Volume 2008, Issue September
About Frontlines
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Current Management Council Actions & Discussions
This
is our sixth issue. Frontlines is a
formatted monthly Moon Society news report that comes out each month
just
after the first (of
two) Management Council meetings each month, and/or after the
publication of the month's issue of Moon Miners Manifesto. These report
are being
archived, so members and visitors can check past reports.
Frontlines reports on Society activities, efforts, and projects. You pay your dues, and have a right to know what we are doing to make your membership worthwhile and to address your interests in a place for humans on the Moon.
We have been making steady progress on a wide variety of fronts. We want you to hold us accountable for continuing to do so!
Frontlines reports on Society activities, efforts, and projects. You pay your dues, and have a right to know what we are doing to make your membership worthwhile and to address your interests in a place for humans on the Moon.
We have been making steady progress on a wide variety of fronts. We want you to hold us accountable for continuing to do so!
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Current Management Council Actions & Discussions
At
the August 6th Meeting, we discussed building an improved,
more durable (handling-hardy) version of our Solar Power
Beaming Desk-top Demonstration Unit for two high profile
clients.
We would base the proposed online "kit" on this improved version. This
kit would
include diagrams, blueprints. parts list, parts sources, instructions,
permit procedures, etc. The idea of the kit is to allow other
groups to
build their own SPB-demo unit. The more units out there at more
conferences and outreach events, the more the public at large would
become familiar
with the principles of space solar power and solar power beaming.
We also announced our
first Annual
Membership Meeting was held on Wednesday, September 17th,
online, in the ASI-MOO special chat room environment,
9-11 pm ET, 8-10 pm CT, 7-9 pm MT, 6-8 pm PT.
In preparation for the
meeting, we posted an Annual Report in the
Members Area of our web site:
www.moonsociety.org/members/reports/annual_report2008.pdf Only members with usernames and passwords have access to this file. Two additional reports were also posted in the members/reposts/ area as supplementary material:
The meeting was chaired by Chairman of the Board, R. Scotty Gammenthaler. After a review of the contents of the Annual Report, the floor was opened to questions from members and visitors. About two dozen people attended, enough to get a healthy amount of feedback on a wide variety of issues.
Questions were about problems with membership processing, Society response to problems, current projects and new project ideas, the overall direction of the society and suggestions in this regard, membership benefits, how to grow the society in numbers, name recognition, and project output, etc. We also spent some time considering how to increase the percentage of women and young people in the Society.
Overall, we think that this meeting was quite useful and intend to do it again next year.
Meanwhile, President Peter Kokh suggested online Town Meetings the 2nd Wednesday of each quarter except Fall (the Annual Membership Meeting). These would be held in the same location, the ASI-MOO Auditorium, but would be unstructured and free wheeling. If this turns out to be helpful as well, we could do this more often, even monthly. Not only does this enrich the membership experience for those who participate, it provided outside perspectives and input to the leadership council.
www.moonsociety.org/members/reports/annual_report2008.pdf Only members with usernames and passwords have access to this file. Two additional reports were also posted in the members/reposts/ area as supplementary material:
Moon Society Strategic Plan for Growing the
Society
A Project-Organizing Focus & Game Plan for the Moon Society
A Project-Organizing Focus & Game Plan for the Moon Society
The meeting was chaired by Chairman of the Board, R. Scotty Gammenthaler. After a review of the contents of the Annual Report, the floor was opened to questions from members and visitors. About two dozen people attended, enough to get a healthy amount of feedback on a wide variety of issues.
Questions were about problems with membership processing, Society response to problems, current projects and new project ideas, the overall direction of the society and suggestions in this regard, membership benefits, how to grow the society in numbers, name recognition, and project output, etc. We also spent some time considering how to increase the percentage of women and young people in the Society.
Overall, we think that this meeting was quite useful and intend to do it again next year.
Meanwhile, President Peter Kokh suggested online Town Meetings the 2nd Wednesday of each quarter except Fall (the Annual Membership Meeting). These would be held in the same location, the ASI-MOO Auditorium, but would be unstructured and free wheeling. If this turns out to be helpful as well, we could do this more often, even monthly. Not only does this enrich the membership experience for those who participate, it provided outside perspectives and input to the leadership council.
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Moon Miners Manifesto
MMM #218
- September 2008, was published September 17th, a week later than we
would
have liked. The issue contained the 2nd installment of Phil Harris'
major article,
"Lunar
Enterprises and Development"
which is being run exclusively in Moon Miners' Manifestos.
Members can download MMM pdf files here (username password required) If you have no username and password, or have forgotten it, please contact us as soon as possible and we'll get you up and running
Members can download MMM pdf files here (username password required) If you have no username and password, or have forgotten it, please contact us as soon as possible and we'll get you up and running
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Chapters & Outposts Report
Our New Exhibit System
Chapters & Outposts Report
The Green
Bay, Wisconsin (David Dunlop)
outpost reports success in recruitment and its core project area,
experimental lunar agriculture. The outpost expects to be able to file
for full chapter status possibly by the end of September, our 4th, and
become our first campus-based chapter (The College of the Menominee
Nation, Green Bay Campus, a Native American institution!) Three cheers
for Dave !!!
