Minutes of SETI League 2001 Annual Membership Meeting

Membership Services Department

Minutes of the Seventh Annual Membership Meeting
29 April 2001, The College of New Jersey

Call to Order
The meeting was convened at 1002 hours EST, at The College of New Jersey, Ewing NJ, by Executive Director Dr. H. Paul Shuch. Fourteen SETI League members in good standing are present, out of a total membership of 1246. Our Bylaws requiring one percent of the current membership to be in attendance for the conduct of SETI League business, the above represents a quorum.
Minutes of 2000 Membership Meeting
The Minutes of the 2000 Membership Meeting were read by Secretary A. Heather Wood, having been previously posted to The SETI League's World Wide Web site. A motion was passed to accept the minutes as published.
Treasurer's Report
Presented by the Executive Director on behalf of Trustee Marty Schreiber, CPA (not present), covering the calendar year 2000 - not audited.
1. An unanticipated contribution of $50,000 was received from a charitable foundation. This gift has significantly bolstered The SETI League's short-term financial position. The bulk of this contribution was placed in short-term certificates of deposit.
2. End of 2000, SETI League account balances equalled roughly $134,000. End of 1999 balance was $110,764. With total revenues of $186,000 and total expenses of $163,000, we finished the year $23,000 ahead of budget.
3. Results of an audit of The SETI League's 1998 and 1999 Financial Statements were presented. The audit revealed a discrepancy in our records equaling all of $1.
4. This report was accepted by those present.
Committee Reports
1. Hardware Committee
  Report received from chairman Lee Kitchens, read by the Executive Director. Addressed issues of feedhorn vs. helix selection, low noise amplifier powering options, and three receiver options.
2. Software Committee
  Report received from chairman Dan Fox, read by the Executive Director. Progress was reported on SETIFox, SETISearch, and RAOOS.
3. Legal Services Committee
  Report received from chairman Steve Carver, read by the Executive Director. A patent application has been filed for Array2k. The chairman is attempting to secure professional media representation for Dr. Shuch's SETI presentations.
4. Membership Services Committee
  Report received from chairman Amanda Baker, read by the Executive Director. Progress on the Cardiff Radio Observatory was related.
5. Awards Committee
  Report received from chairman David Ocame, read by the Executive Director. Twelve websites received SETI SuperStar awards. The wording of the Bruno criteria has been changed to emphasize "technical contributions," since there is a new award, the Orville N. Greene Service Award (to be known as "The OG") for service to The SETI League, Inc.
6. Long-Range Planning Committee
  Report delivered by chairman Allen Tough. Three initiatives are being pursued:
  1. We should have a place on the website for a peer-reviewed journal, open to essays and research papers. This would enhance our reputation for lively but credible discussion.
  2. We should consider organizing focused workshops, e.g., the nature of ETI (maybe machine intelligence; preparations for the first 30 days after contact.) We could do such workshops in conjunction with NASA, perhaps.
  3. We should expand our fundraising activities, and possibly seek to establish an endowed chair. Heather Wood has been volunteered for this, to target corporations and potentially interested individuals.
7. Internet Services Committee
  dormant.
8. Archives Committee
  Report delivered by the Executive Director:
  Though lately dormant due to his loss of server space, chairman Steve Zarkos has recently secured a new server (linked from The SETI League website), and is reconstructing email list archives .
9. Financial Committee
  We are still in need of a chairperson.
10. EME Committee
  Report delivered by chairman Dr. Allen Katz:
  The SETI League's 1296 MHz EME Beacon is operational. It's a valuable source for calibration signals; the average Project Argus station should be able to receive it. There is a full report on our website. Allen has been promoting SETI within the EME community. The EME meeting in Brazil had a small turnout - around 30. The 2002 EME meeting will be in Prague. Allen will talk about SETI.
11. Optical SETI Committee
  Report received from chairman Dr. Stuart Kingsley, read by the Executive Director. The 2000 Optical SETI Conference, underwritten by SPIE, was held in San Jose CA. The Chairman is working with photonics engineer Monte Ross to develop a standard OSETI kit, which The SETI League will make available to its members.
