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CX2SA > SATDIG 12.07.20 20:50l 1018 Lines 39558 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. Any 2.4 GHz satellite beacons over US? (k.swaggart@???????.????
2. Re: AMSAT Leadership Explanation ... (Rich Gopstein)
3. Re: Proposal for new list (Greg)
4. Re: AMSAT Leadership Explanation ... (Michelle Thompson)
5. Re: Proposal for new list (Rich Gopstein)
6. Re: WA9JBQ Request (Kevin) (Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK))
7. Re: Foolishness (Joseph Armbruster)
8. PO-101 access? (Tim Crawford)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 08:25:03 -0700
From: <k.swaggart@???????.???>
To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Any 2.4 GHz satellite beacons over US?
Message-ID: <007201d65860$9e6c4a10$db44de30$@???????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Looking at JE9PEL's SatsList at
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/satslist.htm I see there are seven
satellites listed as active with at least one of their beacons near 2.4 GHz:
14781 UO-11 2401.5 (steady carrier)
43804 Suomi-100 2410.0
43786 ITASAT-1 2400.15
43743 Reaktor Hello World 2410.0
43669 Tiayni-4 2409.0
43155 Tiayni-2 2403.0
42775 AALTO-1 2402.0
Are any of these routinely active over the western US? And, any sat beacons
in the 10 GHz band?
73,
Ken, W7KKE
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 12:14:23 -0400
From: Rich Gopstein <rich@????????????.???>
To: Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@?????.???>
Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Leadership Explanation ...
Message-ID:
<CANsNeaoQWF7NmQJM4BS4A-S7eJ7Wvx1wVP=uM2m+5bN0ymDBvQ@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Could you clarify "unauthorized"? Not disclosing the expenditure after the
fact is different from authorization. Just trying to understand why the
expenditures were not authorized. I took a look at the bylaws, and it's
clear that officers can be given latitude to make expenditures on behalf of
AMSAT without board approval for each expenditure (as you would expect - it
would be impractical for the board to have to approve every expenditure).
Rich
KD2CQ
On Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 11:20 AM Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
> The unauthorized expenditures have been admitted to.
>
> Months of attempts to call a board meeting and address it internally have
> been made.
>
> This failed.
>
> Legal advice was sought. We proceeded carefully, and documented what we did
> along the way.
>
> This worked.
>
> Patrick and I are in the clear.
>
> The officer and employee who signed these checks are not.
>
> They claim the entire board knew about it.
>
> There are no records of this contract. It was not disclosed to us when we
> joined. Adding in denial of access, we have problems only an election can
> solve.
>
> Unlike other things we do, this isn't rocket science.
>
> Speaking up to give members a chance to get a functional board, before an
> election, is simply the right thing to do.
>
> I didn't select the weekend the nominations to the board were announced.
>
> Preferring I resign instead of allowing a large amount of unrepentantly
> unauthorized spending to continue is a mistake. Understandable though. This
> is upsetting. Please try not to shoot the messengers too many times.
>
> Members should get real value out of the membership. They should not have
> to pay for secretly hired law firms. Especially for such trivial and easily
> resolved reasons.
>
> Criticism isn't an existential crisis. Unauthorized spending definitely is.
>
> If members agree with spending their money this way, then they will vote to
> return the same people to their jobs.
>
> I have faith in great potential for improvement. There are candidates that
> will follow the law and the bylaws and were willing to step forward.
> Robert, Howie, and Jeff.
>
> We are fortunate to have a choice. This year it makes a big difference.
>
> Michelle W5NYV
>
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 11, 2020, 00:52 Alan via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>
> > I read the recent allegations by Directors Stoddard and Thompson of
> > improper
> > behavior on the part of some AMSAT Officers and Directors with concern,
> but
> > also caution. Concern, because nothing remotely similar has occurred in
> the
> > 30+ years I have been a Member and sometimes Board Member. Caution,
> because
> > the nature of the accusations and particularly the timing during a
> holiday
> > week in the AMSAT election cycle had all the hallmarks of a cynical
> > political hit. That is now the most plausible explanation. If they
> believed
> > the serious allegations to be true, it was irresponsible not to have
> > brought
> > them to the attention of the Members before now. These accusations were
> > either carefully crafted for maximum political effect, or to put the most
> > charitable face on it, represent genuinely honest concern but egregious
> > errors in judgement by the accusers.
