Now that the ballots are in the mail for the Great Lakes Division election, I’ve been sending out e-mails to ARRL members in the division. I’ve had some interesting replies, including this one from Joe, N8ATB:

Hi Dan,

A very thoughtful email. I wish you the best of luck in theelection.

Amateur radio has been an incredible hobby for me AND a learning experience that shaped my career.

As a retiree now, I find myself nearly blind and unable to do most of what I WANTED to do in retirement BUT still do as much as I can with ham radio.

I wonder if the low membership of disabled hams might be improved by somehow (not sure how0 getting the word out that visually impaired membershhip is only $8 per year without QST…. but since the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides –FREE OF CHARGE — QST on audio tape through participating local libraries. I know that few people at HQ even knew that QST was available in that form.

I still pay full membership to get “hard copy” so I can have my wife read the ads (not contained in the audio form), and then I pass on the mags to newly licensed local hams, encouraging them to become members.

Sorry for the long note … I was just impressed by your email and am also concerned about the “graying of the hobby.”

Good luck …

73, Joe N8ATB