Minutes of SETI League 2003 Annual Membership Meeting

Membership Services Department

Minutes of the Ninth Annual Membership Meeting
26 April 2003, Hampton Inn and Suites Newtown, Yardley PA

Call to Order
The meeting was convened at 2206 hours EDT, in the SETICon03 hospitality suite at the Hampton Inn and Suites Newtown, Yardley PA, by Executive Director Dr. H. Paul Shuch. 16 SETI League members in good standing present, out of a total membership of 1375. 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 2002 Membership Meeting
The Minutes of the 2002 Membership Meeting 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 2002 - not audited.
1. A contribution of $10,000 was received from a charitable foundation. This gift allowed The SETI League to remain solvent during difficult financial times.
2. All of our research grant applications during 2002 were denied.
3. Our annual membership solicitation of funds to implement Array2k yielded just under $1,000 in contributions, as compared to $10,000 raised the previous year.
4. End of 2002, SETI League account balances equalled $31,441. End of 2001 balance was $85,970. With total revenues of $187,714 and total expenses of $236,244, we finished the year with a $54,529 deficit.
5. We have retained new accountants to file our IRS Form 990 tax returns, and to perform independent audits. The SETI League's 2001 Financial Statement has been audited.
6. A new Financial Information section has been added to The SETI League website, at www.setileague.org/finances.
7. This report was accepted by those present.
Executive Director's Report
1. Dr. Shuch referred to our 2002 Program Service Accomplishments on the website. The report summarized our Science Program, Technology Program, Media and Outreach, and Public Education activities for the last calendar year.
2. At a Special Meeting on 21 May 2002, the Board of Trustees modified the Bylaws as follows:
  - Article IV amended to provide that the Annual Membership Meeting "shall be held once per calendar year, at a date, time and place determined by the President."
  - Article V amended to provide that the Board of Trustees hold its Annual Meeting "once per calendar year, at a mutually convenient date, time and place as determined by the President."
  - Article VI amended to explicitly list the Executive Director as an Officer of the Corporation, and to state his duties: "The Executive Director shall serve as Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation. He or she is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the corporation, implementing such policies as may be adopted by the Board of Trustees, and, in general, performing all duties incidental to the office of Executive Director and such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board of Trustees."
Committee Reports
1. Hardware Committee
  No report.
2. Software Committee
  No report.
3. Legal Services Committee
  Report presented by Executive Director H. Paul Shuch, on behalf of Chairman Steve Carver (not present). After a lengthy appeals and revision process, our patent application for "Adaptive Microwave Antenna," technology developed for the VSA, has been approved. Final patent issue is pending.
4. Membership Services Committee
  No report.
5. Awards Committee
  Report received from chairman David Ocame, read by the Executive Director. Twelve websites received SETI SuperStar awards. The Bruno award and the Orville N. Greene Service Award were presented this year. Several Extra-Terrestrial QSL Cards and the Extra-Terrestrial Century Club certificates or endorsements have been issued.
6. Strategic Planning Committee
  Report delivered by incoming chairman Dr. Malcolm Raff. The Committee met on Friday night, 25 April 2003. The following initiatives were discussed:
  1. The Committee thanked founding Chairman Dr. Allen Tough for his two years of leadership.
  2. On the Committee's recommendation, The SETI League has successfully transitioned to a calendar-year membership period.
  3. Our new peer-reviewed web journal, Contact In Context, has been launched. Two issues have been released to date.
  4. The Committee encourages members to write more articles for both professional and popular journals.
  5. Optical SETI was discussed at some length, and new initiatives in this area proposed.
  6. The SETI League should sponsor a "What would you say to ETI" message-writing activity or contest.
7. Internet Services Committee
  dormant.
8. Archives Committee
  dormant.
9. Finance Committee
  Report delivered by the Executive Director:
  A new Chairman, Dr. Niladri Sarker, has been appointed. A fundraising professional has been retained on a part-time basis. He has circulated an Assessment Profile questionnaire to our leading supporters, and is awaiting their responses before implementing an action plan.
10. EME Committee
  Report delivered by chairman Dr. Allen Katz:
  Drs Katz and Shuch presented papers at the 2002 EME Conference in Prague. The SETI League's 1296 MHz EME Beacon was down for maintenance for one month, and was reactivated just in time for this month's successful tests in support of Project Phoenix at Arecibo.
11. Optical SETI Committee
  No report.
12. Database Committee
  Chairman Harry Kimball reports no current activity.
Regional Coordinators
The Executive Director reported that we now have 63 active Volunteer Coordinators representing 50 countries, and several vacancies. He summarized their annual reports: they are writing papers, giving talks, translating SETI League material, maintaining regional websites, doing press interviews, and advising would-be Project Argus participants. Coordinators were authorized last year to appoint their own Deputy Coordinators; two have now done so.
Old Business
1. Very Small Array: Physical structures (antennas, feedhorns, conduit, junction boxes) are all in place. The $5,000 small equipment grant requested from AAS for Very Small Array front-end electronics has been denied. A similar grant from ARRL Foundation has also been denied. Further work on the project has been suspended until additional funding can be identified.
2. Paul Shuch's appointment as Executive Director runs through 15 August 2004. In view of present economic conditions, he is not expecting the Board of Trustees to further extend his contract.
3. SETICon03: 34 attended, the same number as last year. For our first two SETICons, we spent over $4000/year on direct mail promotion, without achieving a significant attendance. This year, we did no mass mailing, and saw identical attendance. This leads us to conclude that further SETICon direct mail campaigns are unwarranted.
New Business
1. Several committees remain are dormant or vacant: Paul solicited volunteers.
2. SETICon04 - Next year, to be held in the same location, but in conjunction with the 11th International Ham Radio Moonbounce Convention. Dates are 6 - 8 August 2004.
Good and Welfare
Al Katz and The College of New Jersey were thanked for providing SETICon with facilities, for the third year in a row. Members were thanked for their attendance and participation.
Adjournment
The Annual Membership Meeting was adjourned by the Executive Director at 2228 hours EDT on 26 April 2003. The annual Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for the following morning at The College of New Jersey. All members in good standing are invited to attend. The only business pending for that meeting is Election of Officers.

Respectfully submitted, A. Heather Wood, Secretary

See 2003 Annual Meeting Photos

email the
Webmaster

Top of Page