An Outpost consists of one or more members in a local community that serve as (a) local contact(s) for area members and prospective members of the Society, and which have not yet met the qualifications to be given a chapter charter. To establish an outpost and become a local contact person for the society, write the Chapters Coordinator.
Outpost Formation Plug - take a look at our Chapters & Outposts map [http://www.moonsociety.org/chapters/chapter_outpost_map.html]
If you live in an unrepresented area, why not take the plunge?
Write: chapters-coordinator@moonsociety.org
topAn Outpost consists of one or more members in a local community that serve as (a) local contact(s) for area members and prospective members of the Society, and which have not yet met the qualifications to be given a chapter charter. To establish an outpost and become a local contact person for the society, write the Chapters Coordinator.
Outpost Formation Plug - take a look at our Chapters & Outposts map [http://www.moonsociety.org/chapters/chapter_outpost_map.html]
If you live in an unrepresented area, why not take the plunge?
Write: chapters-coordinator@moonsociety.org
Our New Exhibit System
In July, we gained a used
Nimlok™ Display System from an anonymous donor at no cost to us other
than a small bottle of dry cleaning fluid. It had been
dropped off at my back yard gate. The system has two tiers of 4 panels
each. Each panel is covered with a light blue-gray velvet or velour on
both sides, and the panels measure 22” wide by 41” high. That’s 16
panel sides in all for a total of 100 square feet of display space.
They came in two plastic shipping containers. Of course, it will cost
us to ship them to conferences. But they free -- (a comparable unit
could cost hundreds of dollars, possibly even a thousand, as well as
looking a lot more professional than our home made display unit that
has been the Moon Society exhibit at the last several conferences.
Events: Annual Events, ISDC, other conferences, other events and observances
International Space Development
Conference: ISDC 2009 will be held May 7-10 in
Orlando, Florida.
Our David Dunlop is already signed up as chair of the Moon Track.
Dave Dunlop is hoping to take our Solar Power Beaming Demonstration Unit to a US Air Force technical conference in Orlando in October, and then to the ILEWG International Conference on Exploration and Utilization of the Moon, later in the month, also in Orlando.
Our David Dunlop is already signed up as chair of the Moon Track.
Dave Dunlop is hoping to take our Solar Power Beaming Demonstration Unit to a US Air Force technical conference in Orlando in October, and then to the ILEWG International Conference on Exploration and Utilization of the Moon, later in the month, also in Orlando.
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Publicity Report
- We
have asked the Publicity Committee to take a look at the first part of
the Strategic Plan (see link above) for guidance, as it deals
with action items designed to grow the Society, both in membership and
name recognition. We are working on ways to attract more women and
young people to the Society.
- MMM Library
subscriptions
project courtesy of the Lunar Reclamation Society, publishers of MMM.
We have received 6 so far. If you would like to have MMM go to your
local library, send ch/mo for
$10 (one year) to the publishers,
“Lunar Reclamation Society”(include the name and address of the library)
PO Box 2102
Milwaukee, WI 53201
- Looking for volunteers to put out flyers at various space conferences and science fiction conventions they may be attending. Let us know about space conferences and science fiction cons that you are planning to attend. Write president@moonsociety.org
Leadership/Management Council Meetings
We meet on the ASI-MOO on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday nights monthly, 9-11 pm ET, 8-10 pm CT, 7-9 pm MT, 6-8 pm PT in the Moon Leaders room. Directions from the Commons: "north", then "moon-leaders"
Anyone may choose to audit our meetings and to contribute input to discussions. Use your Moon Society username and password, or sign in as a guest. Note: let us know in advance so we can tell the Door Dragon to let you in!
Next: October 1, October 15, November 5, November 19, December 3, December 17
NEW - Town Hall Meetings - This is something new, and our next will be our first. These meetings will be held in the ASI-MOO in the Auditorium. Directions from the Commons: "NorthWest" - The meetings will have no agenda, though there may be introductory remarks, and the President may suggest topics needing input at various times during the meeting. We will try this on the 2nd Wednesday evening (same place, same time slots as the leaders/management meetings) of each quarter except Fall (when our annual membership meeting is scheduled: (2008) none (October 8th would be the logical Fall date but it follows the annual membership meeting too closely), (2009) January 14, April 8, July 8, October 14. This is a tentative schedule, and we will see what happens at the first such meeting on January 14th. Note: Peter Kokh plans on being in the Auditorium on the October 8th time slot just in case someone does show up.)
Why Wednesday and why that time slot? Well, that's what the Society leaders are used to. They will not be "expected" to attend, but of course are most welcome to do so. In these meetings, we want to hear from members (current and former), from visitors, from friends, etc.
If you have never been on the ASI-MOO, check out this page.