July 23, 2005, 1:25 pm
Antone's Famous Po-Boys, Houston, Texas

• The next set of officers will be officially elected in September
  • Carl is interested in being Secretary (putting together agendas and minutes)
• Possible newsletter editors: current AIAA newsletter person or a co-op or two
  • The newsletter could be changed into an AIAA column rather than a standalone newsletter for wider distribution
  • The AIAA newsletter is distributed monthly
  • Making a Mars Society column in the AIAA newsletter would require an AIAA member vote
• Marianne is willing to continue as Treasurer
  • The new President will need to be added to the bank account signature card
• The person who helped the Houston Ballet with its 501(c)3 filing will help Bebe with ours
  • The paperwork is expected to be finished within 3 to 4 months
• Steve previously expressed interest in being VP
  • Webb Byford is also a possibility, but he is not formally a candidate yet
• Nominations should run through August (and open now); write-ins are acceptable
  • Has been announced in newsletter
• Nominations are now open
  • Carl nominates Bebe for President; Amiee seconds
  • Bebe has a possible President in mind, but needs to discuss it further
  • Bebe nominates Steve for VP, Carl seconds
• Checking account has a balance of $42
• The chapter will get a smaller P.O. box and write in the new number on the current checks
  • Rent for the box will be $34 for six months instead of $63 for six months
• Bebe nominates Carl for Secretary; Marianne seconds
• Marianne nominates herself for Treasurer; Bebe seconds
• The Toronto Mars Society has a couple of medium Mars Society t-shirts, but they don't want to print more
  • They ordered them from Harry @ Customwear Screenprinting Inc
  • Toronto told us to work directly with the printer and order what we wanted
• Carl is willing to lend a couple hundred dollars to have shirts printed
• Marianne needs to talk with the space store-possibilities are to sell them on consignment or to have the store produce them and give us a percentage of sales
• Bebe has all the display boards and handouts from Patt and Tam
• Congress voted 350 to 15 for funding for space
• Wisconsin Public Radio emailed Bebe as PR Director asking for an interview with Carl as MSOH Pres. The request is probably in response to Carl's editorial in USA Today
• What to do next year?
  • Keep up the image we've created with our banquet and popcorn series
  • Be an advocacy group for the right way to get to Mars (the general plan rather than engineering specifics)
    • Explains why we need the Mars Society if we already have the space Vision
  • We need to sell the "why" for going, not the "how"
• Space is our future resource (in a positive sense)
  • Point out how Apollo inspired a generation
  • Seek our own budget, not other people's
• Education and awareness, always positively
  • Sustain the Mars image
• Steve Clifford will present a lecture for the popcorn series in October
• The goal is a monthly popcorn series lecture during the school year, a banquet, and a holiday party
  • Lectures in Oct, Nov, Jan, Mar, Apr, May
  • Banquet in Feb
  • Holiday party in Dec
• Possible new event: Martian Rendezvous similar to Lunar Rendezvous, maybe during other half of year
• Have a party every 26 months for each Mars window
• Borrow a Mars float and get in some Houston parades
• Continue having a banquet with a dinner and speakers, but have the program be free
  • Could return to Bay Oaks Country Club and charge extra to sponsor head tables (no room fee at Bay Oaks thanks to the Boeing people)
  • Space Center Houston is too expensive
• Bebe will talk with Patricia Reiff about having lectures at Rice. Those are restricted to 4pm
• Tom Hanks' Moon IMAX will be at HMNS; could put up booths for the big opening
• Marianne is willing to talk with potential sponsors, but she needs a specific goal for funding
• Long-term goals: get a NASA grant
  • Applications are usually due in July; try for next year
  • Marianne could run the grant starting in January
• Carl will take over the minutes once this is submitted

