New CEO Wants ARRL to Serve All Ages and Amateur Radio Interests

Newly elected ARRL CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX, is still on the uphill side of the learning curve as he acquaints himself with ARRL Headquarters and the nearly 90 staffers who work there. The New Jersey native arrived at HQ on October 15 and has spent much of his time since meeting with department managers and others to get his bearings, with an eye toward building consensus and aligning people, programs, and services in the same direction.

Michel would like to see ARRL focus on the future of Amateur Radio and not become the redoubt of a particular generation of radio amateur or interest group. He said, “Ham radio shouldn’t abandon the old guardians of the hobby, but at the same time, it needs to have new things that appeal to people who have different interests and different passions.” ¹

Ham radio appears currently entrenched with opposition often expressed to FT8 and other digital modes and protocols that bend Amateur Radio traditions and conventions, Michel observed. However, as he sees it, technology for the whole of Amateur Radio has been changing, and detractors to advances have always been present. He’d like ARRL to encourage more technological diversity without creating controversy. ¹

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