> >
> > I call on Directors Thompson and Stoddard, in light of these unwarranted
> > accusations, to apologize publically to both those they have so
> grievously
> > misrepresented, and to the Members for the harm they have caused AMSAT.
> It
> > would be honorable to resign because of how badly they have broken trust
> > with the organization and its Members. Lacking that, at a minimum they
> > should pledge not to seek reelection. If as they claim they represent a
> > vision with wide support, surely they can find genuinely qualified
> > candidates to replace them without their baggage.
> >
> > Hopefully AMSAT Members will consider carefully which current Board
> > candidates have either expressed support for these failed Directors, or
> > been
> > endorsed by them. There are other, better, proven candidates.
> >
> > Alan Biddle
> > WA4SCA
> > Past Board Member and Corporate Secretary
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
> Opinions
> > expressed
> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> > AMSAT-NA.
> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> program!
> > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 12:17:31 -0400
From: Greg <almetco@???????.???>
To: amsat-bb@?????.???
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Proposal for new list
Message-ID: <1313E277-81ED-4877-A6F6-FA172C403628@???????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
After several years absence from membership, I just ?renewed? then about 4
weeks ago, The directors on this board are very disappointing with their
public fight. Money was either wasted or not. The members can choose at
election time. Like other members have noted, move on or take it to another
board!
Greg
N3MVF
On Jul 11, 2020, at 11:32 PM, Daniel Schultz via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
> I propose that a new list be created, separate from amsat-bb, for
> discussion of administrative issues regarding AMSAT. This would improve
> the SNR of amsat-bb for those of us who just want to play radio and work
> satellites.
>
> There are various areas of interest for me, and mud-slinging is not one
> of them. Building stuff is what I'm here for, and I'm heavily engaged in
> that.
These satellites don't just build themselves. If you choose not to get
involved with YOUR organization, then don't post on amsat-bb someday wondering
why there are no more satellites available for you to "play radio" with.
For some, this may be "just a hobby", for those who volunteer to serve AMSAT
with their personal time and effort, it is much more than "just a hobby". I
believe that every volunteer comes to AMSAT to serve the cause of keeping
amateur radio in space, but may see different ways to move the organization
forward toward that goal.
There is a Board election coming up very soon. Like all elections, it behooves
you as a good citizen of AMSAT to be informed of the issues and make a wise
choice in voting for your elected representatives. As my high school civics
teacher (and probably yours) said, "if you don't vote, you don't have a right
to complain".
73, Dan Schultz N8FGV
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 10:25:59 -0700
From: Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@?????.???>
To: Rich Gopstein <rich@????????????.???>
Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Leadership Explanation ...
Message-ID:
<CACvjz2V_oa9pL5O__zbe07Rb-6x0bdwuS+iVSfpBWYhWH2rbKw@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Yes, I can try. You are correct. There is, and definitely should be,
latitude for ordinary day to day budgeted expenditures.
An unauthorized expense is when money was spent for something it was not
allocated for, or if the amount spent goes over a set amount.
Both cases occur here. There was a $4k overage to a consulting firm. The
first $10k was properly authorized. But, officers just kept spending past
the limit.
Hiring a law firm needs to be carefully documented, especially when
historically legal expenses are often zero.
Authorized and expected costs include things like trademark and regulatory
consulting and review.
Anything out of the ordinary, an unusual or unanticipated reason, or
something regarding liability, loss, and many personnel decisions, needs
authorization.
The authorization for FD Associates appears in AMSAT meeting minutes.
Hiring Hurwit does not appear in the minutes.
A variety of unusual and personally motivated expenses followed.
Targeting individual members (the denial of access, the NDA runaround, the
false claims of conflicts of interest were all advised by Hurwit) and then
attempting to move these expenses to "overhead", is an unauthorized and
improper use of member money.
Mentioning us by name in payments, and grossly mischaracterizing mild
complaints and requests for help as deserving of a nuclear response, is an
unethical use of money.
The board needed to go on the record about this contract, given the very
unusual nature of the expenses which did not fit into a budgeted or
recurring category, but they did not.
I understand you may discount my opinion.
That is why we hired a corporate governance specialist who reviewed
everything. She also wrote the demand letter that finally got me and
Patrick access to records in early February, four and a half months after
we were supposed to start our terms.