12. Regional Coordinators
  Paul reported that we now have 60 active Volunteer Coordinators and several vacancies. He summarized their annual reports: they are writing papers, giving talks, doing press interviews, and advising would-be Project Argus participants.
  - Ed Cole, reporting as VolCor for Alaska:
    The first public presentation was made to a local ham club and resulted in one new member. Ed is working on a trailer-mounted six-foot dish to take around to schools, etc.
  - Peter Wright, reporting as VolCor for Germany:
    As founder of the European Radio Astronomy Club, Peter is stressing the ties between radio astronomy and SETI. He has given 25 lectures on radio astronomy and SETI, including an appearance on Germany's equivalent of the Johnny Carson show. He is aiming mainly at young people. A 2-1/2-metre dish has been donated; Peter is building a standard pallet and case for electronics that will be easy to transport.
  - Allen Tough, reporting as VolCor for Central Canada:
    Had a membership meeting to which three Canadian regional coordinators came.
  - Noel Welstead, reporting as VolCor for Eastern Australia (also reporting for Guido Nigro, Western Australia):
    9-meter dish assembled, feedhorn done. Solar observatory running. They ran into a problem with the EPA - for cutting down some trees - this has been resolved. Two additional 6-meter dishes have been delivered. Towers from CSIRO - mounts are being strengthened. Working with Queensland University of Technology. The optical telescope is working. Noel has a monthly radio spot. He is working on getting donations of equipment.
Old Business
1. We were initially denied an AAS Small Equipment Grant as they said our EME beacon project might interfere with other observatories. Letters of support from Arecibo, Jodrell Bank, NRAO, SETI Institute, etc. changed their minds and we received $5,000 for the moonbounce beacon. Final report just submitted. This is actually a NASA grant, administered by AAS.
2. E-Commerce - our website now allows people to use PayPal or Helping.org (international) to pay by credit card.
3. Our membership and financial position are essentially stagnant. Peter Wright suggested putting a SETI "family tree" on the website, showing us, SETI Institute, SETI@home, etc.
4. Paul went over our original five-year plan: we are ahead on some things, badly behind on others.
5. The Executive Director's current contract expires on 15 August 2002; it has been extended by the Board of Trustees on the same terms and conditions, to 15 August 2003.
6. Peter Wright pointed out that Paul is the only US contact for SETI for the European Radio Astronomy Club.
7. Al Katz pointed out that an initial business plan is never what actually happens. He pointed out that there is a lot of support for education, and we might get grants for such projects. It would be nice if there were a SETI "kit" available off the shelf -- the Haystack small telescope kit for $4,000, for example. Heather Wood pointed out that many manufacturers support us, and we could not play favorites.
8. Paul reported we now have five email lists, including bio-astronomy (moderated by Larry Klaes).
New Business
1. We have saved considerably by moving some operations to rural Pennsylvania (notably printing and mailing, using a mailing house that employs disabled people). Our symposium proceedings were published by ARRL, who did a great job.
2. Paul has done a variety of trips and conferences, earning about $10,000 in honoraria, which are turned over to the League. The International Association of Planetarium Directors, in Montreal, was especially interesting. Paul is on the International Academy of Astronautcs SETI and Post-Detection Protocol committees.
3. SETICon02 - same venue, same date (last weekend in April). Two full days of papers next time; papers will be peer-reviewed.
4. Paul reported that our summer intern, a graphic artist named Aurora Simonnet, had produced our QSL card, and several other technical illustrations.
5. Al Katz asked if we had considered email distribution of the newsletter. There was some discussion. Noel pointing out that bounced emails were a problem.
Good and Welfare
Al Katz was presented with a copy of NOVA for Windows in gratitude for his help in securing the Symposium's use of the TCNJ facilities.
Adjournment
The Annual Membership Meeting was adjourned by the Executive Director at 1120 hours EST on 29 April 2001.

Respectfully submitted, A. Heather Wood, Secretary

See 2001 Annual Meeting Photos