Hi Timothy,
Being a current AMSAT Board candidate, I'll respond to your last paragraph.
My candidate statement sent, out with the ballot, and the statements I've posted on this .bb before and since, clearly state my disappointment with AMSAT management "communication" and my desire, if elected, to help identify and participate in solutions.
Let me tell you now that our AMSAT management recognizes their deficiencies in this area of communication (and not just in communications).
How do I know? Being a Board candidate, was invited to and did attend the recently concluded weekend AMSAT Senior Officer and BOD meeting in Baltimore. It was what I would call, a "soul searching - gut wrenching" assessment of current AMSAT conditions and to seek improvements and solutions. Just on the subject of "communications" there was a clear recognition that communications has been a problem and specific action items were suggested to make serious improvements.
One of those actions items was to report the meeting details as soon as the usual process of summarizing the meeting notes, and review by attendees is completed. I expect the first place it will show up is on the AMSAT web site, followed by the AMSAT Journal and discussions at the October Atlanta AMSAT Symposium.
It was a very full two day session and many serious topics were discussed. Putting it all into a cohesive statement without forgetting any details will take a little time. Please give everyone the time to get it accurate.
Regards...Bill - N6GHz
Timothy J. Salo wrote:
Ken Ernandes wrote:
... BTW even if somebody has "insider" information on something, it's highly inappropriate to disclose that in advance of an official announcement. ...
This is, in my opinion, an area in which AMSAT has serious problems.
As I recall, the chair of the AMSAT Board meeting traditionally admonishes participants and observers that they should not talk about what transpires at the meeting until the official minutes are available. (Does this still happen? I haven't observed an AMSAT Board meeting for a few years.) These minutes are then typically not published (in a fairly restricted venue, namely in the [paper] AMSAT Journal, not online) until _over a year later_! In my view, this reflects a board that wants to operate without the knowledge, much less advise and feedback, of the membership. Never mind that this is very poor governance -- it is a recipe for mischief on the part of the Board.
Yes, even not-for-profit organizations like AMSAT need to restrict the flow of certain types of information. And, this is what the closed portion of the Board meetings are for. But, I believe that the current approach of restricting the flow of information to which the members ought to have [nearly immediate] access is inappropriate and facilitates abuse.
I had been meaning sent e-mail to the list asking the current Board candidates whether this issue concerns them. Thanks for reminding me...
-tjs
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