[amsat-bb] Who I'm voting for (long)

[Stephen E. Belter]

The ballots for the annual election of members of the AMSAT Board of Directors will arrive in members' mailboxes soon.  My vote is no more important than any other member's vote.  However, I'm privileged to know personally all of the candidates, as well as all of the board members, all of the officers, and the previous 4-5 presidents of AMSAT.  

With one exception, I call all of them my friends.  (I don't know one of them that well.)  None of my friends are perfect, but I feel fortunate that they are contributing their time and efforts to AMSAT.  

If you don't know all of the candidates personally, I hope you find the following useful when you are casting your ballot.

For readers that don't know me, I've been a member of AMSAT since 1993 and I'm a Life Member.  I also contribute financially to AMSAT beyond membership dues.  I like operating the satellites, with 635 confirmed grids, and 487 of the 488 continental USA grids.  I also like operating portable with over 150 reverse grids, that is, I've made confirmed satellite QSOs from 150 grids while traveling through the US and Canada.  

I've also volunteered for AMSAT, helping with the AMSAT booth at the Dayton Hamvention on multiple occasions, including being the AMSAT Dayton Team Leader from 2013 through 2017.  I'm also part of a small team of individuals that has rewritten, reorganized, and updated annually the AMSAT "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book from 2013 through 2020.  I've also attended a number of the AMSAT Symposia.

Here are the candidates for this year's three open seats:

Mark Hammond, N8MH -- Mark has served on the AMSAT BoD for a number of years and has invested countless hours and money as a Control Op for AMSAT's satellites.  He likes collecting telemetry and often answers questions about SatPC32 and digital operations on the AMSAT-BB.  In addition to being very smart, he works well with people, and is Provost at Campbell University.  Mark is a very good friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM -- Paul has served as Secretary and as Executive Vice President of AMSAT.  He is a great operator, having given me a number of grids around Washington, DC and in Michigan.  I think he is at 486 confirmed of the 488 grids in the continental USA.  He has been a huge asset to AMSAT, getting the day-to-day work of the organization done, working on the website and store, filling in during Presidential absences, and assisting in the AMSAT Office in Kensington.  He is very smart and often answers questions on the AMSAT-BB and Twitter.  Paul is a good friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Bruce Paige, KK5DO -- Bruce has handled the AMSAT awards for years and is a member of the BoD.  He also hosts a regular AMSAT net in Houston which is available over the Internet.  Now that he has retired from his day job, he is devoting additional time to supporting AMSAT and tutoring new operators.  Bruce is a friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Howie DeFelice, AB2S -- I've met Howie at Dayton and have seen his posts on the AMSAT-BB and the Ground-Station mail lists.  I don't know Howie well enough to claim him as a friend, but I respect his technical expertise and appreciate the time he volunteers. 

Bob McGwier, N4HY -- Bob has a long history with AMSAT, having served as VP of Engineering and as a member of the BoD.  He is incredibly smart.  He was one of the inventors of software-defined modems and software-defined radios.  Bob is a friend and I listen carefully when he speaks (or writes).  I'm uncertain where he wants to take AMSAT now.

Jeff Johns, WE4B -- Jeff has given me a number of grids and I've returned the favor when I've been roving.  He has mentored his two young daughters who do a great job operating satellites.  It is always a thrill hearing them operate.  Jeff is a friend and I'm always happy when we make contact.  


There has been lots of discussion, some quite heated and not always accurate, about transparency, legal expenses, and who isn't being cooperative.  As a result of attending parts of board meetings at the AMSAT Symposia, occasionally delivering reports to the BoD about Dayton on BoD teleconferences, and private conversations with AMSAT officers and BoD members, I feel I have a good understanding of the workings of the board and the issues at the core of the disagreements.  I share my observations below.

To get to the point, I plan to vote for Mark Hammond, Paul Stoetzer, and Bruce Paige.


The other members of the BoD are Jerry, Drew, Patrick, and Michelle.

Jerry Buxton, N0JY -- Jerry is a member of the Board and is VP of Engineering.  He does a great job of organizing a bunch of engineering volunteers, supervising progress on a wide number of aspects of our designs, implementations, and launches.  There are far more engineering volunteers than you might imagine, and the technical challenges and regulatory requirements for new satellites going to higher orbits are daunting.  He is also our primary contact for unmanned launches by NASA.  Jerry is a friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA -- Drew is VP of Operations and a member of the board.  He vets potential launch providers and negotiates the fees for paid launches.  He also has invested countless hours and money as a Control Op for AMSAT's satellites.  He is also a regular operator and has collected over 1750 grids.  Drew is a friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK -- My first QSO with Patrick was in 2011.  He's given me lots of grids and I've returned the favor by giving Patrick several grids while I've been roving.  He is constantly roving the southwest and represents AMSAT at numerous hamfests and club meetings.  He is one of our hardest working representatives for AMSAT.  Unfortunately, he got into a pointless conflict with Drew, KO4MA, over what should have been a trivial matter.  When Drew wouldn't capitulate, Patrick took his beef to Joe Spier, K6WAO, then the President of AMSAT.  When Joe wouldn't discipline Drew, Patrick decided that Joe should be fired.  The situation went further downhill from there.  Patrick should be a tremendous asset to the BoD from his experience as a satellite operator and an AMSAT representative.  Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case, as he's fixated on revenge for perceived wrongs.  He's been a major contributor to the dysfunctional board meetings.  With a change of attitude, he could still be a major contributor to the board.  I still consider Patrick to be a friend.

