[amsat-bb] Candidate Statement - Paul Stoetzer, N8HM

[Paul Stoetzer]

Thank you to all the members that nominated me for the AMSAT Board of
Directors. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Paul
Stoetzer, N8HM. An AMSAT Life Member, I served as AMSAT’s Secretary
from 2015-2017 and as Executive Vice President since 2017.

There have been suggestions made that AMSAT is "stagnant," "in
hibernation," or "sitting on our thumbs." Nothing could be further
from the truth. By any objective measurement, the past five years have
been incredibly successful for AMSAT. Membership and satellite
activity has grown. We have launched four satellites and placed a
transponder on a fifth. One satellite (RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E) is
completed and awaiting launch no earlier than the third quarter of
this year, and we have launch opportunities for the first two
satellites of our GOLF series. Additionally, we completed the
Multi-Voltage Power Supply for ARISS, have engaged in more
partnerships to fly our linear transponder module, and begun work on
the Amateur Radio EXploration (AREx) program to place an amateur
communications system on the Lunar Gateway. The work done by our
engineering team leads us well-poised for the future. I believe that
within the next few years, we will be in a position to place a CubeSat
in HEO and provide the worldwide amateur community with a resource
they have not enjoyed since AO-40. This will not be an easy task. It
is critical that the engineering team continues their work on the GOLF
project perfecting the systems that will enable us to operate a
CubeSat in a HEO environment. The first GOLF satellite, GOLF-TEE, will
serve as a testbed for these technologies in LEO. Data gained from
that mission will further inform our engineering team's efforts. While
our engineering team continues their hard work building the
satellites, the rest of the leadership team must work equally as hard
fundraising for a HEO launch opportunity. It will not be an easy task,
but I know we can do it. Please vote for me, Mark, N8MH, and Bruce,
KK5DO. Together we will return amateur radio to HEO.

I encourage you to read my candidate statement at
https://www.upwardtoheo.com/biographies/paul-stoetzer-n8hm

I've also written some more information about why I'm running for the Board at
https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/why-im-running-n8hm

Former AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, explains why Mark, N8MH,
Bruce, KK5DO, and I are the best choices in this election at
https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/former-amsat-president-barry-baines-wd4asw-endorses-n8hm-n8mh-and-kk5do

73,

Paul, N8HM