Section Traffic Manager - Governance

Governance

The ARRL is governed by a member-elected, volunteer Board of Directors. The organization divides its membership into 15 Divisions, each representing a separate portion of the country. One Director and one Vice-Director are elected by the members of each Division to serve a three-year term. Director elections are staggered so that approximately one-third of the Directors and Vice Directors are up for election each year. The Board of Directors manages policy direction for the organization as a whole. The Board of Directors appoints an Executive Committee, led by the President and consisting of members of the ARRL Board of Directors, to make policy decisions between full Board meetings. ARRL's CEO, COO, CFO, CDO and CTO manage day-to-day administrative operation of the organization, led by the Chief Executive Officer. These paid officers hold their positions as long as the Board of Directors approve but have no vote on the Board.

Local and regional operational activities of the American Radio Relay League are carried out through its Field Organization. The organization divides the 15 Divisions into 71 separate geographic regions called Sections. Each Section has a similar team of one elected, volunteer Section Manager and several volunteer positions. Section Managers are elected by the members living within the section for a two-year term. The Section Manager appoints a team of volunteers including an Affiliated Club Coordinator, Bulletin Manager, Official Observer Coordinator, Public Information Coordinator, Section Emergency Coordinator, Section Traffic Manager, State Government Liaison, and Technical Coordinator. A Section Manager may optionally appoint one or more Assistant Section Managers.

An important function of the ARRL Field Organization is organizing emergency communications in the event of civil or natural disaster. The ARRL's Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) program is organized through the ARRL Field Organization. Each Section of the Field Organization has an appointed Section Emergency Coordinator. The ARES organization supports training, establishes Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with governmental and relief agencies, and organizes regular practice exercises.

ARES has provided essential supplemental emergency communications innumerable times throughout the league's history. In 1989, hundreds of amateurs responded to the Loma Preita Earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area putting in over 3000 volunteer hours in the first week. In 2005, ARES, with hundreds of volunteer amateur radio operators, provided key communications assistance to recovery organizations and officials coordinating Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Over 2,000 Amateur Radio clubs are members of the ARRL Affiliated Club Program.