Minutes of the Regular Trustees Meeting of the Austin Mars
Society
Meeting Date: Sunday, April 18, 2004
Members present: James Harris; Steve McDaniel; Gunjan Gupta;
Andy Mogensen; John Strickland; Ed Strickland; Jeff Brooks; Paul Means
Written by: Andy Mogensen
- The
meeting was called to order at 6:40 pm.
- The
minutes from the March meeting were approved.
- The
discussion of the by-laws was resumed from the previous meeting. It was
unanimously decided to adopt the by-laws of the Louisiana Chapter as the
interim by-laws of the Austin Chapter. The by-laws will be amended as
needed in the future. The official address of the chapter will be Steve’s
office:
300
West Ave., Ste. 1316
Austin,
TX 78701
- Gunjan
was elected as Webmaster and Treasurer. Until a bank account for the
chapter is established, Gunjan will create an online balance sheet, where
members can record any expenses incurred or dues paid to the chapter.
- The
officers of the chapter are now the following:
- President: James Harris
- Secretary: Andy
Mogensen
- Treasurer
/ Webmaster: Gunjan
Gupta
- The
discussion of incorporation was postponed until the next meeting, since
Tina was not present at the meeting. Tina is looking into the pros/cons/cost
of incorporation.
- Several
topics on outreach were discussed:
- ArmadilloCon
– Gunjan suggested that we could raise money by selling personalized
T-shirts, using a digital camera and laptop. He would arrange the
necessary details. It was also suggested that we could project video and
still images onto the wall behind the table to show the activities of the
society. Steve offered the use of his video projector. Finally, John will
try to find out if there are any science panels that we could participate
on.
- Update
on debates – Jeff has been talking to politicos from several different
parties and, for varying reasons, there doesn’t seem to be much interest
on a general debate about space exploration. However, it was pointed out
that just the fact that we are bringing up the subject of space
exploration with politicos is a positive thing. Instead, we will try to
invite politicos to a boat party. See below.
- University
contact – Andy and Gunjan will start a UT chapter. This will allow us to
hold recruitment drives, presentations, and other activities on campus.
Andy, Gunjan, and Steve will try to meet with Dr. Wallace Fowler to
persuade him to become a faculty sponsor. A recruitment drive will
commence at the start of the fall semester and coincide with the boat
party. See below.
- Stargazer/Boat/Coffee
Party – Steve suggested that we hold a party on his boat for politicos,
students, and anyone else interested in the Mars Society. The party will
be held on his boat sometime in September. The event will allow students
and politicos to meet and hopefully engage in a discussion of space
exploration. To facilitate this, we will try to arrange for some
stargazing.
- Website
update - Gunjan will try to clean up the code before anymore content is
added to the site. He will also include advertisements, from which we
will be able to generate a small amount of revenue. The ads will most
likely be space related and the site will look much like the website of
the New Mexico chapter.
- Other
outreach opportunities – It was suggested that we try to contact other
organizations, such as the Austin Astronomical Society. We could give
presentations about Mars and the society to their weekly/monthly
meetings. It was also pointed out that a group is currently trying to
raise money for a planetarium in Austin. Some form of cooperation with
this group is possible.
- Presentations
and discussion:
- John
spoke briefly on the Presidential Space Commission and the need to have a
heavy-lift capability. The current EELV’s are not suitable for a program
of lunar and Mars exploration.
- Ed
showed some excellent new images taken by the MER rovers.
- Meeting
was adjourned at 8:35 pm.
Action Items
The following members volunteered for the tasks listed
below:
Gunjan
- · Create an online balance sheet
for members to record dues and expenses.
- · Update website.
- · Arrange for personalized
T-shirts at the ArmadilloCon.
- · Work with Andy to start a UT
chapter.
Andy
- · Start a UT chapter.
- · Contact Dr. Fowler and arrange a
lunch with Steve and Gunjan.
John
- · Investigate the possibility of
participating on science panels at the ArmadilloCon.
Tina
- · Investigate the pros/cons/cost
of incorporation.
Perhaps we need someone to coordinate the following activities:
- · ArmadilloCon
- · Stargazer/Boat/Coffee party