[amsat-bb] Foolishness

Sun Jul 12 18:18:06 UTC 2020

Serve whose members?

On Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 1:20 AM Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb at amsat.org> 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 at ourowndomain.com> 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 at gmail.com> 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 at amsat.org> 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 at amsat.org> 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 at amsat.org
> >>> >
> >>> > 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 at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum
> >>> available
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> >>> > Opinions
> >>> > > expressed
> >>> > > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official
> >>> views of
> >>> > > AMSAT-NA.
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> >>> > >
> >>> > _______________________________________________
> >>> > Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. 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 at amsat.org. 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 at amsat.org. 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