• October meeting minutes approved
• Put out a call for officer nominations in next newsletter
• Carl will get a slate of officers to Tam
  • May include Richard Rodriguez
• Bebe knows a paralegal who can look over the 501(c)3 paperwork
• If someone will deal with the 501(c)3 paperwork, Carl will put in $100 towards the application fee
• The P.O. box needs to be paid for in July or August ($60)
  • A smaller box could be cheaper
  • Marianne will check prices on smaller P.O. boxes
• Patt & Tam will be moving at the end of June
• Carl is interested in being VP next year
• Chapter dues of $0.50 per month or $6 per year recommended
• Membership renewal will take place in the fall
• Dues will be collected at election time (the bylaws state when elections should be held)
• Have everyone pay at the fall event
• Marianne motions to vote on dues
  • Passed unanimously
• If Bebe can't find someone to take over the newsletter, Marianne may be able to find a young writer to do it
• Webb Byford might be interested in being President
  • Alternately, could recruit him for Treasurer
• Stacy renewed the domain name for another year ($10)
• Possibly add a redirect page from the national Mars Society web page
• The NAL is having a reception for new Administrator Griffin between the May and June launch windows-could we co-sponsor?
• Bebe will tell Marianne how to set up the Mollyguard/PayPal account
• Bebe needs to find out how to send PayPal monies directly to the MSOH account
• Carl will ask Patt what display materials she will be taking with her
  • If Patt will be taking most or all of the materials, someone needs electronic graphics to create another display
• Let people pre-order shirts on the web in advance, then have them made
  • Have shirts on consignment at Rocket Town
• Bebe would need funding to have MSOH shirts made, but the 501(c)3 must be filed before we look for donations
• Carl will get info on buying shirts in bulk to Marianne
• Steve will look into embroidery for golf shirts
• Stacy will send his design for a shirt to Steve
• Marianne is willing to set up the shirt consignment if she gets the vendor info
• Steve will send out an email looking for officers

• Put off accepting/modifying minutes
• Asked Tam to ask for volunteer help with 501(c)3 in the next newsletter.
• P.O. Box paid through the next six months, next payment due February 1
  • NSS paid most recently, we pay next

• Carl will send outstanding receipts to Marianne for reimbursement
• $150 in the checking account is earmarked for the 501(c)3 fee
• Marianne has been promoted from Assistant Treasurer to Treasurer
• Carl and Marianne are the only signatories on the checking account

• Carl will fill in any missing info on the thank you letter template
• Change procedure for minutes: directly email minutes to all who attended and any regulars who missed the meeting
  • In the email, remind people to check their action items

• We have a mailing list
  • Possible problem: Bebe got the newsletter at her work address
• Change the newsletter distribution procedure: Tam should send the finished newsletter to Steve for distribution
  • Steve will email Tam to tell him about the change
• If anyone wants to join the mailing list, the info should go to Steve

• Added an “updated date” to the website
• Beginning work on redesign of website
• Still waiting on Tam for information on items from previous meeting

• Chapter Challenge is donation-based
  • To get credit for a donation, donators should send the money to the national organization, indicating that it’s for Houston
• Kerry supporters should write to him and urge him to support space

• Bebe is trying to get a Mission Control speaker for November
• The Mars Red Christmas Party is Saturday, December 4 at Anita Gale and Dick Edwards’ house
• The MSOH banquet will be February 17, 2005.
  • Bebe will send the information about the banquet to Carl so he can request General Howell as a speaker
  • If Lockheed gets advance notice, they will purchase tables
  • If Marianne is notified a month in advance, she can send invitations to local NSS members
• Bebe will send Stacy a list of proposed events for posting on the website
• Artist Pat Rawlings will fill in an existing logo for MSOH t-shirts
• We are interested in getting one of Clear Channel’s “non-profits only” billboards
  • Billboards printed at SignTech cost $1-$1.50 per square foot.
  • We could include a picture of Webb’s Mars rover model
• Steve will send contact info for Toronto’s Mars Society president (Matt Bamsey) to Carl
• Stacy has requested information on PSAs from Channel 55
• Steve will send the membership list to Bebe for the Christmas party
• The NASA grant has a mid-January deadline
  • Current thought is to have a traveling display, possibly including rover models, dioramas, etc.
  • Some pro-space 4th grade teachers in Pasadena ISD may be willing to help us with grant writing
  • The easiest way to do this would be to have a college professor spearhead the grant (possible professors include Dr. Jim Jordan at Lamar University or Dr. Patricia Reiff at Rice University)
  • We probably cannot get everything together in time for the mid-January deadline.
    • We should set up the project and submit it next year.
    • Carl will write up a summary of the proposed project.
• Other outreach ideas are an art car or a parade float
• We could run a Mars summer camp through San Jacinto College
  • We would need to provide a blurb and instructors for the camp
  • Camps are usually all day (9-5) for a week
  • No initial costs; instructors are paid.
  • We would get some money back
  • The college requires at least 10 kids to sign up or the camp will be canceled
  • If we lined up a corporate sponsor, we could have handouts or souvenirs for the kids (inflatable Mars?)
  • Marianne will write a short proposal/description of a camp program as well as what we would need to provide (time, teachers, etc)
• We could put together a short course on Mars for adults through the Bay Area Arts Alliance
  • The course could also be run through the LPI, but the Arts Alliance’s distribution would be beyond the science community, which is an advantage

