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If you visit ARRL you're likely to meet people whose names are familiar to you from their appearance in QST, QEX and NCJ. Others, whose names seldom appear in the journals, support these writers and other headquarters staff members. The people of ARRL Administrative Services are one such group.
ARRL is a 156,000-member organization. As in any other organization, someone has to keep track of things, provide a safe work environment and pay the bills. Usually these someones remain anonymous except to visitors and outside vendors who have business with the organization. Administrative Services is the place you will find these someones at ARRL.
 Printer Bob Lincoln checks a card prior to committing to a production run. His aging A-M Multilith offset printer is still cost-effective for short-run, quick turn-around projects. |
Printer Bob Lincoln was an Addressograph-Multigraph service person assigned to keep ARRL machinery in operation in the years 1941-1984. Upon retiring from A-M, he was asked to stay on to run the ARRL print shop. He prints certificates such as the Code Proficiency and A-1 Operator Awards. He also prints the W1AW Operating Schedule, Emergency Services identification cards and material for the on-line Continuing Education courses. In addition, Bob produces a large number of convention information pieces and special handouts annually.
 Penny Harts, N1NAG, has a quick smile for all visitors to ARRL. She'll also recommend just the right book for you from the collection on sale in the lobby. |
Penny Harts, N1NAG, can lay claim to the number one spot in longevity of service--more than 30 years. She bests Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, by one month. In her position as lobby receptionist and switchboard operator, Penny is probably known to more hams than is anyone else at headquarters. She's the first person a visitor is likely to meet when entering headquarters or when calling for information. After many years of urging from her peers, Penny finally earned an Amateur Radio license several years ago.
The Mailroom
Berta says that the ARRL mailroom handles more than 1.5 million pieces of mail per year. All incoming packages and supplies come here. Incoming mail is sorted in the Comptroller's Department where checks and other payments are recorded. Then the mail is delivered to individual departments by the mailroom staff.
Berta and her staff are responsible for mailing membership cards, renewal notices, promotional material and ballots. Each month they insert and address about 75,000 pieces of mail. Mailroom Supervisor Berta Hould is a 25-year employee and mailroom clerk Linda Kleinschmidt outranks her in service by five years.
Purchasing
 Purchasing Agent Kim Rochette evaluates a bid from another in a seemingly endless list of vendors. |
ARRL has a centralized purchasing system. Purchasing agent Kim Rochette is responsible for 90% all ARRL purchases. Major items purchased for QST Product Review, for instance, are acquired and sold under competitive bid. Purchasing is responsible for managing this bid and sale process. Certain emergency acquisitions can be made directly by the supervisor of the affected department. Kim--another long-term employee--can claim 14 years of service.
Disposing of equipment is not as simple as it may seem. When ARRL offers for sale H-Ts that were purchased for a QST Product Review, it is not unusual for Purchasing to receive 400-500 bids. The winning bids usually exceed 80% of the purchased price.
In the case of an expensive transceiver, Purchasing has more than once received bids exceeding the original street purchase price. The successful bidder in that case might ask for a copy of the QST Product Review article and lab test results as proof that the radio was indeed the unit actually tested in the ARRL Lab.
Human Relations
 Administrative Assistant Monique Levesque appears to be enjoying her conversation with an insurance HMO. |
Caring for the needs of about 120 employees at headquarters and in the Washington office is the job of the Human Relations Department. ARRL, as any other employer, must provide for the security of its work force. Life, long-term disability, travel accident and medical insurance programs are parts of that security provision. Monique Levesque--Administrative Assistant to Chief Financial Officer Barry Shelly, N1VXY--helps administer the employees' health insurance program. In addition, Monique administers the Product Review bid process.
Building Facilities
 Greg Kwasowski, KB1GJF, caught--for a brief moment--not in motion. He's always in demand somewhere on the premises. |
Maintenance of the ARRL physical plant--40,000 square feet of buildings and seven and one-half acres of grounds--is the responsibility of Greg Kwasowski, KB1GJF, another 25-year employee. Greg has an intimate knowledge of all the systems--telephone, fire, computer wiring, security, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and electrical--that keep ARRL Headquarters and W1AW operating. Greg's dedication has brought him to the building in the dead of night and in the middle of a freezing winter weekend to get the physical plant back into safe condition. He also helps to oversee the work of contractors who provide services such as painting, lawn care and snow plowing.
If longevity
of service is a measure of employee satisfaction, it's clear that people seem
to like it here at ARRL. Although we haven't made a point of it in this series
of articles, many ARRL employees consider their work here a career commitment.
Administrative Services contributes in no small way to that employee
satisfaction.
