Hi everyone,

We had 10 people come to dinner last night including a couple of board members where we discussed the upcoming bylaws changes (among other things.)

First, I think Jordan will make an excellent member of the board, and I really hope club members will support his desire to be on the board.

And I think Theo will also be a good addition to the board as he is on the slate of candidates.

Both are regulars at the meeting and have shown a real interest and dedication to ham radio

The proposed board seems to be a pretty well balanced mix of newer members with ideas that can help build SBARC with older members who can give perspective on why things are/have been done (my opinion.)

Second, some really good discussion took place about the desire to reduce the board count. Total agreement that 5 just does not give enough accountability to the membership. And accountability seems to be the top concern. The number nine got tossed around a lot, and is probably a reasonable number.

Third, and this should be obvious to all, there is a lack of respect by some SBARC people for opinions other than their own. This is not a way to encourage others to want to get involved, and will drive people away.

There was also agreement that the bylaws changes should not be voted on at the November meeting. There are just too many problems with content and timing for it to be appropriate. But there was also mostly agreement that changing/updating the bylaws needs to be looked at.

Finally, Dennis (WB6OBB), Chuck (N6CPN), and myself were talking on the ride home about the days with a much higher membership count. Both were involved with SBARC long before I became a member in 1993 or 1994. The comment was that SBARC was a much more social club back then. Something to think about.

Thanks!

Marvin, KE6HTS

P.S. - Dennis makes regular announcements that people are welcome to join us for dinner. It is a sociable group of mostly hams where the conversation goes all over the place. We welcome new people, but just let us know so we have enough table space for all. The normal attendance is 6 - 8 people.