I am tremendously grateful for the support of each and every one of you. I have visited with ham clubs and hamfests in various parts of the Southeastern division. Your clubs have been so welcoming and the response has been great. We are now in the critical part of the campaign in my opinion. As you may know, only around half of the members of the division voted in the last election. As this is a four-way race, I believe this is going to come down to motivating those ARRL members that normally would not vote to login and cast their ballot. So as to not bury the lede, please ask every ARRL member you know in the Southeastern Division to find their email/postcard and vote.
During this campaign, I have been to hamfests and club meetings of all sizes. From Huntsville to Gadsden, Alabama; the Melbourne, Florida Hamfest to the Deep South Hamfest in Mobile, Alabama. Next up is the Stone Mountain Hamfest in Georgia then the SPARCFest near Tampa. A recurring theme at these hamfests is some members were not aware they could now vote. They either do not have an email address on file with the ARRL or the email from Election Services went into their SPAM folders. Others did not receive the postcard from Election Services, meaning the ARRL may not have had their correct mailing address. Reminding those members that either have not received a postcard/email to call and ask for one or just to use the one they received and vote is the way we win this election. In case people need help in obtaining a ballot, here is the information that Election Services shared on how to get help. Please share this if you know of someone struggling with finding their ballot.
“If you have questions or would like to request a paper ballot if you prefer to vote through the mail, please reply to this email or contact the help-desk at ARRLElection@ElectionServicesCorp.com or call 1-866-720-4357. Requests for paper ballots must be received no later than November 1st to ensure delivery time. Please note that only one vote per member will be counted.”
All ballots have to be in by noon Eastern Time on November 21st.
At the risk of preaching to the choir, another recurring theme I have heard in your phone calls and emails–as well as at the hamfest booth–is that members want change. They want more communication, more transparency and more steps taken to bring both youth and empty-nesters into the hobby. Our ARES groups want more support from the ARRL. More clubs want to feel like they have the support of the ARRL at both the national and local levels. Some members are still disappointed in how the paper QST issue was handled—especially for members that had signed up for 3 years. I have heard all these issues and am looking forward to digging into each of them.
I am also glad to say a large number of hams agree with me that we have to remember this is supposed to be fun. As I say at almost every club meeting and hamfest: look at all the things we get to do in this great hobby. We get to play radio, we get to serve our communities and make lifelong friends.
As always, reach out with any questions to ny4i@ny4i.com or call/text to 813-205-6388. My website https://ny4i.com has loads of information; not only about this campaign but also about my activities over the years. Even after 45 years as a ham, I am still as excited about ham radio as I was on the day I made my first contact. Here’s to hoping we can spread that sheer joy to everyone in the Southeastern division. With your help, we can do just that.
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