“Batesville Area Radio Club Shocks Members by Kicking Out Active Contributors Without Notice”
Amateur Radio Operator Warning! Don’t blindly join the Batesville Area Radio Club located in Batesville, AR as we did, if only we had known…
I will try to make this short because today is my birthday !(1/31/2023). One that I would not have been here for if it were not for God answering many prayers and giving me a wonderful, caring person, Sheri, to be faithfully by my side. Side note: cancer sucks.
Our Ham Radio journey began when our niece couldn’t be reached for hours after a tornado struck her house in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Motivated by this incident, Sheri (AB5SC) and I (AG5CC) pursued our amateur radio license, studied diligently, and eventually passed the exams. Currently, we hold the Amateur Extra class license and serve as Volunteer Examiners. Along the way, we became members of the Batesville Area Radio Club, which is situated in our hometown of Batesville, Arkansas, and actively supported its activities.
Yesterday afternoon, Greg McKinney (K5GNT), the current Secretary of the Batesville Area Radio Club (BARC) and undoubtedly the letter’s author, sent me (and Sheri) a wonderful early birthday gift in the form of an email. Although the letter is “signed” by the current President and Vice President of BARC, it is clear that Greg McKinney wrote it. Although the letter contains no specifics for its accusations it is In short, a notification that BARC has revoked our membership.
I do mean gift; I feel happy to be free from my responsibilities as a club member to attempt to hold the officers accountable for their actions.The club’s mistreatment of new, longtime, and lifetime members was so egregious that it made me ashamed to admit my membership. Witnessing the officers’ abuse of power was particularly shameful, but Sheri and I took it upon ourselves to do what was right, and in doing so, we lifted the burden of shame from our membership.
Some might ask, “Did you really try? or say something like “You get out what you put in.” One person even asked, “Why would you stay…?”
Here is a list of some of the contributions that Sheri and I have made to the club since we joined in July 2020:
- Net Control, calling 23 nets as a member of the club.
- Took on the responsibility of Public Information Officer (PIO) for a year, promoting the club through the local newspaper, websites, social media, and radio stations.
- Designed and created a brand-new club website, spending countless hours on design, photos, and content to promote the club in a positive way and provide members with a new way to view club information and radio events.
- Took hundreds of photos of club events and posted them on the website and social media to further promote the good will of club.
- New website was hosted free of charge on our personal web server for over a year.
- Rebuilt the Facebook Page and created a new Facebook group. Again, spending countless hours creating graphics, images, and content promoting the club in a positive manner.
- Designed an updated club logo to help promote the club that was officially voted in as a new club logo.
- Donated money, labor, and materials to the construction of the new repeater shack. We contributed over 10% of the total estimated cost of the shack.
- Designed and procured the permanent sign for the new shack and hand painted the sign for the donation of fencing around the shack.
- Designed and procured the commemorative plaque of the new repeater shack.
- Designed and procured promotional business cards for all club members to have to promote the club.
- Attended our first Field Day for which Sheri and I donated and delivered over $150.00 of drinks and ice for the whole event.
- Continued maintenance of the website including backups, preventing malicious attacks, and updates even after I resigned as PIO and during my battle with throat cancer.
- Donated time to successfully move and restore the club website to a new server and domain name after it was left inaccessible by the death of the president of the club and implemented a system to ensure it won’t happen in the future.
- Donated time and talent to the election committee and created election ballots and website pages so ALL members would be informed of the election and have the ability to cast their vote.
- Awarded a plaque of appreciation from the Batesville Area Radio Club by the past President before his death.
- Wrote an official inquiry, (soon to be publicly published) as a member in good standing, detailing direct violations of club bylaws by the officers, with supporting documentation, that needs to be investigated for the good of the club. Is this what they call the “letter of disenchantment” in our notification letter?
Sheri and I created this list to demonstrate that we were active and committed members of the club who invested both financially and physically in what we believed was a community-serving, egalitarian, and amateur-radio-promoting organization. At the time, we were willing, able, and eager to participate in the club’s activities and events.
Despite our significant contributions to the club over a period of 2-1/2 years, the club members “voted” us out without any prior notification, warning, or response to our inquiries.
We expected higher standards from an “established” Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) affiliated club.
We created this list to reach out to the 2/3 of the club’s “active” members who allegedly voted to revoke our membership without providing us with any chance to represent ourselves. Additionally, we want to communicate with those members who were not contacted at all.
All of my and Sheri’s actions have been with only “what is best for the club” in mind. We have faithfully and morally followed the truth with the good of the club and all members in our hearts. All those that have “vowed” to follow us because of our actions. Please do!
Once again, I want to emphasize that this is my personal experience with my first ARRL-affiliated club in the amateur radio community.
A friend of mine created a group where you can
Play Radio and Have a Good Time:
White River Radio & Communications
My final unsolicited advice to any new Amateur Radio Operator, especially in the Batesville, Arkansas area, looking to join a local radio club: Ask how many events/programs they offer every month; business meetings don’t count. If it’s not more than a picnic and a field day, find another club.
I want to make it clear that affiliation with the ARRL does not necessarily mean that a club is meeting a higher standard or conducting itself in a way that aligns with the values of the amateur radio community.
Thanks for reading this post!
If you wish to comment, please do. If you wish to comment on any experience you have had with the Batesville Area Radio Club, please feel free to do so, good or bad.
