Houston Space Society
23 July 1990
Ms. Kate McMains
Executive Editor
Ad Astra
BY TELEFAX 202 546 4189
Dear Editor:
The "President's Message" in the July/August 1990 Ad Astra contains statements about the National Space Society Chapters' Assembly. NSS President Charles Walker says, "For instance, chapters assembly delegates at the conference presented resolutions to the board of directors which largely duplicated previous actions." He discusses vehicles of change within NSS and suggests that "Others may deliberately ignore them, or attempt routes of their own creation within the NSS, like the chapters assembly. Any benefits of such an assembly are lost in undemocratic, uninformed actions."
These statements seem highly charged. I believe that it should be understood that the NSS Chapters' Assembly was created by chapters at the 1988 conference in Denver to help chapters work with each other to achieve common goals. It should also be noted that the Chapters' Assembly met and discussed many issues on Friday, May 25, 1990. Discussion included projects such as the establishment of intra-Society newsletters on topics such as lunar exploration, commercial space activities, or national space policy. The Chapters' Assembly is working actively to support a greatly increased flow of information within the Society to support the effectiveness of NSS in achieving all of its spacefaring goals.
Since the NSS Board of Directors met on Saturday, May 26, 1990, after the Chapters' Assembly had voted on a set of resolutions to present to the Board, it is difficult to understand how Mr. Walker would have those responsible for carrying out the expressed wishes of the Assembly behave. Although action on several issues had been taken by the Board prior to the time established for the Assembly to present its resolutions, the Board also took no action on pressing chapter issues such as the use by chapters of a certain fundraising presentation technique.
The statement implying that the actions of the Assembly were undemocratic is odd. The Assembly's Charter and Bylaws established the rules for chapter participation in Assembly activities. These documents were ratified by the chapters. Those chapters in attendance voted on each resolution which was considered. Many resolutions, including several near and dear to me, failed to pass the Assembly; others which many leaders within the Assembly opposed were passed by said Assembly. Although several of those resolutions which were selected by the Assembly for presentation to the Board contained wording that may have been inadvisable, they were presented to the Board in accordance with the wishes of the Assembly as expressed in their voting. The results of democratic processes may not be all that could be desired; labeling the process undemocratic because the results are not what you prefer seems wrong.
As chairman of the Chapters' Assembly, I would welcome Mr. Walker's attendance at the Assembly meeting at next year's conference in San Antonio. If additional information can help the Assembly make better decisions, such input is welcome.
Sincerely,
Jim Davidson
Chairman, 1990 and 1991 Chapters' Assemblies