She reviewed the additional documents we now had access to and explained
that some expensss were unauthorized and improper.
We made our case to the board, looking to resolve this. They were silent
and completely uncooperative, until recently.
The change happened when we asked to see copies of all the Hurwit checks.
I campaigned for transparency. Without financial transparency, many other
things simply don't work well.
I'm optimistic there can be meaningful improvement.
-Michelle W5NYV
On Sun, Jul 12, 2020, 09:14 Rich Gopstein <rich@????????????.???> wrote:
> Could you clarify "unauthorized"? Not disclosing the expenditure after
> the fact is different from authorization. Just trying to understand why
> the expenditures were not authorized. I took a look at the bylaws, and
> it's clear that officers can be given latitude to make expenditures on
> behalf of AMSAT without board approval for each expenditure (as you would
> expect - it would be impractical for the board to have to approve every
> expenditure).
>
> Rich
> KD2CQ
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 11:20 AM Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB <
> amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>
>> The unauthorized expenditures have been admitted to.
>>
>> Months of attempts to call a board meeting and address it internally have
>> been made.
>>
>> This failed.
>>
>> Legal advice was sought. We proceeded carefully, and documented what we
>> did
>> along the way.
>>
>> This worked.
>>
>> Patrick and I are in the clear.
>>
>> The officer and employee who signed these checks are not.
>>
>> They claim the entire board knew about it.
>>
>> There are no records of this contract. It was not disclosed to us when we
>> joined. Adding in denial of access, we have problems only an election can
>> solve.
>>
>> Unlike other things we do, this isn't rocket science.
>>
>> Speaking up to give members a chance to get a functional board, before an
>> election, is simply the right thing to do.
>>
>> I didn't select the weekend the nominations to the board were announced.
>>
>> Preferring I resign instead of allowing a large amount of unrepentantly
>> unauthorized spending to continue is a mistake. Understandable though.
>> This
>> is upsetting. Please try not to shoot the messengers too many times.
>>
>> Members should get real value out of the membership. They should not have
>> to pay for secretly hired law firms. Especially for such trivial and
>> easily
>> resolved reasons.
>>
>> Criticism isn't an existential crisis. Unauthorized spending definitely
>> is.
>>
>> If members agree with spending their money this way, then they will vote
>> to
>> return the same people to their jobs.
>>
>> I have faith in great potential for improvement. There are candidates that
>> will follow the law and the bylaws and were willing to step forward.
>> Robert, Howie, and Jeff.
>>
>> We are fortunate to have a choice. This year it makes a big difference.
>>
>> Michelle W5NYV
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 11, 2020, 00:52 Alan via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>>
>> > I read the recent allegations by Directors Stoddard and Thompson of
>> > improper
>> > behavior on the part of some AMSAT Officers and Directors with concern,
>> but
>> > also caution. Concern, because nothing remotely similar has occurred in
>> the
>> > 30+ years I have been a Member and sometimes Board Member. Caution,
>> because
>> > the nature of the accusations and particularly the timing during a
>> holiday
>> > week in the AMSAT election cycle had all the hallmarks of a cynical
>> > political hit. That is now the most plausible explanation. If they
>> believed
>> > the serious allegations to be true, it was irresponsible not to have
>> > brought
>> > them to the attention of the Members before now. These accusations were
>> > either carefully crafted for maximum political effect, or to put the
>> most
>> > charitable face on it, represent genuinely honest concern but egregious
>> > errors in judgement by the accusers.
>> >
>> > I call on Directors Thompson and Stoddard, in light of these unwarranted
>> > accusations, to apologize publically to both those they have so
>> grievously
>> > misrepresented, and to the Members for the harm they have caused AMSAT.
>> It
>> > would be honorable to resign because of how badly they have broken trust
>> > with the organization and its Members. Lacking that, at a minimum they
>> > should pledge not to seek reelection. If as they claim they represent a
>> > vision with wide support, surely they can find genuinely qualified
>> > candidates to replace them without their baggage.
>> >
>> > Hopefully AMSAT Members will consider carefully which current Board
>> > candidates have either expressed support for these failed Directors, or
>> > been
>> > endorsed by them. There are other, better, proven candidates.
