Scott Yonally, N8SY

for

Great Lakes Division Director

 

“A Future Vision for the Great Lakes”

Satellite yagi at nigt

 

photo of Scott Yonally

I have delivered

As a former Ohio Section Manager and the current Great Lakes Division Vice Director, I have:

  • brought new people into Amateur Radio by collaborating with clubs across the division
  • created positive public and private agency awareness and support for ARES and Amateur Radio
  • ensured effective and open 2-way communications between the ARRL and its members

I will continue to deliver.

I am passionate about this hobby. I’m a straight shooter. I don’t put on pretenses. What you see is what you get. And what you’ll get from me is dedication to the job of division director and to the ARRL, without which we would not have this wonderful hobby we all enjoy today.

This is why I am seeking your vote.

Experienced Leadership

It is more critical than ever to have solid, experienced leadership on the Board of Directors in order to ensure a stable financial future and a strategic plan for the ARRL going forward.

The Great Lakes Division needs a director who is collaborative, innovative and action-oriented to continue to accomplish these goals.

I am that person. I promise to work hard for you.

I have had extensive ARRL field organization experience at all levels: Public Information Coordinator, Affiliated Club Coordinator, District Emergency Coordinator, Assistant Section Manager and Section Manager.

 

Career

N8SY listeningPrior to retirement, I served as a Senior Staff member and Quality Manager in the automotive and defense industry, making strategic decisions and leading the organization towards its goals.

I was responsible for managing a 25-person, three-shift department that was certified under ISO-9001/2000 and AS-9100 Aerospace Standard as well as various other military and ANSI specifications.

I was directly responsible for estimating the needs, and procurement of precision quality assurance equipment to comply with strict military and automotive requirements.

I developed a number of new methods of assembly, quality assurance record keeping, and inventory control which greatly improved the return on investment of not only our corporation but our customers as well.

I was responsible for the quality of all incoming and outgoing materials from suppliers used in our manufacturing processes to our own output of finished products.

I regularly made visits to our customer and supplier base throughout North America to ensure conformance and understanding of the parameters of the products.  If there were problems with materials, either from our production floor or from our suppliers, I was responsible for working directly with them to do a Root Cause Analysis to find the problems quickly and efficiently and then correct those problems.

Working with the U.S. Military and many of the largest automotive assembly manufacturers I assisted them and our suppliers to gain opportunities that otherwise would have been missed to make a better product for a lower cost. This also included doing Design of Experiments with them to open opportunities for improvement.

Today’s Challenges

N8SY presentingI’ve listened. I’ve heard from you the challenges we face today:

  • threats to our spectrum
  • aging Amateur Radio population
  • protection from oppressive antenna restrictions
  • making the NTS / ARES more robust with more training
  • developing better services for our Affiliated and Special Service Clubs

As your director, I promise to uphold my fiduciary duties and work hard to ensure that our dues structure is sound so that our future programs and services can grow.

My extensive field organization experience and time collaborating with the ARRL staff and board members will contribute to ensuring that ARRL leadership is proactive in resolving the concerns of both the national, and the Great Lakes Division membership.

Retaining New Hams

photo of JOTA event

The ARRL represents what is best in Amateur Radio, and our ever-faithful members are the reason that the ARRL has such a strong and rich history. I’m sure you feel as I do that clubs are the backbone of our hobby, and are key to increasing ARRL membership. Many clubs around the country have great programs to teach and license the next generation of hams, but they fall short when it comes to retaining those new hams.

As a current Vice Director on the board, I’ve been involved in new key initiatives that will focus on recruitment and retention. And with your help, as Director I will be even more involved in shaping future programs.

Emergency Communications & Field Services Committee

I serve on the Emergency Communications & Field Services Committee, where I’ve led the charge to modify the Club Commission Program to make it more advantageous for the clubs. I also led the charge to make all Affiliated and Special Service Club anniversary dates expire at the same time, making it much easier for clubs to remember when to renew.

Public Relations Committee

I am privileged to serve as the Board Liaison to the Public Relations Committee. This Committee is charged with many different Public Relations activities—World Amateur Radio Day and Field Day are just a few. The PR Committee is also responsible for nominating candidates for the Bill Leonard, W2SKE, Professional Media Award and the Philip J. McGan Silver Antenna Award. Both of these awards are very special and are only given out to a few selected people that have gone through very thorough screening.

ARRL Foundation

ARRL Foundation logoServing as a volunteer on the ARRL Foundation, I have had the pleasure of assisting in the selection of students to receive scholarships these past several school years. This duty is very important to make sure that the many hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships were awarded to the best qualified students.

 

 

Section Manager Training

I have been honored to assist for the past two years in the training of new Section Managers. My presentation on “Exploring the work and overall experience of being an ARRL Section Manager” has had a real impact on a number of newly minted SMs. I still have contact with many of them today, helping with day-to-day issues that a Section Manager faces.

On-Air Operating

I am an Amateur Extra operating 160 meters through 450 MHz. I’m a “casual” DXer but really enjoy just “rag chewing.”

Summary of accomplishments

  • Great Lakes Division Vice Director
  • ARRL Section Manager
  • ARRL Assistant Section Manager
  • ARRL Public Information Coordinator
  • ARRL Affiliated Club Coordinator
  • ARRL VEC accredited Volunteer Examiner
  • Laurel VEC accredited Volunteer Examiner
  • 2019 ARRL Joe Knight Distinguished Service Award recipient
  • ARRL Life Member
  • Life member of the Ohio Single Side-Band Net
  • Member of the Quarter Century Wireless Association
  • Vice Chair of the Richland County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
  • Member of Ohio Public / Private Partnership (OP3)