[amsat-bb] Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message

[Michelle Thompson]

That is incorrect.

Ignored email is simply not a substitute for a board meeting.

Board meetings must either be called by three board members, or called by
the President. Two of us have patiently repeated the call for regular
meetings. These requests have been ignored.

Neither of the two Presidents we've had this year have called regular board
meetings. Clayton called one in March, and like I said, it went well, and
was supposed to be the start of a regular schedule. Nothing heard since
then, which is a disappointment.

This problem started in September 2019. I think Patrick and I have been
very, very patient with this.

At the 2019 annual meeting, Joe Spier, Mark Hammond, and Jerry Buxton spun
quite the tale of how AMSAT board meetings were unproductive, unnecessary.
Silly even. Everyone went along with this except Patrick and myself.

Not having meetings is bad corporate practice. Others have pointed this
out. There is no good reason not to have them. We'd be in such better shape
with regular meetings and good decisions.

It isn't too much to ask of the membership to please consider replacing
people that block board meetings and refuse to meet, either because they
are not capable of coming up with efficient agendas, or because they don't
want to hear from anyone outside of their clique.

-Michelle W5NYV




On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 1:39 PM Robert Bankston via AMSAT-BB <
amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:

> Wow,  I can't believe you hijacked this thread to continue to spread
> misinformation and play the victim card.
>
> No one in AMSAT is stopping you from having Board Meetings, other than
> yourselves.
>
> Part of being a leader is to build consensus and motivate those you work
> with or under you.  When differing positions are present, you work towards
> a compromised solution to allow the organization to move forward and grow.
>
> Did either you or Patrick reach across the aisle and ask one of the other
> 5 Directors to join you in a call for a meeting?  As you said, you needed 3
> Directors to call a meeting.  You already had 2. I really find it hard that
> no one would join you, especiall when at least two of the votes you
> disclosed were split 4-3.
>
> Does the meeting have to be conducted by teleconference?  The Board has a
> mailing list, so a meeting could be conducted via email.  That same mailing
> list could be used to discuss issues and develop a plan of action that
> could then be acted upon.
>
> Does the Board have to hold a monthly meeting?  If not, how often?  I
> notice that ORI, per their website, conducted 3 meetings in 2018 and only
> one in 2019.  Is their work that much less important than AMSAT that the
> Board needs to meet so infrequently?
>
> On that same website,
> https://openresearch.institute/executive-board-meeting-minutes/  I see
> that ORI conducts its board meetings via email.  Would that not answer the
> question above.
>
> AMSAT Directors are elected by the members, and the Directors elect the
> Officers (thank you for your vote, by the way).  You also have the right as
> a Director to call for the dismissal of an officer when they do not perform
> to standard. To my knowledge you and Patrick have made not such call, yet
> you continually continue to berate AMSAT Officers and fellow Directors in
> public and in private.
>
> Let's be honest. The only way you can get what you want is to take control
> of AMSAT.  That's not leadership.
>
> Enough of the political spin and outright lies.  Let us do our job and you
> and Patrick do your.
>
> Robert, KE4AL
>
>
>
>
> On Thursday, July 16, 2020, 12:51:54 PM CDT, Michelle Thompson via
> AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
>
>
> It is not fair to say "you guys are AMSAT" (only guys?), when so many of us
> for so long have proposed things to officers that are ignored or rejected
> without cause.
>
> Asking the customer to fix the problem means that current leadership
> doesn't know what to do.
>
> Some of us have been prevented from even having access to communications.
>
> Patrick Stoddard and I were denied access to the BoD email archive for many
> months.
>
> With no board meetings, by definition there is no direction or oversight
> for IT. It's run completely by officers without any input from anyone
> elected by the membership.
>
> Joe KM1P is a hero. He has served and produced excellent work, under trying
> conditions, for a long time. He does this out of generosity and does this
> with care.
>
> So, yes, we should speak up for what we want and yes, "we are AMSAT".
>
> Please speak up. But also vote for a functional board that will help
> volunteers like Joe have an easier job, support what needs to be done to
> modernize AMSAT-BB, and will have his back.
>
> Volunteers like Joe will get that from Patrick and myself. We need more on
> the board to make this happen.
>
> Please consider voting for Bob McGwier, Howie DeFelice, and Jeff Johns.
>
> Thank you,
>
> -Michelle W5NYV
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