>> >
>> > Alan Biddle
>> > WA4SCA
>> > Past Board Member and Corporate Secretary
>> >
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
>> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
>> Opinions
>> > expressed
>> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
>> > AMSAT-NA.
>> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
>> program!
>> > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>> >
>> _______________________________________________
>> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
>> Opinions expressed
>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
>> AMSAT-NA.
>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
>> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>>
>
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 13:28:35 -0400
From: Rich Gopstein <rich@????????????.???>
To: Greg <almetco@???????.???>
Cc: Amsat - BBs <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Proposal for new list
Message-ID:
<CANsNeapDrvE2kTU6hc3tyq-ezXV+eZuX_CK1SH6Fa4VKytUR9A@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Understood, but I - as a member who also rejoined after a long absence -
would like to know how to vote. Understanding who did what will help me
decide.
*This is not just an average vote* - if a group gets 4 votes on the board,
they essentially own AMSAT. They can fire the president and all officers
and replace them with whoever they want. WIth 5 votes, they can
unilaterally change the bylaws of the organization...
That is a lot of power...
Rich
KD2CQ
On Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 12:23 PM Greg via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???>
wrote:
> After several years absence from membership, I just ?renewed? then about
> 4 weeks ago, The directors on this board are very disappointing with their
> public fight. Money was either wasted or not. The members can choose at
> election time. Like other members have noted, move on or take it to
> another board!
>
> Greg
> N3MVF
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jul 11, 2020, at 11:32 PM, Daniel Schultz via AMSAT-BB <
> amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>
> > I propose that a new list be created, separate from amsat-bb, for
> > discussion of administrative issues regarding AMSAT. This would improve
> > the SNR of amsat-bb for those of us who just want to play radio and work
> > satellites.
> >
> > There are various areas of interest for me, and mud-slinging is not one
> > of them. Building stuff is what I'm here for, and I'm heavily engaged in
> > that.
>
>
> These satellites don't just build themselves. If you choose not to get
> involved with YOUR organization, then don't post on amsat-bb someday
> wondering
> why there are no more satellites available for you to "play radio" with.
>
> For some, this may be "just a hobby", for those who volunteer to serve
> AMSAT
> with their personal time and effort, it is much more than "just a hobby". I
> believe that every volunteer comes to AMSAT to serve the cause of keeping
> amateur radio in space, but may see different ways to move the organization
> forward toward that goal.
>
> There is a Board election coming up very soon. Like all elections, it
> behooves
> you as a good citizen of AMSAT to be informed of the issues and make a wise
> choice in voting for your elected representatives. As my high school civics
> teacher (and probably yours) said, "if you don't vote, you don't have a
> right
> to complain".
>
> 73, Dan Schultz N8FGV
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 18:06:34 +0000
From: "Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)" <amsat-bb@??????.???>
To: AMSAT <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] WA9JBQ Request (Kevin)
Message-ID:
<CAN6TEUd_YThTK6ooFd4Y9PtFTWo+eabjjL4pYMvLzi1h6bXRHQ@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Hi.
I was disappointed to see that comment from AMSAT Treasurer Robert
Bankston KE4AL last night, incorrectly claiming that Michelle Thompson
W5NYV and I were "aforded the same rights and privileges as the ...
other elected and standing Directors." We did not have access to
certain AMSAT corporate records from the first day we assumed our seats
on the AMSAT Board of Directors in September 2019. Other directors and
senior officers were made aware of this at that time - including Robert
himself. Access to the archives of the private mailing list used by the
Board was also denied to other directors when we joined the Board, but
the other directors - along with some senior officers - already had
knowledge of what was contained in those archives. Michelle and I did
not have that knowledge, and had to fight for almost 5 months to get
that access.
The District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act, the law governing
AMSAT due to its incorporation in Washington D.C., clearly gives
directors of a corporation access to corporate records. From section
29-413.05(a) of that act, "Inspection of records by directors":
"A director of a nonprofit corporation shall be entitled to inspect and
copy the books, records, and documents of the corporation at any
reasonable time to the extent reasonably related to the performance of
the director's duties as a director."
The law uses the word "shall", which makes this a mandatory requirement
on corporations like AMSAT. With so much in electronic form, it is
simple to receive the requested information via e-mail. For those
documents too large to send via e-mail, there are other means to
provide copies of requested records like using Dropbox or Google Drive.
