RSGB EGM Result

From the RSGB website:

Some 135 people attended the RSGB EGM held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, at the Birmingham NEC on Saturday 19th November.

The meeting was called to consider a series of Resolutions to put in place an Interim Board to address some of the challenges currently faced by the Society.

During the EGM, which was chaired by RSGB President Dave Wilson, M0OBW, the meeting heard from Don Beattie, G3BJ, Acting General Manager, of the issues leading up to the Resolutions being proposed.

After a lively discussion, the President called for a poll to be taken, which was supervised by Electoral Reform Services. The results were:

For Special Resolution 1 (to create the Interim Board): 85% of those voting

For Ordinary Resolutions 2-9 (to appoint individual members to the Board) votes ranged between and 83 and 86% of those voting

Special Resolution 1 required a 75% majority, the others a simple majority.

The President therefore declared all motions carried. The Interim Board starts work immediately.

Commenting on the meeting, Dave Wilson said “I’m delighted that members have given us such a resounding vote of confidence to move ahead with the new Interim Board. It clearly shows there’s an appetite for change and the new Interim Board carries the responsibility for working with you the membership to develop the details of the way ahead. I’d like to thank everyone who voted and everyone who came to the EGM for showing concern and interest for the way the Society develops in the future.”

Members of the new Interim Board issued a statement,which was read to the meeting,which said:

We would like to thank all of the members who participated in today’s vote.

You have vested your confidence in us to move the RSGB forward and we do not take that responsibility lightly. We have no illusions – this will be a tough job and we must move quickly on some issues. But our vision is to create a Society which is financially sound, of which the members can be proud, which serves their needs and is fit for our hobby in the 21st century.

We recognise that the past 8 months have been very difficult for the Society. We take on board many of the criticisms that have been levied about secrecy, about the process of this EGM and matters surrounding the Advisory Group report. The Interim Board is committed to more open and consultative processes as we work on the changes needed and we expect to start those early in the New Year.

We want to say something to those members who voted ”no” to the resolutions today. We ask that you give us a chance to show what we are and how we will work. In return we will engage with you to gain your ideas and thoughts in exactly the same manner as we will with all other members. Should you be thinking of it, leaving the Society at this stage is the single most damaging thing you can do, and is in no-one”s interest.

The Interim Board will start its work immediately. The RadCom editor has reserved space for us in every edition of 2012 and we will use that, the website and GB2RS, to share our progress with members.

Christmas Dinner 2011

The Club Christmas Dinner is now only a month away and we need to confirm our menu requirements to the Village Inn.

The Christmas Dinner is going to be held at The Village Inn, Liddington on December 10th (7:30 for 8pm). The cost will be £18.95 (£10 deposit to confirm your booking).

Christmas Menu 2011

Starter

• Melon & Prawn Cocktail
• Vegetable Soup
• Game Pate
• Fruit Juice

Main Course

• Saddle of Turkey
• Salmon & King Prawns
• Lamb Casserole
• Beef Bouruignon
• Parsnip & Potato Bake

Desert

• Choose on the night.

Coffee and Mint

• Tea is also available.

If you wish to attend the dinner, it is important that you let Frank Whatley, G3JOT know your requirements. Call 01793 812156 or speak to Frank on Thursday.

We would like to see as many members and non members (and partners if you wish) as possible to make this event a night to remember. See you there!

Nepal DXpedition starts this week

The Mediterraneo DX Club’s DXpedition to Nepal will start this week.

The international DXpedition team will be on air as 9N7MD between November 12-27th. Operations will be on 160-10 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY.

QSL Manager is IK2VUC for direct, by the Bureau or the OQRS cards (see the Web page). The LoTW files will be uploaded by the end of March 2012 (four months after QRT).

Activity will also include an entry in the CQWW DX CW Contest as 9N7DX. QSL via 4Z4DX.