• November: Mission Control lecture
• December: Mars Christmas party
• February 17: Mars Society of Houston banquet
• March: LPI Conference chili judging
• April: Lecture by Dr. Steve Clifford from LPI
• May: Meeting/social event with NSS, AIAA, Planetary Society
• June: Beach party
• August: Mars Society convention

• Carl will fill in any missing info on the thank you letter template
• Carl will send outstanding receipts to Marianne for reimbursement
• Steve will email Tam to tell him about the change in newsletter distribution
• Bebe will send the information about the banquet to Carl so he can request General Howell as a speaker
• Bebe will send Stacy a list of proposed events for posting on the website
• Steve will send contact info for Toronto’s Mars Society president (Matt Bamsey) to Carl
• Steve will send the membership list to Bebe for the Christmas party
• Carl will write up a summary of proposed NASA grant project.
• Marianne should write a short proposal/description of a camp program as well as what we would need to provide (time, teachers, etc)

• December 4, before or during the Christmas party

• September and March minutes were approved as written.
• We no longer seem to have a CPA to help with the 501(c)3
  • A volunteer CPA could be solicited through the newsletter
• MSOH again won the chapter contest for having the most new members
  • We still have ~15 autographed The Case for Mars books from winning last year
  • As this year's prize, we have our choice of books: The Case for Mars, First Landing (fiction), or Mars on Earth (non-fiction)
    • Chose First Landing for a contrasting genre to The Case for Mars
• Houston won the challenge against Illinois, but San Diego beat all of Texas
• The coming year's contest will be for amount of money donated to the Mars Society.
  • Small group challenges will not be allowed

• P.O. Box has been paid for six more months

• Need a member and non-member list (non-members signed up to receive informational emails but didn't join the organization)
• We need to get Maggie's newest mailing list
• Steve should bring the membership list to each meeting so it can be updated

• Will add a button on the website for signing up to receive the newsletter
• Will add a link for Paypal donations
• Will add a link to the Political task force website's letter template
• Stacy needs announcements for the web page

• Newsletter (general news, information, events, etc) is aimed at all of Texas
  • Will be sent out monthly; will not delay sending to wait for news
  • Will be sent out on the 28th or 29th of September
  • Any events, information, national or local news should be emailed to Tam
  • Will include an email address (from Maggie) for Paypal donations
  • Will be sent with addresses in the BCC field
  • Will add an address for unsubscribing at the end of the newsletter emails
• Political news is sent to the Texas members list
• 468 letters in support of the Moon-Mars Initiative were written at the letter-writing table at the convention
• Possibly create a flyer with the URL for the letter generator
• Thanks to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: the Senate approved $16.38 billion for NASA ($200 million more than NASA asked for)
  • The House of Representatives wants to trim $1 billion
  • $200 million is earmarked for the ISS
• If MSOH produces a PSA (Public Service Announcement), it should be apolitical.
  • For radio: information on the benefits of space and humans in space, focus on investing in our future rather than the current initiative

• Think about content for student-oriented brochures (under 18 and college-age), possibly in conjunction with the NASA education office
  • Would be for the "Mars Generation" chapter (a youth version of the Mars Society)
  • Could be handed out at events or useful for school science outreach
• Many of Houston's billboards have been designated for ads by non-profit groups
  • Steve will find out the price from ClearChannel, the owner of many of the billboards
  • If the national organization is interested, they might be willing to fund it.
• Ideas for a NASA grant should be sent to Marianne
  • Could build a playground or have outreach activities
  • Proposals are due in January and must be education-related
  • Could build an exhibit that could travel to area schools
    • Activities could include RC rovers on a sample Mars base

• November: MER panel lecture
• December: Mars Christmas party
• February 17: Mars Society of Houston banquet
• March: LPI Conference chili judging
• April: Lecture by Dr. Steve Clifford from LPI
• May: Meeting/social event with NSS, AIAA, Planetary Society
• June: Beach party
• August: Mars Society convention