The archives of the Board's mailing list are available in a secured
web page, and those archives were taken down just before we gained
access to that mailing list last September.
In terms of expenses and financial obligations, Article II Section 1 of
AMSAT bylaws has the following:
"No financial obligation shall be incurred by or on behalf of the
corporation except by prior approval of the Board; provided, however,
that the Board may, at its discretion, authorize any Officer or
Officers to incur such obligations and/or to approve such necessary or
incidental obligations as may be incurred by officials acting under
such Officers' authority, subject to limits and procedures as the Board
shall determine."
https://www.amsat.org/bylaws-of-the-radio-amateur-satellite-corporation/
There is record of one instance where the Board gave prior approval to
a legal expense in the past few years, a motion during the November
2018 Board meeting in Huntsville, Alabama. This motion, passed in an
executive session, authorized officers to engage FD Associates for
a review of AMSAT's draft EAR/ITAR policy. That motion carried an
authorization of up to $10,000.00 for that review. I have not seen any
other records showing where the Board gave prior approval for legal
expenses in recent years, in line with the bylaws. Minutes of Board
meetings in recent years are available at:
https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/
In fulfilling my fiduciary obligations to AMSAT and its members as a
duly elected director, I asked for details on the legal expenses I saw
on AMSAT's 2018 IRS Form 990 tax return and subsequent reports, which
Robert Bankston provided via e-mail or during Board meetings conducted
via conference call. Some were for the engagement with FD Associates.
Others were for a law firm called Hurwit & Associates - a name that
does not appear in the minutes of recent AMSAT Board meetings.
Joe Spier K6WAO, AMSAT President at the time of a phone call in October
2019 that also included the Hurwit & Associates lawyer retained by
AMSAT, mentioned that he had a plan for a conflict-of-interest policy.
His proposed policy would have denied Michelle and me access to AMSAT
corporate records for anything that occurred before we joined the
AMSAT Board. There was no mention of anything else related to this
proposed policy, like Michelle's work with Open Research Institute.
Just the attempt to deny us access to older AMSAT corporate records.
This proposed policy would have been a violation of the District of
Columbia law - something I pointed out on that phone call, and later in
e-mails to AMSAT directors and senior officers. This led to the demand
letter Michelle and I sent AMSAT in late January 2020, quickly
followed by Joe Spier's resignation as AMSAT President. Seeing that
AMSAT spent over ten thousand dollars in late 2019 and into 2020 on
legal expenses around this effort to deny us access to corporate
records was disgusting.
Unable to get any other details on the Hurwit & Associates engagements,
I asked in early May for copies of the cancelled checks - or copies of
documentation showing the payments, if checks were not used - to pay
these expenses. This led to AMSAT Executive Vice President Paul
Stoetzer N8HM claiming that there was "full knowledge and consent of
the Board" for these expenses. As a director since September 2019, I
had no knowledge of these expenses until I started asking for the
details on the payments made for these expenses. No director or
officer took the time to explain these expenses, other than the brief
explanations recorded for some of the payments in AMSAT's accounting
system - until I asked to see copies of the cancelled checks.
Clayton's letter on Friday carries on with a theme that these legal
expenses were incurred with "full knowledge and consent of the Board".
When we joined the Board last September, we were not made aware of the
engagements with Hurwit & Associates. Those were not documented in the
minutes of past Board meetings or any other record we could see.
Without knowledge of these expenses, I didn't have any opportunity to
consent to them - not that I would have given consent. Simply having a
letter with many co-signers outlining the spending after the fact is
not, in my opinion, showing prior approval for those expenses in
accordance with AMSAT bylaws.
Does AMSAT have the right to seek legal advice? Yes. In fact, this was
done on the record during a Board meeting in November 2018, when AMSAT
engaged FD Associates. AMSAT authorized a maximum outlay of $10,000.00
in the motion that was passed in an executive session at that meeting.
AMSAT exceeded that $10,000.00 mark in August 2019, and ended up
spending a total of $16,245.00 in its engagement with FD Associates.
Senior officers did not return to the Board for authorization to
continue the work with FD Associates, once the expenses exceeded
$10,000.00. Michelle took the initiative to contact FD Associates to
see what was being done for AMSAT after Joe Spier's resignation, and
was able to stop those expenses from continuing to accumulate.