Suggested frequencies are:
CW – 1826.5, 3505, 7005, 10105, 14025, 18075, 21025, 24895 and 28025
SSB – 1840, 3799, 7080, 14200, 18145, 21295, 24950 and 28470
RTTY – 3600, 7040, 10140, 14085, 18100, 21080, 24930 and 28085 kHz

For more details and updates, visit the “NEPAL11″ Web page at: http://www.mdxc.org/nepal2011

Source: OPDX Bulletin 1035.1 November 7, 2011

Logbook of the World Still Busy Processing Logs

The log processing delay for Logbook of The World (LoTW) remains at approximately 60 hours, with approximately 8000 logs queued for processing. Please do not upload the same log more than once.

According to ARRL IT Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, the League has implemented an interim “fast lane” for processing logs: “In order to do this, resources have been shifted from servicing interactive requests to the processing of logs. As a result, LoTW users may notice some sluggish performance. Since these changes have been put into place, the number of logs waiting to be processed has been reduced by approximately 20 percent. The expectation is that this new measure will continue to make inroads into eliminating the backlog.”

RSGB EGM Arrangements

From the RSGB…

To ensure we have the appropriate facilities available at the EGM, the Society is seeking indications of how approximately many plan to attend the event.

If you plan to attend, would you please go to www.rsgb.org/attend and enter your details. This will help ensure that we can handle the number planning to be present.

And finally, if you plan to arrive at Birmingham International by train, you should be aware that there is a free telephone inside the station arrivals hall (next to the Subway restaurant) with a “Hilton” logo on it, to summon the courtesy bus to take you to EGM venue.

Please would you draw this note to the attention of others in your club/committee who might be planning to attend.

Many thanks

Don Beattie, G3BJ
Acting General Manager

RSGB President Responds to ICQ Podcast Interview

Series 4, Episode 23 of the ICQ Podcast has been released and features an interview with RSGB President Dave Wilson M0OBW. Questions asked covered The New Board, Transparency, Communications, Bletchley Park & RSGB4FUN, Licensing, RADCOM, Peter Kirby, Membership and the EGM.

Click here to hear it.    

Talk: Electrical Thermography – November 3rd 2011

Stuart Holland (2E0SUL) from Thermographic Consultancy Ltd, provides a brief insight to the world of IRT (Infrared Thermography). The evenings events will consist of a presentation to demonstrate what IRT is, its many applications and why in the electrical industry plus many others has been adopted as a key part of predictive maintenance and condition monitoring.

For those of you craving a feed for the technical side of your minds, there shall be plenty of information about the equipment, how its constructed, what makes it work and demonstrations to provide a little more interest. Come and see the practical demonstrations and the magic of what the eye can’t see, perhaps even consider how IRT may help assist you in many of your own fields of expertise.

T32C – Over and Out

The team are now back in Honolulu. Provisional T32C QSO statistics are:


Total QSOs: 213,169
Total Uniques 48,914
CW QSOs 102,216
SSB QSOs 88,416
FM QSOs 1,765
RTTY QSOs 19,225
PSK31 QSOs 13
PSK63 QSOs 1,506

Africa 1,128 QSOs
Asia 35,081 QSOs
Europe 59,692 QSOs
North America 109,327 QSOs
Oceania 4,214 QSOs
South America 3,691 QSOs


We believe there are least 10 new world records in the totals, plus there is the possibility that some of the 6m QSOs were ‘firsts’.

73, good DX, and thanks for your support,
The T32C team.

RSGB Governance Changes Discussion Group

Because of some evident errors of fact being expressed by some of the discussion group members, the RSGB President has written twice to clubs in the UK drawing attention to the key points of the Board’s proposals at the upcoming EGM. The content of the two letters is reproduced below. Please would you take time to read this.

I am writing to all clubs (and copying others) after discussions with the Regional Teams.

The proposals being presented to the EGM are important for the Society. They will fundamentally impact the way we handle current difficulties. And yet some have sought to ridicule the proposals, based on an incomplete understanding of exactly what is being proposed and why. Hence this letter.

Contrary to the chatter on the wires, this is not about democracy—it’s about giving the Society the best chance to fix its problems. We have a crisis, and a crisis demands exceptional actions.