• Carl will fill in any missing info on the thank you letter template
• Tam will email Maggie to ask for the email address for Paypal donations
• Stacy will add a button to the webpage to allow people to sign up for the newsletter
• Patt will get the newest membership list from Maggie and forward it to Steve
• Steve will bring the membership list to each meeting
• Tam will give Stacy the contact information for the New Mexico chapter (they use Google ads)
• Stacy will add a Paypal link to the website
• Stacy will forward Robby Gaines' address to Tam for inclusion in the newsletter (Gaines periodically publishes an interesting, space-themed newsletter)
• Stacy will add a link to the political support letter templates
• Patt and/or Tam will brainstorm ideas for a PSA
  · Steve will find out the price for billboard advertising from ClearChannel
• Patt or Tam will ask Maggie whether the national organization is interested in the billboard once Steve gets the cost information
• Carl will come up with ideas for a traveling Mars yard with rovers and send it to Marianne

• October 23, 6pm

• Working on contact with the volunteer CPA, don’t want to commit to 501(c)3 without advice
• P.O. Box rental fee is due in August

• There are no tax implications or obligations for the DBA and no renewal is needed.
• Compass Bank (free) checking account currently has almost $300.
• Selling or reselling items requires the vendor to pay sales tax at the location of the sale. (8.25% in Houston, 7.25% in Texas outside of Houston, none for out-of-state internet orders)
• If the vendor is a distributor for a non-profit organization, there is no tax. (If items are sold to a school for school use, no tax.)
• 501(c)3 is usually retroactive, so if it has not been filed by year end, will file sales tax

• Think about Thank You note/letter templates for speakers, etc

• Steve is currently on crew for MDRS (Mars Desert Research Station)
• Should offer members the opportunity to join Robby Gaines’ list (cool space stories)

• Stacy renewed www.marshouston.org domain name for $10.
• Web company hosts Ch55 site. Can find out what the requirements would be to use Ch55 studios to film a PSA.

• 15 August 2004 is the deadline for the chapter challenge
  • The California three-way challenge groups have been very active
  • Our challenge with Illinois has been less vigorous
  • At conference ceremony, will only mention points accrued by winner.
  • Will ask for volunteers to do next year’s scoring and suggest improvements to the scoring system.
    • Possibly offer prizes (besides bragging rights) like rebates to chapters or sending a high-profile speaker.
  • Challenge was successful in encouraging outreach.
• The Moon Mars blitz went well: 76 people visited over 200 congressional offices.
  • Budget appropriations for NASA are grouped with HUD (Housing and Urban Development), VA (Veteran’s Affairs) and independent agencies.
  • NASA lacks the grassroots lobbying support of both HUD and VA.
    • Tom Delay called in a favor with Bush to veto the budget if it includes a $1 billion space budget cut.
• Texas state senate passed a resolution in support of the space Vision, joining eight other states in doing so.
• The new space budget cut ISS money, but kept Shuttle and Mars.
• McCain did introduce an authorization bill for space money, but it’s still in committee.

• Steve Clifford from LPI (Lunar and Planetary Institute) will probably be the first speaker. He’s a Mars water consultant on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers.
• A partnership with NSS (National Space Society) could be helpful because the local chapter lacks people but is well-funded.
  • Before proposing, must first decide how to resolve disputes in mission or priorities.
• Could have a breakfast event at the Gilruth Center to view Burt Rutan’s first flight for the X-Prize competition. Flight scheduled for Wednesday, September 29.
• Would like to recruit CEOWG (Community Education Outreach Working Group) chair Gary Kitmacher for help with events.
  • Useful partnership because CEOWG’s priority is ISS (International Space Station) outreach, followed by space Vision support, which we can help with.
  • NASA put out an RFI (Request for Info) for educational project proposals to build public support for the space Vision.
    • Winning proposals would get money plus NASA web services.
    • An example of a previous project if TSGC’s (Texas Space Grant Consortium) NASA Means Business Student Competition.
• Bay Area Economic Development has a cable show (1 hr/wk), sometimes has aerospace info.
  • We could provide content, ideas for the show.
• Think about partnership with businesses: possibly Scott Bleisath of Rocket Town (order t-shirts/polos through him, he stocks a few extra, we get a few percent from those sales) or Ignite Foundation’s catalog (space-related fundraising for non-profits).
  • Locally or nationally approach Scholastic about purchasing 200-300 copies of Marianne’s Mars book, then resell independently.
    • Through Scholastic’s book club, scholastic.com/space ($4.95 for first book, $13 thereafter)
• NASA Alumni League is looking for 10 schools/year to sponsor for a Challenger Center Mission.
• A NASA Alumni League partnership would be advantageous because they can get high-profile speakers. We could partner or facilitate their mentoring program (possibly with Rice or other universities). Setting up a display table at one of their events would be good publicity.
• We should have a newsletter for the website every month.

