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<div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false">I am willing to participate in such a
proposed organization. I have been an officer of another non-profit
(not radio-related), so I have some experience in that area, and I've
been implementing and maintaining an APRS program for over 10 years now
(started writing it after the 2011 ARRL/TAPR DCC, and first released it
to the general public at the 2012 DCC). Professional software engineer
for 40 years on a wide range of mission-critical software-based products
at both DJI 100 corps and startups, licensed ham since 1978, Extra
class since 2009, active in ARES/RACES.<br></div><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><br></div>Andrew Pavlin, KA2DDO</div></div><div><br></div>
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On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, 10:42:43 AM EST, Jeff Hochberg <jeff@w4jew.com> wrote:
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<div><div id="ydp28b7bae5yiv9084841934"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;" class="ydp28b7bae5yiv9084841934gmail_default"><span id="ydp28b7bae5yiv9084841934gmail-docs-internal-guid-e086477d-7fff-2ee2-3412-a3da4d478826"></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">All,</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We are so pleased to see the responses from everyone!</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">A few high-level points:</span></p><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">A few people have emailed John T. and I directly. Steve Dimse asked me to ensure that all discussions related to my original post stay within aprssig. </span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">While it's great that you want to reach out directly, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">please ensure you keep aprssig looped in</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">If this is going to be a group decision, then it's best to keep </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">everyone</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> abreast of the latest updates.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"><br clear="none"></span></p><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="2"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">There was mention in my original email of two others that have shown interest in the initial proposal. </span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">John Langner - WB2OSZ (author of Direwolf) provided me with his permission to share his name.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:10pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">That leaves one remaining "masked" individual that needs to give me the "thumbs up" to reveal their identity - or they can reveal their identity themself (</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">you know who you are</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> - LOL!). :-)</span></p><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="3"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">This is not a technology discussion - rather it's to discuss the future of APRS at a high-level. Please keep the conversation relevant. This is not the time or place to solve technology issues. That will come in due time! It’s what we all want to work on.</span></p></li></ol><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="4"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I can understand and appreciate the concerns about whatever is proposed being based in the United States. </span></p></li></ol><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Don't forget that Robert Bruninga was based in the United States from the inception of APRS as well as long before it. Somehow, APRS made its way around the world and has a global community and it will continue to.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We are 100% on board with equality and diversity - </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">there will </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">NEVER</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> be any biases towards anyone from any cultural, political, religious, ethnic, racial, sex, or any other traits that would otherwise be cause for prejudice.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We come from backgrounds of working with teams that span the globe. There is absolutely ZERO chance of anything that we are championing would end up pigeonholed in a cause that is exclusively within the confines of the United States.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We recognize the efforts of hams around the world - and will continue to do so as long as we are involved.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">In fact, as far as I am concerned, anyone that breaches that is cause for immediate termination from the association. </span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">This is a GLOBAL effort. We ask that anyone that wants to join in to be respectful and courteous to your peers. There’s no need to draw any boundaries around anything we do together. Technology knows no boundaries.</span></p><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="5"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I am not a fan of paralysis through analysis as it’s one of the leading causes that stifles progress. If there are business-level topics that you feel must be discussed prior to moving forward, then this would be an appropriate time to do so.</span></p></li></ol><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">But again, we ask that the conversations be elevated to a high-level and do not get bogged down in the bits and bytes of APRS.</span></p><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="6"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">There were points raised about the cost/expense and legal implications of doing this. Again, don't focus on the specifics. We aren't going to allow bureaucracy and politics scare us from doing what needs to be done.</span></p></li></ol><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Truthfully, the cost associated with creating a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation is not as expensive as you might think. I've talked with some people that think it costs thousands of dollars. It isn’t cost-prohibitive if you go about it in an economical manner.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The point in setting up a non-profit corporation is to provide a foundation on which to work with other organizations that would otherwise not work with individuals. Especially in cases where we might want to seek funding from other organizations.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Plus, it provides protections in cases where there are legal issues such that officers cannot have their personal assets seized.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">At the end of the day, an organization needs to own the trademark and the domain and there has to be some entity to spearhead the effort.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-left:36pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Please don't focus on the fiscal aspects (or legal for that matter).</span></p><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;" start="7"><li dir="ltr" style="list-style-type: decimal; font-family: Verdana; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It’s a little premature to be thinking of asking manufacturers to join at this juncture. It’s something to think about down the road, but not right now.</span></p></li></ol><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Please do not get wrapped around in the minutiae. Let's work together as a team effort to further APRS into the future - in whatever form it may take.</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">For anyone that expressed interest in being part of this effort, your interest has been noted. We appreciate your support and will take you up on your offer!</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Think boldly - think strong - and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Best Regards,</span></p><br clear="none"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-family:Verdana;background-color:transparent;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">-JeffH</span></p><br class="ydp28b7bae5yiv9084841934gmail-Apple-interchange-newline" clear="none"></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="ydp28b7bae5yiv9084841934gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"><font face="verdana, sans-serif"><span style="color:rgb(32,33,36);">Jeff Hochberg</span><br clear="none"></font></div></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif">W4JEW</font></div><div><font face="verdana, sans-serif">Atlanta, GA</font></div><div><a shape="rect" href="mailto:jeff@w4jew.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><font face="verdana, sans-serif">jeff@w4jew.com</font></a><br clear="none"></div><div></div></div></div></div><br clear="none"></div></div></div><br></div>
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