On Mar 25, 6:57�pm, (Michael Black) wrote:
"AF6AY" ) writes:
* *The "Diamond Terrace" project is something the ARRL
* *thought up...apparently to enshrine its own home grounds.
* *I have nothing against such a project but I object to what
* *I think is a mis-use of "my club" funds in order to boost
* *their home grounds appearance and "memory." *[I am a
* *member of the ARRL]

* *Making up some nebulous "reason" for enshrining some
* *names, possibly callsigns, in a "memory walk" area is a
* *rather transparent effort to bring in more funds for the home
* *ground's budget. *It only reinforces a false delusion of
* *"greatness" of past amateur radio hobbyists which will lead
* *other, newer amateurs into a false idea of their hobby.

How can it be a misuse in the first paragraph when in the second you see
it as a means of fundraising?

The ARRL is using its PRESENT facilities to publicize this
"Diamond Terrace." I would personally prefer they do
something else with "donations" rather than beautify their
grounds with memorials that are 3K miles from me.

It obviously is a means of fundraising. *Lots of organizations will put
up a plaque or name a building after you if you donate enough money. *Other
organizations will let you "buy" a chair or something, and put a plaque on
it.

I'm well aware of those things.

Any organization generally has a fixed income, and a fixed budget. *If they
want to do something extraordinary, they need to do this sort of fundraising
campaign, so they can raise money without raising fees or whatever their
usual source of income.

Let's cut to the chase here. The ARRL is *also* a publishing
business. That is the major non-secret to their coming to the
top of the membership organizations of amateur radio before
WW2...and staying there well after WW2 ended.

What people are forgetting is that this isn't even new for the ARRL.
IN the early sixties, when they wanted a new HQ building, they had a long
fundraising campaign. *There was a regular "thermometer" type display in
many or all issues, showing how close to the goal the fundraising was going.
I thought they might have sold "bricks" but the first issue I find that
has a report says nothing about that, though a certificate was issued to
each donor. *It got the HQ building built, but didn't take away from
existing work, or raise membership fees. *The people who paid for
the new building were happy to do so, because they were doing it
on a voluntary basis.

Well, that's very nice. Yes, they need facilities to keep their
publishing business going so that it can be the major source
of income that pays the staff (who work in the buildings), pays
the utilities, pays the billing of the DC legal staff, pays the
lobbying organization in DC. Etc. I've also seen their federal
income tax returns which report a taxable multi-million dollar
annual profit.

This is basically an extension of that fundraiser. *The idea being
taht if there is something permanent, people are more likely to donate
money. *If they get something tangible, they don't even have to be
concerned with what the money is used for, which means "outsiders"
can even be tempted to donate. *(Maybe not in this case, but when
that theatre group here has their annual raffle, the lure of the prizes
should mean a broadened base of ticket buyers.)

I am more than familiar with theater groups, even if they spell
it "theatre." :-) Lots of them in the Los Angeles area. This
is the entertainment center of the world (and big business,
regardless of what NYC thinks).

I'm not going to wage war over this Diamond Terrace project.
I just object to it in its present form, okay?

I say again, I don't care for THIS particular "memorial" thing
and it means nothing to me for spiffying-up some building
entrance that is 3K miles from me in cold New England
territory. What would Hawaiian or Alaskan amateurs think
of such "memorials" considering they are even further away?

Bottom line: The ARRL is *not* some local club that
depends near-total on member contributions. But,
the way I see it, the League sometimes tries sales pitches
to make distant members THINK they "need to contribute."

73, Len AF6AY