• September 29: Breakfast viewing of SpaceShipOne’s first flight in the quest for the X-Prize, Gilruth Center, Johnson Space Center.

• Carl will ask the mailing list if anyone is willing to help with Treasurer duties and financial forms.
• Marianne will send Stacy the hyperlink to the NASA site listing state resolutions in support of the Vision.
• Stacy will post a request for members to send thank-you notes to state senators for supporting the Vision-support resolution.
• Patt will add thank-you notes to the letter-writing table at the Mars Society conference.
• Marianne will forward the RFI info to Patt.
• Patt will bring up the RFI at the Mars Society steering committee meeting next week.
• Bebe will give Marianne the contact info for the Gilruth Center for planning the Sept 29 breakfast event.
• Steve will work on format for email to general membership.
• Tam will send a sample of a monthly newsletter to Carl.

• Accepted December's meeting minutes
• MSOH now has a checking account; account was started with $250
• A CPA volunteered to help with 501(c)3
• In January, paid six months rent on the P.O. Box shared with NSS
• Everyone should give any MSOH event receipts to Carl
• Carl will have Bebe get permission to use part of corporate donations for miscellaneous reimbursements
• Boeing will not continue to sponsor the Popcorn Series lectures
• Carl was interviewed by ABC-13 in January and by Channel 24 (Cable) News in March at the Mars Settlement Design Competition
• The Space Initiative is acceptable because it's politically realistic.
• Carl, Marianne, and Bebe introduced resolutions in support of Bush's Space Initiative at Tuesday's elections

• The checking account is free; MSOH must pay for checks (currently using Smithsonian Space checks)
• 501(c)3 is on hold until the CPA is free after tax season
  • Will ask if CPA is willing to manage the books or set up an accounting system and/or check the books once a year

• Think about Thank You note/letter templates for speakers, etc

• Added one new member at the Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice University
• Possibly create a quarterly newsletter to members from the MSOH President
  • Carl will think about ideas for the newsletter
• Need two mailing lists: one for members, one for non-members who want information
• Steve will bring the latest lists to each meeting for comparison

• Posted info on the UHCL lecture on early results from the Mars rovers (lecture unaffiliated with MSOH)
• Location changed for next couple of lectures: next one is at the Gilruth, JSC, April 15

• Members need to get in touch with their representatives (like Kay Bailey Hutchison) because the space initiative budget needs to be approved
  • Members can get a list of nine talking points in support of the space initiative
• The Mars Society has people helping to write candidate Kerry's space policy
• Members should volunteer to be political convention delegates (need to have voted in the primaries to be eligible)
• Zubrin's request for member/chapter support for fixing Hubble was not forwarded because it is not the official position of the Mars Society

• Next lecture: Solar Refrigerators by Mike Ewert at JSC
• Patt will do a display table for the LPI Conference at South Shore Harbor
• Carl, and Steve are willing to talk with Tom Delay, the new representative for the JSC area (Delay replaces Nick Lampson)

• Midwest vs. Wild West Challenge
  • MSOH is currently far ahead of Illinois
  • Other people are not reporting their points as they accumulate
  • Should propose new rule for next year: points must be reported as they are earned
  • The political district convention will be March 27 at UH's Hoffheinz Pavilion. Tam will check if precinct resolutions count for points.
• James Cameron will be at the Mars Society convention this August
• Note: the new head of the Russian space agency is from the military; he replaces a civilian

• April 15: Solar Refrigerators by Mike Ewert, Gilruth Center, JSC

• Bebe will get permission to use part of corporate donations for miscellaneous reimbursements
• Carl will contact CPA about 501(c)3 forms after tax season
• Amiee will create a Thank You note template
• Carl will think about ideas for the quarterly newsletter
• Steve will bring the latest mailing lists to each meeting
• Patt will do a display table at the LPI conference
• Tam will check if precinct resolutions count for the challenge