My BAD experience with the Batesville Radio Club is not unique. A minimum of 11 members have been kicked out of the club or left on their own because of the lack of leadership since the club presidents death.
While Sheri and I are not currently members of this club, the embarrassment and shame of ever being associated lives on deep inside our souls. We plan to fully share our experience, concerns and expose what we believe was a direct violation of our rights as club members and moral human beings.
MTC
In all my years of being a ham I have never seen a ham club that has not been into operating radio. They worry about politics and their egos. They want what is” best for the club” , but everything they have done since September 2022, has not been for the good of the club. I have 14 years in the club and countless amounts of donations. They want to take it all away because they are one sided, Unethical , untruthful , deceitful and have no respect for the hobby. To vote members out because they ask questions, and want to be informed of what transpires in ‘EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGS’ as any member has the right to do, is in fact a gestapo regime. The ‘EXECUTIVE’ board needs to remember they do not OWN the club and are there only at the will of the members. Unfortuneatly, they
have no regard for the members wishes regarding anything in the club.
I have been president and vice president of this club, and have never thought about treating the membership the way this board has done.
Clayton,
I have read your story and it makes me cringe. I am a president of a small club in the northeast. I can not image throwing away a member who was so active and dedicated to a club. I feel bad this has happen to you. I know you probably are not thinking this way, but I think your area is due for a new club to rise up. It sounds to me you understand what a club is suppose to give to it’s members, after all, all clubs exist for the membership only. Hang in there, do not give up on ham radio, I encourage you to create the club you would like your children to attend. Good luck sir! Wa2eZ
My experience there for me was to learn to no avail. The officers do not even operate for the most part. I was lied to from the get-go. From whom to nominate for officers, trading items that I never received, asking about bylaws concerning dues. Asking for books, how to just plain help and get training groups going.
Forewarned, they do NOT want females to help, teach, speak, or dare us to bring our active ham children. They DO kick out women and children. Police report backs that up, just for attending and asking that a horrible letter be removed that included minor’s names. This is NOT a family-oriented club; they do not want to expand in knowledge.
They have dissed 11 active members to their own dismay. I’m not playing there and wasting time when they do not want my help. We are the better for leaving and have a great group that is growing and learning. Even better, females are treated like humans too. Thank you BARC , you did us a favor!
I will say this, my wife and I spent over seven years as members of the BARC and preformed as a net manager, and assistant Chaplain, and Chaplain and head of the Club’s Election Committee. and was used and was publicly defamed, slandered and lied about by the president and received an email filled with lies and false accusations from the club secretary. If want to become an amateur radio operator and enjoy the Hobby, DO NOT JOIN THIS CLUB.
Just to add to what my husband already wrote, the Batesville Area Radio CLub claimed to be transparent. We were told this club belongs to the members. Over the years it became very apparent the club was anything but transparent. We began to do less and less activities. Membership dues were collected and we were allowed to do less and less with the money. If we wanted to do anything we had to come up with additional donations. With my husband being Chaplin, it was like pulling teeth to get money to buy a card or send flowers when a club member was in the hospital or there was a death of a member. It got to the point where we weren’t allowed to ask questions at the meetings unless we ran it by the officers first before the meetings. I watched them shut down our teenage young lady member who just wanted to speak of what she was actively doing, by starting a ham radio club in her own school. She was excited about the hobby and encouraged other young people to take an interest. She’s a go getter with hope for the future and this club just smacked her down. Every club meeting was continually about how much money they had in the bank and how everybody should just continue giving more.
My husband took the job of Assistant Chaplin/ Chaplin seriously. He’s a Christian Veteran and he considers it an honor to pray and say the Pledge of Allegiance over the net and to pray over the meetings. He enjoyed doing the club nets and being Net Manager. I watched meeting after meeting as this club tore him down, secretly putting other Chaplin’s in, at the same time telling him he was still Chaplin. He went by all the bylaws as acting head of the Election committee. He was openly called a liar on social media. We were both banned from using the club repeater and attending club meetings while they were supposed to be conducting an inquiry on us. I could go on and on. We finally resigned from the club. When doing so my husband was threatened that they would expose him on social media for lying. When he submitted proof he in fact did not lie, they immediately accepted our resignation and told us we were now free to use their repeater.
I can’t tell you what this club has done to us emotionally. I am timid by nature and hold a lot in. I watched as my husband and others gave of their means freely and poured themselves into this club. It’s been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. What should have been fun, enjoyable, and shared with like minded friends turned into a living nightmare. The group that came out of that club is a group I thank God for and am proud to call you our friends. God Bless and keep you and make His face shine upon you. 73 – K5LPL
In my opinion, the quality of the club experience is directly related to the amount of time devoted to actual radio-related activities such as operating or learning about radios. When too much time is spent on administrative or purely social activities, the club may start to decline. To avoid this, clubs should prioritize radio-related activities and discussions. For instance, when going bowling, people bowl, and when shooting, people shoot. Similarly, when attending radio club meetings, the focus should be on radio-related activities, but it often seems like the opposite is true.
To keep the club active and engaged, members should not limit radio activities to only Field Day. Instead, they should seek out opportunities to operate informally at a park or civic center and bring radios with them wherever they go. This will help to foster a greater appreciation for the hobby and maintain the club’s vitality.
SO Like you said, “Ask how many events/programs they offer every month; business meetings don’t count. If it’s not more than a picnic and a field day, find another club.”