The current chatter is the result of selective disclosure (against the Board’s wishes) of some elements of the Board discussion on 10th September. The board recognised that careful communication was needed and agreed to prepare a full communication pack. In the interim, the matter was confidential. One Board member has inflicted serious damage on the Society by disregarding that decision. That is unacceptable, does not reflect well on the individual concerned and is inconsistent with his position as a Director.

In a recent podcast, a former Director said that he did not recognise that there was a crisis. That in itself speaks volumes. The impending problems had been flagged to the Board over the last year or so, and now are with us. To be specific:

There have been some significant errors in governance over the last five years. This has led the Society into dangerous waters financially.
Cash is running low, and next year places a huge additional cash demand on the Society from needed capital investment and the running costs of BP. Whilst not insolvent, we cannot sustain further drains on our cash.
Yet right now we do not have an acceptable budget for 2012. The current one shows, against our aspirations to run BP and GB4FUN and other factors in the 2012 budget, a loss of some £60k. We simply cannot afford this and have no option but to take very significant action to keep our budget balanced. This in itself will demand some hard choices.
Nor do we have a General Manager.
Furthermore we are regularly told that we do not have the right attitudes and behaviours towards our members and our volunteers.
Action is needed quickly by a sure-footed Board to pull things round, both financially and in terms of the way the Society works.

It is understandable that those who do not recognise the crisis might say “we don’t see the need for change”. As soon as you recognise the seriousness of the position, it suddenly becomes clearer.

That is why the Board is proposing an Interim Board (IB) for some 15 months made up of highly professional and experienced amateur radio people, professionally engaged in running companies. Their focus will be to restore health to the finances whilst at the same time maintaining or enhancing membership services, instilling the ethos into RSGB described in RadCom for November, and developing all aspects of the Advisory Group proposals to present to members for consultation and member input. Some of these proposals have not yet been considered in detail by the Board, some have been rejected and some—most notably the “Web” and “Ethos” recommendations, have been generally accepted as suitable for member consultation. In everything it does, the IB will be accountable to the membership. And, just like any other Board, it cannot make changes to the Society’s Constitution without the approval of the membership. So the claims that the Interim Board is “not accountable” are simply scare-mongering and disinformation.

It seems that there is also a concern amongst some members that the Interim Board, once in place, will seek to consolidate its position. Let me state quite categorically that this is not possible. The terms of Resolution 1 (specifically the clause immediately after (b)(iv)) clearly state that the M&As will revert to the current ones no later than the 2013 AGM. This means that the IB cannot continue to exist beyond that date. The only way that this can change is if the IB calls another General Meeting of members to propose further changes to the Memorandum and Articles of the Society.

Members can therefore be assured that the IB has a limited lifespan, in which to discharge its role, and that after that the current Board arrangements will return, unless the members agree otherwise in a further EGM.

The IB members will be expected to devote a significant amount of time to turning the Society around. It will be a working Board and will be in a position to support the Acting GM (who cannot continue to carry his current load) in the absence of a full time GM replacement. During this time the National and Regional Councils will continue, with enhanced frequency for the NC, ensuring close consultation with representatives of the membership at large.

If, however, the EGM proposals are rejected the Society will continue as at present, with an uncertain outcome.

The Board believes that the proposals being put to the EGM represent the best chance of addressing the Society’s difficulties with confidence and certainty.

Rather than focus on the democracy issue (the EGM proposals are democratic—just different) members might want to consider whether the RSGB described in the AG report summary and the “future” article on page 15 is the sort of RSGB they want to see. That’s where we need feedback—quickly.

The Board deserves your support in being frank and open about the issues and no matter how different the proposals are for resolving the current issues, please support them. The alternative is far less certain of securing the right outcome.

ICQ Podcast – RSGB In Crisis?

Series 4, Episode 22 of the ICQ Podcast has been released. The latest news, your feedback, and Martin (M1MRB) and Colin (M6BOY) discuss the issues facing the RSGB EGM annoucement. Ex RSGB Technical Director Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) joins them to help to understand the proposals.

Starts about 38 minutes in to the podcast.

Click here to hear it.