• Minutes tabled
• All members should sign up for the national Mars Society email newsletter
• The political officer urges all members to write letters to and/or visit their Congressional representatives
• The website has an online report form for political activity.
• Tam is putting together an email for all Texas Mars Society members urging them to contact their representatives in support of a Mars effort.
• Email will include the names of Congresspersons who have already been contacted.
• Carl will ask Bebe for details about the Houston Museum of Natural Science's Mars Landing event
• Patt is willing to follow up with HMNS
• Patt will check if the Lunar and Planetary Institute will charge a non-profit to exhibit at its conference
• If Carl gets a contact person for the Astrodome remodeling project, he will pass on the information to Patt

• January 17, 2004: Houston Museum of Natural Science's Mars Landing event
• February 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at JSC
• March 2004: Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference
• April 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice
• May 2004: Gretchen Thomas' INTEGRITY project lecture at Rice

• President: Carl Carlsson
• Welcome letter to membership/soliciting involvement
  • No new responses
• Upgraded display
  • Has picture frames for a new, more durable convention display
  • Is taking ideas on how to make the display
• Vice President: open
• Treasurer: Marianne Dyson, assistant
• 501(c)(3)
  • no further progress
• checking account
  • no further progress
• Lockheed Martin invoice for August event (Carl to pursue)
  • Carl created a draft invoice that asks for a check payable to the Mars Society of Houston, care of the national Mars Society
• Secretary: Amiee Quon
• no issues
• Membership: Steve Jordan
• Seven new members as a result of the Chang-Diaz and AIAA talks
• There were two email bounce-backs from the new list
• Ideally, members will receive ~2 emails per month
• Webmaster: Stacy Clifford
• The banquet sign-up link is now online
• In the future, most submissions for the website should be in .pdf format.
• Political Action: Tam Czarnik
• Dr. Robert Zubrin is testifying before Congress next week. MSOH members should contact Kay Bailey Hutchison's office in support of the legislation. Contact information is available on the website.
• In recent testimony to the House Science Committee, three of five scientists supported a trip to Mars. MSOH members should contact members of the House Science Committee in support of the legislation. Contact information is available on the website.
• Carl is still trying to get an appointment with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
• Events Coordinator: Bebe Kelly-Serrato
• The banquet has been planned.
• The MSOH officers decided to offer the MSOH discount to AIAA members for the banquet.

• Rep. Lampson's Space Exploration Legislation (re-introduced)
• MSOH members should use the web site's link to sign the petition in support of Rep. Lampson's legislation.
• Midwest vs. Wild West Challenge
• Illinois currently has 0 points, Houston has 25.

• Idea for class:
• Create a class where students study currently available data on space radiation, microgravity, and propulsion. From the data and forum-type discussions with NASA scientists, students will report on the feasibility of long-duration spaceflight and ways to mitigate risks.
• The most recent AIAA speaker expressed interest in repeating his presentation at Rice.

• November 6, 2003: Banquet at Bay Oaks Country Club
• December 20, 2003: Christmas Party at Dick Edwards' and Anita Gale's house
• February 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at JSC
• March 2004: Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference
• April 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice
• May 2004: Gretchen Thomas' INTEGRITY project lecture at Rice

• November 22, 2003 at 3 pm at The Outpost

• Steve will send bounced-back emails to Tam
• Any officer renewing a Mars Society membership will inform Tam (for Challenge points)
• Someone will convert the Bonnie Dunbar's profile from .ppt to .pdf for Stacy.
• Stacy will work on converting the .pdf schedule to .html.
• Tam will send the political action summaries to Stacy and Amiee
• Carl will send Amiee a summary of his ideas for a "space research" class

