[amsat-bb] Elections

[kk5do@xxxxxxxxx]

I look at the elections basically the same way Rick, W2GPS, does. However, I 
feel that to be an informed voter, you must do some work on your own. Do you 
know the issues? Do you know how your elected officials voted for these issues? 
Have you read the past two years worth of board minutes to determine if your 
candidate meets your goals? When you ask questions of an elected official, you 
get all the good. Does their voting record support this? 

A check through older issues of the Journal will allow you to read the minutes 
and make a more informed decision about which candidate supports your issues. 

Would I like to see Eagle in the air next year? Sure, wouldn't you? How will we 
do that on membership dues? Can we double our membership and accomplish it? No. 
Where are the extra funds going to come from? $1 million for a launch is not 
chump change. Will you help AMSAT raise this money? The board members, no 
matter who they are cannot run the club on their own, they need the help of the 
membership as well as those outside. They only provide direction they feel is 
good for the organization. If I voted yes to every Eagle issue that came up, 
would the satellite be in the air right now? No. Back to the same issue... 
money. 

How can we raise money for projects such as Eagle? The online store, ebay 
auctions, and donations. Once again, do you have suggestions on how to achieve 
our goal? Yes, then make your suggestion known and get involved. 

I have been a subscriber of amsat-bb for as long as I can remember. I read all 
the messages. I am annoyed by some and find others amusing. I don't like to 
jump into them because as a board member, if I would say something that is my 
personal feeling, right away someone says 'the board said this'. If I write 
about Awards and Contests, it is another story as I administer them for AMSAT. 
(oops... is that something I do for AMSAT that no one else cares to do? No, 
there are lot's of people out there that will take over should I decide I want 
to retire from it.) 

I have been doing the AMSAT Awards since 2001. I have been doing the Houston 
AMSAT Net over commercial satellite since 1993 and our 600th net is only a few 
weeks away. Mind you, this is the 600th net over commercial satellite, the net 
has been going on for some 10 years prior to my becoming a ham in 1993. I have 
been doing the ARRL Audio News every week for some 5-6 years and This Week in 
Amateur Radio for several months now. I used to do TWIAR way back when they 
first started by sending cassette tapes to them each week. Would someone like 
to take over these weekly news reports? Probably not. 

I have represented AMSAT at local schools while they were making their SAREX 
contact. I take off work so that I can attend the board meetings. Oooo... the 
family just loves it when I take one of my two weeks of vacation and go spend 
it with hams and AMSAT. I enjoy it, I don't think they like it. 

Bottom line... Why do I want to be on the board? I don't know, I guess I am a 
workaholic. Someone has to do it. Do I care if you elect someone else instead 
of me? Nope, just means someone else will enjoy doing some of the work. Will I 
lose any sleep if not elected? Nope. Should I post my resume here? Nope, you 
can read it when you get your ballot. You will have 2 months to read my 1/3 
page and make a decision. Why would I want to post it here and have several 
people pick through it line by line. I don't need that. 

73...bruce



Bruce Paige, KK5DO                             
                     
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards        
  
ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE     
          
Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on W0KIE AMC-7, 
T5, 7.5Mhz
Also streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com  
              
Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News   
http://www.arrl.org
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