I am disappointed to learn of these results. I thought the new progressive group was headed in the right direction.
Satellite research takes money and there is lots of it out there! I just retired from a "university" where I found it fun to try to build amateur satellites with available project funding. But My fun was building them, not trying to figure out how to pay for them. I was getting by on maybe a $10k per year budget.
But then more academic faculty came on board. They spent their time looking for grants and money and writing proposals and we were swimming in so much money we did not have the resources to spend it! For a guy who likes to build a cubesat on a table top,, I could not possibly spend even a fraction of it. BUT THEY WERE leading in the right direction. They showed how there is so much money out there that if you just direct your interests and proposals correctly there is plenty to go around and to cover the amateur interests as well.
I learned the lesson that academics is all about making proposals and getting BIG bucks to do things that meet your mutual interests. That is the only way AMSAT can survive is to have those people on the leading edge and making proposals where AMSAT and other interests overlap.
I really ignored all the AMSAT BB arguing going on, because I thought it was obvious that the progressives were on the right track and the status quo was just holding us back. I am shocked to see the progressives lost.
Bob, WB4APR
On Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 5:02 PM john--- via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
It was unfortunate that the election results were not released in a separate message on the amsat-bb. The mistake was explained by Mark Johns, K0JM, and is totally understandable. Putting out a weekly or monthly newsletter is a lot of work and those who have done it here or elsewhere know how much effort it takes. So hats off to those who do this for AMSAT.
There has been little discussion about the meaning of the election results themselves and that is what really matters. About 57% of the votes were for the three candidates who campaigned on staying the course. 43% of the votes wanted a change of some sort. So the organization is divided, but how serious the divide remains to be seen.
Although they were not on the ballot, In some ways the election was a referendum on Patrick and Michelle who have made their positions known to the membership that has been paying attention. Now that they did not pick up any support from the election, will they continue to serve? And if they choose not to serve, will the alternates (who wanted change also) feel that they would be able to contribute in a meaningful way? As Kenny Rogers once said, "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run." Some members have already announced their intentions not to serve in various ways and for various reasons. Others may follow.
The Symposium and associated Board Meeting coming up soon may provide some answers as to the future direction of AMSAT. We will wait and see how it all turns out.
73, John K8YSE _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. 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