• President: Carl Carlsson
  • Had a "letter to the editor" published a few weeks back
  • Carl gave Stacy a "How to Get Involved" page for the web site
  • Carl is currently working on an Op Ed piece
  • Carl got some (free) castoff picture frames from his company that could be made into a nice tradeshow display
• Vice President: vacant
• Since the bylaws call for hand-over in December, the VP position will remain vacant until then.
• Treasurer: Marty Smith
  • Marty is relocating to Denver; Marianne will continue to serve as assistant Treasurer
  • The chapter can be covered as a non-profit under the umbrella of the national organization, according to the IRS
  • However, still need to get an employee tax ID
  • If donations for the chapter are sent to the national organization (currently necessary due to lack of non-profit status), the national Mars Society will keep 10% and forward the rest.
  • Lockheed Martin needs an invoice for their $250 pledge
  • Marianne confirmed that MSOH mail will be delivered to the P.O. Box
  • Marty gave Marianne the employee tax ID forms
  • The forms require an exemption number
  • If the national Society files forms to extend non-profit coverage to the Chapter, use the national number. Otherwise, get and use the Chapter number (getting the number requires a $150 filing fee).
• Secretary: Amiee Quon
  • How has/will the Chang-Diaz talk at Rice been/be publicized?
  • Rice's fall break is October 13-14, the Monday and Tuesday before the Thursday lecture
  • Rice's faculty newspaper is published every Thursday. Calendar items must be submitted by noon on the Wednesday before publication.
  • Rice's student newspaper is published every Friday. Calendar items must be submitted by 5 pm on the Monday before publication.
  • If necessary, Marianne is willing to write and send the calendar blurbs to the Rice newspapers.
• Membership: Steve Jordan - absent
• Webmaster: Stacy Clifford
  • Will post Carl's "How to Get Involved" page this weekend
• Political Action: Tam Czarnak
  • We have recently met with staffers for Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Cornyn, and Nick Lampson; all appeared very interested in the Mars Society's efforts. Follow-up visit are planned.
  • The Austin chapter has yet to meet with their representatives
  • Ohio reneged on the Chapter Challenge
  • Illinois has stepped in; all 21 points from the Ohio challenge are now void.
  • Houston is currently four points ahead in the Midwest vs. Wild West challenge
  • The three California chapters have challenged each other; all are ahead of Houston
  • The chapter is currently working on setting appointments with Sheila Jackson Lee, Chris Bell, and others.
  • Next year's national Mars Society convention will be in Chicago at the Park Lane Hotel
  • VistaPrint.com makes free business cards. The catch: the VistaPrint logo is on the back of each card and we cannot have our logo printed for free.
• Events Coordinator: vacant
  • Bebe will remain in charge of events, though we are looking for assistants who may eventually be able to take over her duties
  • The banquet has been planned
  • The chapter membership list will be finalized so invitations can be sent out

• Rep. Lampson's Space Exploration Legislation (reintroduced)
• See Political Action report
• Fall Banquet
• See Events Coordinator report
• Ohio Rivalry
• See Political Action report
• Bank Account/501(c)(3)
• See Treasurer report
• Business Cards
• See Political Action report

• September 30, 2003: NASA Alumni League Dinner. David Criswell, retired UH professor, talks about power in space.
• October 16, 2003: Franklin Chang-Diaz's VASIMR presentation at McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall, Rice University
• November 6, 2003: Banquet at Bay Oaks Country Club
• November 2003: Don Henninger's INTEGRITY project lecture at JSC
• TBD: Christmas Party at Dick Edwards' and Anita Gale's house
• February 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at JSC
• March 2004: Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference
• April 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice
• May 2004: Don Henninger's INTEGRITY project lecture at Rice

• October 25, 2003 at 3 pm at The Outpost

• Marianne will ask the National Space Society about setting up umbrella non-profit coverage, then pass the information on to Carl
• Carl will talk to Maggie Zubrin about having the national organization set up non-profit coverage for the chapter on IRS form 1023
• Carl will put together an invoice for Lockheed Martin's $250 pledge
• Carl will notify the national Mars Society that the $250 from Lockheed Martin is to cover expenses (so 100% will be forwarded)
• Patt and Tam will look over the membership list and correlate members with representatives
• Carl will send Patt the comments on Rep. Lampson's legislation
• Carl will investigate free business cards from VistaPrint.com
• Carl will ask Stacy to replace his company email address with his MSOH email address on the web site

• Everyone will inform Stacy when parts of the web site need to be updated
• Tam will track progress on the Illinois challenge.
• Steve will keep the meeting sign-in book (to be used for the book raffle)
• Carl will print out the Action Item list (provided by Amiee) for each meeting
• Everyone will give all Mars Society-related receipts to Marianne.
• The chapter will compile a teacher list and offer $250 to each teacher (up to $5000 total) for students to go on a mission at the Challenger Center. (money from the NASA Alumni League)

