DXCC Trident award is intended to spur greater on-air operating and to inspire those using digital modes to also develop
their skills in, and practice, CW and SSB.


The Administration & Finance Committee discussed and approved the 2025 operating plan, amending it with an additional $200,000 for Washington advocacy. This includes continuing work to reintroduce bills H.R.4006 and S.3690 - the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act -- for passage. The committee also agreed that an additional year will be granted to those
Incoming QSL Bureaus who still require financial support from all ARRL
members to operate.


The Emergency Communications and Field Services Committee established an initiative to track and report on the activities of clubs nationwide. This initiative will help ARRL better understand the scope of these activities and improve club leadership tools. The committee also adopted a rewrite of the
ARRL Active Club Primer, a tool for radio club leaders, and a rewrite of the rules and regulations for ARRL Hamfests and Conventions.


The Historical Committee is expanding the ARRL Heritage Museum's online collection by adding a new virtual component, which currently features more than 3,000 images and documents. This virtual museum will continue to grow, showcasing both ARRL's historical collection and other significant items from the history of amateur radio.


Here are highlights of actions taken at the Board meeting:
â-¢Board members discussed motions proposed by a committee that was
established by unanimous approval during the January 2024 Annual Meeting.
This committee was tasked with evaluating proposed changes to By-Law 46, the Board's Conflict of Interest Policy, and By-Law 42, the charter for the
Ethics & Elections Committee. The committee returned with a lengthy motion
that certain Directors believed they had not had sufficient time to review
and comment on. Despite broad support for passing the committee's motion, the Board approved delaying the vote until the July 2025 Second Meeting of the Board of Directors. Directors have until April 21, 2025, to file their
comments with the committee for consideration in the final motion.



â-¢The Board approved two motions involving elections:
â-¦By-Law 18. ARRL has had a confusing set of documents defining the
elections process. The rules set out in By-Law 18 require at least a
two-thirds vote for approval, whereas the rules and regulations found in less formally controlled documents published on the ARRL website only require a simple majority. This motion moved most of the language from the rules and regulations into By-Law 18. The Board also approved changes driven by shortcomings that came to light during the 2024 election cycle. These changes are primarily intended to ensure that elections are conducted at a Division level where the members are voting, and not at a national level.

â-¦By-Law 20. The Board approved a change to By-Law 20, providing greater discretion regarding the previous requirement for a member of the Ethics & Elections committee to observe ballot processing at the third-party election processing company -- an expense now considered unnecessary.




â-¢Government Relations.
â-¦The Board approved a motion to sunset the Governmental Affairs Committee
and authorized the CEO to take on the responsibility of partnering with Director John Robert Stratton, N5AUS (West Gulf), who is currently working
with ARRL's lobbyists in Washington DC. It also requires the CEO to take on
the responsibility of reporting the progress being made on certain
legislation with quarterly reports to the Administration & Finance Committee.

â-¦The Board briefly discussed fund raising for the Legislative Issues
Advocacy Fund. This included an appeal by Director Stratton for every
Director and Officer to donate towards our legislative efforts. Less than a week after the Board meeting, nearly every Director and Officer has donated
to the fund.




â-¢New Technical Standards Committee. The Board approved the formation of a Technical Standards Committee to oversee the successful Clean Signal
Initiative (CSI) and to develop future initiatives including amateur radio receiver standards.



â-¢ARRL Foundation. The Board heard a report from ARRL Foundation President David Norris, K5UZ (Delta Division Director). The Foundation provides philanthropic support for amateur radio by way of the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Program, Club Grant Program, Division Convention Grant Program,
and through other grants and funds. In 2024, the Foundation awarded 126 scholarships totaling $709,500, through the generosity of ARDC, individuals, and radio clubs. The Foundation also saw a return of the Club Grant Program
and awarded 37 Club Grants totaling $500,502.04. A total of 110 applications were received requesting $1,593,580.24 for 2024. Norris also reported that
the Foundation awarded 25 grants valued at $47,434, and 2 Division Convention grants for $12,250.



â-¢Elections.
â-¦Executive Committee (EC). Directors re-elected to the EC include Bill Lippert, AC0W (Dakota), Art Zygielbaum, K0AIZ (Midwest), Jim Boehner, N2ZZ (Roanoke), and Jeff Ryan, K0RM (Rocky Mountain). Newly elected to the EC is Scott Yonally, N8SY (Great Lakes).

â-¦ARRL Foundation Board. ARRL Director Mark Tharp, KB7HDX (Northwestern),
was re-elected, and Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI (New England), was elected to fill the seat vacated by former Central Division Director Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA. Past Central Division Director Kermit Carlson, W9XA, and CEO David A. Minster, NA2AA, were re-elected for 3-year terms.



The complete minutes of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the ARRL Board of
Directors will be available soon on the ARRL website.


The Second Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors is scheduled for July 18 - 19, 2025.


Copyright Â(c) 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.


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