Youth Development Officers Needed!

Hello, ARRL Oregon Clubs!

We believe that our clubs need Youth Development Officers

We are passionate about the role of youth in the future of amateur radio. We collectively love ham radio, and want to plan for and secure its future. We care about ARRL, and know that many of its future members are not even hams yet. Some are in middle school. Some are toddlers today. Some haven’t even been born yet. The key to ham radio’s future is in the making of new, young ham radio operators who will someday be at the forefront. We believe that it is our duty to seek out and work with tomorrow’s ham radio operators, and make this wonderful hobby and service real to them, just as it was made real to us.

• Tomorrow’s young ham radio operators are in schools and other institutions that focus on youth.

• Youth who enter ham radio must be actively engaged and not left to fend for themselves.

Clubs are the essential link for forging partnerships, presenting ham radio in a positive light, and engaging young hams. Because most clubs are local in scope, many members already have an understanding of the “lay of the land” including teachers, school administrators, scoutmasters, homeschool groups, and youth-focused institutions. Many club members also know young hams personally because many new hams were tested by club-affiliated VE teams.

Clubs are also in a unique position to engage young hams to ensure that they are not left to fend for themselves. Fox hunts, operating events, Elmering sessions, public service, kit building sessions, and antenna building sessions are some of the ways that youth can be engaged, but only if a club reaches out. A club with an equipment lending library can provide opportunities to young hams without the financial resources to build stations of their own, but only if there is active engagement.

Youth Development Officers would focus on development of young hams as well as youth engagement. 

Those serving as youth development officers would work with our ARRL Oregon Section Youth Coordinators, Section Manager, and Affiliated Clubs Coordinator.

Youth coordinators should possess at least some of the following traits:

• Experience in working with youth.

• Ease in relating to youth.

• Enthusiasm for ham radio and youth involvement.

• Understanding of how to work with schools and other institutions that work with youth.

• Patience, more patience, and still more patience!

• Flexibility.

• Understanding that every student, school, and youth organization is different, and no one solution fits all.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Many partner organizations require vetting of volunteers.

• Youth safety should always be emphasized, and best practices followed for everyone’s protection.

• Those working directly with youth are responsible for their own actions.

We would have many opportunities for discussions at the Section level.

We plan on having periodic Zoom meetings among club youth development officers taking on this role to exchange ideas and collaborate where possible, and discuss things that worked and things that didn’t work.

Club youth development officers would be able to rely on support from their Section-level leadership, including Section Manager, Affiliated Clubs Coordinator, and Section Youth Coordinators.

We would create goals and metrics for this initiative, possibly including but not limited to:

• Numbers of “youth” club members.

• Numbers of youth-oriented activities each quarter.

• Annual reports of youth-oriented activities, with assessments of success or failure.

We will be creating a page for youth development on our ARRL Oregon section website, which will include information about:

• License study resources.

• License testing resources.

• Free or discounted ARRL membership for youth.

• ARRL testing and licensing fee refunds for youth.

• Ideas for youth activities.

• Ideas for mentoring programs.

• Contact information for youth development coordinators.

• Calendars for youth development events.

We believe that this initiative will be profoundly influential for youth, clubs, and amateur radio as a whole.

Ham radio…

• Finds applicability in many areas of STEM education and careers.

• Provides access to scholarships.

• Generates opportunities for hands-on experiences.

• Creates personal, intergenerational relationships that can help in school and careers.

We have all benefited from ham radio.

It’s time to pay it forward to the next generation. 

Let’s get to work!

We are available to answer questions and participate in discussions and club meetings.

• In the 1950s, groups of teenagers created new ham radio operators through osmosis.

• Today, we have to work (a little) harder.

• The future health of every club depends upon a continual stream of new members.

• Let’s work on identifying candidates for club youth development officers

We plan on discussing this initiative during our “Oregon Clubs meeting” on Sept. 11.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Scott N7JI
ARRL Oregon Section Manager
ars.n7ji@gmail.com
541-221-2475

Max K7MAX
ARRL Oregon Affiliated Clubs Coordinator
max@noltra.com

Frank KB7NJV
ARRL Oregon Section Youth Coordinator
gruberfrankr@comcast.net

Russ N7QR
ARRL Oregon Section Youth Coordinator
mr.russm@gmail.com