ARRL Atlantic Division Web Site

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DIVISION AND SECTION LEADERSHIP PRESENCE

AT HAMFESTS AND CONVENTIONS

There has been some confusion for the past several years concerning which hamfests and/or conventions the Division and Section leadership would normally attend.

The Atlantic Division has the most extensive roster of hamfests and conventions in the nation.  This roster includes over 50 - 60 events most years.  For that very reason, it is humanly impossible for the Division Director or Vice Director to attend each one sanctioned and scheduled.

Here’s the policy of the Atlantic Division:

·        There are instances where both the Director and Vice Director will attend an event and this generally occurs for a scheduled Division or Section Convention that has been approved by the Executive Committee of the ARRL Board of Directors and the Atlantic Division Director.

·        In the case of other hamfests, a limit has been placed on the Division leadership attendance at small hamfests of less than 1000 attendance.  Hamfests falling in this category will NOT be visited every year, but may only be visited every second or third year.  This Division policy is not intended to discriminate against small events, but to dispense the Division travel budget in a more cost-efficient manner … getting more membership contact per dollar is important in these days of tight budgets.

·        The large hamfests/conventions such as the Rochester Hamfest in Rochester, NY, and the Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest in Timonium, MD, will usually have both the Division Director and Vice Director in attendance.  Smaller conventions such as the WNY Section Convention and the EPA Section Convention may have either the Director or the Vice Director make an appearance. In special cases, both the Director and Vice Director might attend one of the smaller conventions -“special cases” might include a first-time convention, or a convention commemorating a significantly important event.

·        Forums at any hamfest will be at the discretion of the Division Director or the Section Manager, but will not be an automatic part of the event program.  The Director should be notified in advance if a forum is planned so the Section Manager and the sponsoring organization will be aware of whether or not the Division-level leadership will attend the hamfest. All forums at any of the conventions will be scheduled based on agreement between the convention sponsor and the Division Director.

·        Wherever possible the Section Manager should plan to attend sanctioned hamfests within his/her Section.  As the senior elected representative within the Section, the Section Manager should contact the Division Director well in advance of a scheduled sanctioned event to more efficiently coordinate the Division and Section travel schedules. The list of sanctioned hamfests and conventions is located on the ARRL website at the following URL:  http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html#listing .

·        As a matter of policy, Sections or, in some cases, States desiring to stage an ARRL-sanctioned convention or hamfest must seek prior approval of the Division Director.  According to the official rules and regulations concerning ARRL conventions, “The management, program and financial plans of every such convention shall be subject to the approval of the Director of the Division in which the convention is to be held.”  This is not to place a burden on the sponsoring group, but to assist that group in staging a successful event. Meetings between the sponsoring organization (committee) and the Director should be scheduled at a mutually acceptable time and place during the event-planning phase. 

·        Any Section Manager of a section not currently holding a Section convention who desires to explore the possibility of holding such an event should let the Division Director know so discussions can be held.  The staging of a convention is not an easy task.  Many areas have to be considered to make one successful.  Early initiation of the planning stages is essential.

·        The attendance of a staff member from ARRL HQ at any approved convention is at the discretion of the Division Director, and his approval must be sought early in the approval process.  The travel of a HQ staff member to a convention is not an automatic event, and must take into consideration the wise expenditure of funds and the number of anticipated (historic) ARRL members attending.

If any Section Manager or sponsoring organization has any questions concerning the Atlantic Division policy, please feel free to contact Bill N3LLR, for further clarification and discussion.

Bill Edgar  N3LLR

Director, Atlantic Division

Tom Abernethy  W3TOM

Vice Director, Atlantic Division

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