Michelle's initiative to contact FD Associates - a firm she had dealt
with in the past - was greeted with criticism from some senior
officers. The officers questioned why a director was getting involved
in that matter. Clayton did rise to her defense, pointing out that none
of the senior officers picked up this work after Joe Spier's
resignation in late January. Clayton encouraged her to continue that
work. I feel she was doing her part to ensure AMSAT would not incur
more expenses, until such time as AMSAT was ready to reengage with FD
Associates. If AMSAT needs to reengage with FD Associates, senior
officers need to ask the Board to either amend the 2018 motion to allow
for further expenses, or ask the Board approve a new motion to continue
that work and incur the additional expenses.
Michelle and I ran for our seats on the Board wanting to make AMSAT
more transparent. The actions Clayton outlined in his letter, in my
opinion, are far from showing transparency. I feel his letter was a
justification for why AMSAT directors and senior officers kept these
expenses from being on the record, where members could have seen them
and questioned them. We are approaching another opportunity for AMSAT
members to make their voices heard, with the upcoming Board election.
Michelle and I heard the membership loudly and clearly last year, from
the votes we received. Please do not reelect the two incumbent
directors, and please do not return a former director to the Board. I
urge you to vote for the 3 challengers in the upcoming election - Howie
DeFelice AB2S, Jeff Johns WE4B, and Bob McGwier N4HY.
Thank you, and 73.
Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/
Twitter: @?????? or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 14:18:06 -0400
From: Joseph Armbruster <josepharmbruster@?????.???>
To: Michelle Thompson <mountain.michelle@?????.???>
Cc: Amsat - BBs <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Foolishness
Message-ID:
<CADkz4c9wyT-BJD69ke_2Tam0022E27ALLGL8p7dbohe_9XWKHA@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Serve whose members?
On Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 1:20 AM Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>
> The only agenda is to serve the members.
>
> I want to work with people that provide basic corporate oversight, support
> the ITAR/EAR public domain carve outs, and see the value in microwave
> broadband digital payload work.
>
> That won't happen with the incumbents.
>
> They can't even be bothered to hold meetings.
>
> Therefore, I and others have spoken up.
>
> Please send us a team that can get ambitious things done.
>
> -Michelle W5NYV
>
>
> On Sat, Jul 11, 2020, 14:25 Rich Gopstein <rich@????????????.???> wrote:
>
> > Thanks Michelle. I did not intend to imply that people associated with
> > ORI shouldn't be on the AMSAT board. I'm trying to understand if there's
> > an agenda behind a multi-year attempt at getting a majority on the AMSAT
> > board - including very public accusations against the existing board and
> > leadership.
> >
> > I think that would help people make up their mind about how to vote.
> >
> > Rich
> > KD2CQ
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 2:23 PM Michelle Thompson <
> > mountain.michelle@?????.???> wrote:
> >
> >> I can speak to this. Thank you for the opportunity.
> >>
> >> It's the other way around. ORI provides all engineering to the general
> >> public, free of charge.
> >>
> >> We've pledged our successful fundraising to directly benefit AMSAT in
> >> every way we know how. We've done significant legal and regulatory work
to
> >> reduce ITAR/EAR burden, produced a wide variety of software and firmware,
> >> and now have the funds to prototype the hardware required for microwave
> >> broadband communications payloads.
> >>
> >> We've published open source implementations of the best forward error
> >> correction codes that exist. We just bought a full Vivado floating
license
> >> that anyone in the community can use.
> >>
> >> The board and associate members (we have no paid members, so we don't
> >> even compete there) have been completely transparent about the intent and
> >> purpose of the engineering done by ORI.
> >>
> >> ORI is a Member Society of AMSAT.
> >>
> >> It's odd how ORI is portrayed here, yet Directors current and previous
> >> that have dual roles - such as working for NASA, working at Universities
> >> with commercial satellite projects, and working for commercial satellite
> >> companies - simply never get any criticism for using AMSAT to help their
> >> career or projects. In many cases, AMSAT has been used to further outside
> >> or commercial careers. Many of these people are unquestionably
celebrated.
> >>
> >> When someone (like myself) that starts a successful 501(c)(3) that works
> >> in the opposite direction - freely giving to the organization and
> >> supporting it whenever possible - one would hope it would be perceived
as a
> >> positive.
