Election Continues

The election continues through October and early November, so I encourage you to dig that ballot out of the pile of junk mail and get it sent back to the ARRL. It needs to arrive by November 16th.

We have had some interesting conversations on the local repeater about the election and the candidates. Personally, I think its a great thing that we have people interested in running for office and need to have an election. And I would like to see a good percentage of the ballots completed and returned.

But I try to keep my wonkishness under control. Most hams are probably more interested in the upcoming contest season, band conditions, getting their winter homebrew projects started, etc. And that's a good thing. If we spent all of our time agonizing over every decision and direction of the hobby then we wouldn't have time to operate. That is what directors and vice directors are for!

My big project for this fall is to get my ham shack built. Our new residence in Fort Collins did not have space for my collection of boatanchors and Junque, so I'm building a small outbuilding in the back yard. I hope to have the concrete pad/foundation poured by the end of this week and then start right in on getting the walls and roof up. I have to tell you, I'm suffering from r390a withdrawl. I listen to the local AMers on my little bedside DX-440 and it just isn't the same. I miss being able to fire up my big AM transmitter. Yes, for the same cost as my new construction I could have gone down to HRO in Denver and bought a very nice modern compact radio and set up a station in a hutch in the living room or whatever. And no offense to people who do that. But I need some bench space where I can fry transistors (and maybe even fix that Kenwood TS-820 that I was working on before the move).

Dig out that ballot and 'X' the boxes and get it sent in! 41 cents is a small price to express some interest in the ARRL organization. I'd like you to vote for me. Even if you vote for the "wrong" guy, the act of voting will give the Rocky Mtn Division more clout and send a signal that hams in this division are passionate about antenna restrictions, BPL, spectrum threats, growing new hams, etc. the whole list of issues.

Ballot Arrives

Today my ballot arrived from the ARRL. It is in a thickish envelope with the ARRL return address. It said "Official Ballot" on the front of the envelope.

Inside was the ballot, a small envelope for the ballot, a mailing envelope for the ballot-in-envelope, a page of candidate's statements and a copy of the bylaws about elections.

I filled out my ballot, put it in the small envelope, put that into the larger envelope, put a stamp on it ($0.41) and set it out for the mail pickup.

I have to say that Brian's picture looked the best of the four. I looked like I had just eaten something that tasted funny. Really, I'm more pleasant than that in real life. Honest. (That is the picture that I sent in... So it's my own fault for not sending a better picture!)

I encourage you to keep an eye out for your ballot and fill it out right away. I would appreciate receiving your vote. But win or lose, I really would appreciate seeing a lot of participation. Spend 41 cents to make a guy happy.

Issues List

I am trying to pay close attention to the issues that people raise when I talk to them about this election and their level of satisfaction with the ARRL.

Here are the issues that I've heard about so far:

1) antenna restrictions / CC&R's
2) getting more new hams, young hams, new club members, etc.
3) potential bandplan changes
4) DXCC desk backlog
5) complaint about the club-affiliation program
6) promotion of LoTW
7) not focused enough on the interests of the membership


I've mentioned some ideas in this blog about #1 and #2, which I see as the most difficult things on the list.

To bring my attention to your favorite issue, post a comment on this blog or send me an email.

(I got an email and added #7 today. 06-OCT-2007)

The Candidates and their Web Pages

Here's a handy guide to who is running for what:

For Division Director:

Jeff Ryan, k0rm of Westminster, CO (current Colorado Section Manager)
http://www.k0rm.net/

Brian Mileshosky, n5zgt of Albuquerque, NM (current Division Vice-Director)
http://www.voterockymountain.org/index.html


For Division Vice Director:

Dwayne Allen, wy7fd of Devil's Tower, WY (current Wyoming Section Manager)
http://www.voterockymountain.org/index.html

Chris Howard, w0ep of Fort Collins, CO (that's me!)
http://rockymtndivisionelection.blogspot.com/


You should be receiving a ballot in the mail early in October. Don't forget to send it back to the ARRL.