Michelle Thompson, W5NYV -- I met Michelle at Dayton in 2008 and was immediately impressed.  She is a very intelligent individual with a wide range of interests.  She is highly organized and excellent at engaging volunteers for her projects.  I was so impressed that I asked her to be the dinner speaker for the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet at Dayton in 2016.  

Unfortunately, Michelle sometime chooses to "Do what you want and ask forgiveness later."  She did it to me and put me in a terrible position.  

I asked Michelle for help in creating a 3D printer design for a model of the Fox satellites.  I requested and received a CAD file of AO-85 from AMSAT Engineering to help with this project.  Michelle and Paul Williamson, KB5MU, created the 3D printer model.  Michelle said they wanted to post the file on the Internet so others could use it.  I asked her to wait to make it public until I received permission from the AMSAT Board of Directors, since AMSAT is governed by ITAR.  She said OK, then posted it without waiting for permission.  This put me in a terrible position with AMSAT Engineering and the BoD.  As a result, I was really mad.  Fortunately for me, it worked out OK with Engineering and the BoD.  I'm not mad now, but I learned an important lesson about working with Michelle.

Michelle has been a major contributor to the dysfunctional board meetings.  With a change of attitude, Michelle could still be a huge asset to the board.  I still consider her to be a friend.


I learned from others that similar problems, "Do what you want and ask forgiveness later,"  had occurred before between AMSAT and Michelle.  So why the dirty laundry now?  Michelle gets elected to the board, then demands a list of all of the Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) AMSAT has signed (for example, with NASA, launch providers, and potential satellite partners) *and* that they be made public.  Some, if not all of the NDAs state that the content of the NDA and its existence will not be disclosed by AMSAT.  (By the way, I know AMSAT has signed NDAs, but I don't know how many or with whom.)

This puts the Board and the Officers in a terrible dilemma.  Do they share these confidential NDAs with the new board members who have publicly stated that they don't think NDAs need to be kept private?  What is the impact on AMSAT if NASA or a launch provider or another partner decides that AMSAT isn't a reliable organization that can be trusted not to share private information?  How do we get future AMSAT satellites to orbit if the free launches from NASA or paid launches from providers are no longer available to us?

Of course, Michelle and Patrick spin this as the Board being uncooperative and not being transparent.


Officers who are not elected board members:

Joe Spier, K6WAO, past President -- Joe agreed to serve as President of AMSAT when Barry Baines, WD4ASW, decided to retire after a decade of leading AMSAT.  Joe threw himself into the position, did an excellent job of succeeding Barry, and moved the organization forward.  In addition to his huge time investment, Joe also contributed a significant amount of money to AMSAT and covered a lot of expenses he incurred traveling and promoting AMSAT.  I don't know why Joe resigned, but it wouldn't surprise me if he decided he didn't need to defend himself from lawsuits from new board members that didn't like the job he was doing.  This is, after all, a volunteer position.  Joe is a friend.

Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President -- After Joe resigned, Clayton stepped forward to fill the vacancy and was elected by the board.  Clayton was Secretary and a past member of the board.  He took the job of President to try to resolve the problems with a dysfunctional board and to try to save AMSAT.  (Yes, the situation is that dire.)  He has made some changes for the better, but is still struggling to solve the problems.  Clayton is a good friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.

Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Treasurer and VP of User Services -- Robert is a relatively new member of AMSAT, but he's jumped in with both feet and made a huge contribution to the organization.  He hosted the Huntsville Symposium, roves on a regular basis, has resuscitated User Services, and also took over the job of Treasurer when Keith Baker, KB1SF, decided to retire.  He also spearheaded the new member portal, membership database, and online website for new and renewing membership.  Robert is a good friend and I have full confidence in him and his judgement.


To conclude this too long dissertation, despite considerable headwinds and misinformation, AMSAT is making progress.  I plan to vote for Mark Hammond, Paul Stoetzer, and Bruce Paige with the expectation that AMSAT can continue to make additional progress.

73, Steve N9IP
-- 
Steve Belter, seb at wintek.com