> >>
> >> All of this engineering and fundraising was the exact sort of thing I was
> >> doing within AMSAT engineering. When Joe Spier shut down the entire
> >> project, the dozens of people on the team asked if we could keep going.
> >> Bruce Perens was instrumental here in helping set up a 501(c)(3) that
could
> >> operate as a research institute. And the rest is documented on our
website.
> >>
> >> While people like me shouldn't have to set up an entirely independent
> >> formal structure to volunteer for the AMSAT community, it has turned
out to
> >> be fun, successful, and quite complementary to AMSAT's aims and purposes.
> >>
> >> ORI is not a membership organization. It's not in competition for
> >> members. We sign up AMSAT members at every event we hold. We promote
AMSAT
> >> publicly.
> >>
> >> If the leadership of AMSAT really wants to view organizations like ORI as
> >> some sort of threat or crisis, then they are deliberately choosing to be
> >> anti-collaborative.
> >>
> >> If you have to have Directors that don't have any other interests outside
> >> AMSAT, then you will end up with people that don't bring things like a
> >> strong network, experiences, or other organizational assets to the job.
> >>
> >> Should Tom Clark have been thrown off the AMSAT board because he was also
> >> on the Virginia Tech Space Advisory Board? Should Brennan Price not be
> >> Secretary because he works for Inmarsat?
> >>
> >> The opposite is also true. Ordinary people with ordinary common sense
> >> should also be in leadership. Diversity on the board can only improve it.
> >>
> >> -Michelle W5NYV
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 1:43 PM Rich Gopstein via AMSAT-BB <
> >> amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I'm guessing it's more complex than that. I suspect this is really
about
> >>> ORI and trying to get AMSAT to outsource their satellite engineering to
> >>> ORI. MIchelle Thompson is the CEO of ORI...
> >>>
> >>> https://openresearch.institute/board-of-directors/
> >>>
> >>> Rich, KD2CQ
> >>> AMSAT life member
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 8:34 AM John Spasojevich via AMSAT-BB <
> >>> amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> > All reads to me like a couple people broke into the old boys club and
> >>> > weren?t welcomed to the playground. AMSAT has been run by the same
> >>> people
> >>> > for years and years and years. Then again not many run for office so
> >>> our
> >>> > choices are limited.
> >>> >
> >>> > John AG9D
> >>> >
> >>> > On Saturday, July 11, 2020, Nick Pugh via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???
> >>> >
> >>> > wrote:
> >>> >
> >>> > > This is a hobby
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Spending money on lawyer instead of satellite is dumb
> >>> > >
> >>> > > My hope is you get on a Zoom call and put the fire out and take us
> >>> to HEO
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Nickk k5qxj
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Cell 337 258 2527
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School
> >>> > >
> >>> > > Disagree I Learn
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > >
> >>> > > _______________________________________________
> >>> > > Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum
> >>> available
> >>> > > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
> >>> > Opinions
> >>> > > expressed
> >>> > > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official
> >>> views of
> >>> > > AMSAT-NA.
> >>> > > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> >>> > program!
> >>> > > Subscription settings:
> >>> https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >>> > >
> >>> > _______________________________________________
> >>> > Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> >>> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
> >>> Opinions
> >>> > expressed
> >>> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views
> >>> of
> >>> > AMSAT-NA.
> >>> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> >>> program!
> >>> > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >>> >
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> >>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
> >>> Opinions expressed
> >>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> >>> AMSAT-NA.
> >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> >>> program!
> >>> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >>>
> >>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 18:40:24 +0000 (UTC)
From: Tim Crawford <tcarchcape@?????.???>
To: amsat-bb@?????.???
Subject: [amsat-bb] PO-101 access?
Message-ID: <1228348436.334057.1594579224119@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Diwata2PH@????????????????????? SCHEDULE]PO-101 is active today and tomorrow
from 4:55 UTC - 14:00 UTC and 16:00 UTC - 3:30 UTC to provide emergency
access during this Covid-19 pandemic.I hope everyone is safe!73 de DW4TA
I am unable to fully under stand what they mean by provide emergency access?
Does this mean that the communications on this satellite are restricted?
Thanks
TimKE7TAC
------------------------------
Subject: Digest Footer
_______________________________________________
Sent via amsat-bb@?????.???.
AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide
without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 234
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