• Status of email list / format for distributions-in progress
• Public Service Announcement-tabled
• Will eventually ask for volunteers to form a committee
• Fall Banquet
• November 6 (new date) @ Bay Oaks Country Club
• Status of Ohio Rivalry Proposal
• Ohio has accepted the Houston challenge
• Challenge period started on August 13, the first day of the 2003 Mars Society National Convention. The challenge will end on the first day of the 2004 convention.
• See attached challenge guidelines.
• Managing Action Items
• The Action Item list will be brought to each meeting.
• Completed Items will be signed off by the designated actionee.
• Bylaws-passed at the last meeting
• 501(c)(3)
• Bebe will try to get a $150 donation to cover the 501(c)(3) filing fee.
• The shared P.O. Box address is P.O. Box 890588, Houston, Texas 77289-0588.
• Bank accounts
• Carl, Marty, Marianne, and Bebe signed the DBA forms [NOTE: still pending as these signatures must be notarized]
• The DBA will allow the chapter to open bank accounts under the organization name.
• Any checks will need to be paid to the order of "Mars Society of Houston". (This is the organization name listed on the DBA.)
• The accounts will be two-signature accounts.
• Required opening deposits: $25 for savings, $25 for checking.

• Conference Report/Summary-plenary sessions, papers, main issues
• See attached conference notes
• Political push to preserve heavy-lift launch capability
• National Mars Society President Robert Zubrin wants to preserve heavy-lift launch capability.
• Discussed importance of capability preservation
• Chapter membership prize-books for giveaway
• Won the national new-membership prize for 29 new members (17 at the Chang-Diaz VASIMR presentation, 12 from John Connolly's presentations)
• Won a case of Zubrin-autographed The Case for Mars books.
• Decided to raffle one book at each presentation based on the sign-in list.
• Welcome to new members / Chapter update e-newsletter
• Carl will write a welcome email for new members
• New web page for members ("How can I get involved?")
• Carl will put together a "How to get involved" page for the web site
• Carl will write a short "Message from the President" for the web site
• Radio Free Mars
• The chapter received an offer to take over the Radio Free Mars web site. (The owners either want to sell it or donate it.)
• The web site will be added to the list of possible projects.
• Business Cards
• Bebe will bring a sample business card to the next meeting.
• Mars Music CDs from Prometheus Music
• The CDs are almost finished-they lack a quote from Robert Zubrin.
• CDs could possibly be sold in gift shops at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Space Center Houston, and The Space Store, as well as online.
• Space book library
• Marianne has 40 space books that could be loaned to teachers as two class sets.

• August 27, 2003: Mars Approach Party at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (3600 Bay Area Blvd, on the corner of Middlebrook Dr.)- 8-10 pm.
• September 30, 2003: NASA Alumni League Dinner. David Criswell, retired UH professor, talks about power in space.
• October 16, 2003: Franklin Chang-Diaz's VASIMR presentation at McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall, Rice University
• November 6, 2003: Banquet at Bay Oaks Country Club
• November 2003: Don Henninger's INTEGRITY project lecture at JSC
• TBD: Christmas Party at Dick Edwards' and Anita Gale's house
• February 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at JSC
• March 2004: Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference
• April 2004: Mike Ewert's Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice
• May 2004: Don Henninger's INTEGRITY project lecture at Rice

• September 27, 2003 at 3 pm at The Outpost

• Carl will get Steve a new copy of the email list
• Steve will bring the current email list to each meeting
• Bebe will try to get a $150 donation to cover the 501(c)(3) filing fee.
• Carl will write a welcome email for new members.
• Carl will put together a "How to get involved" page for the web site
• Carl will write a short "Message from the President" for the web site
• Marianne and Bebe will work out how to lend class-sets of Marianne's book to teachers.
• Bebe will bring a sample business card to the next meeting.
• Marianne will make sure the USPS will deliver mail addressed to "Mars Society of Houston" to the P.O. Box.
• Bebe will contact Maggie Zubrin to get a Robert Zubrin quote for the Mars Music CD.

• Tam will track progress on the Ohio challenge.
• Steve will keep the meeting sign-in book (to be used for the book raffle)
• Carl will print out the Action Item list (provided by Amiee) for each meeting
• Everyone will get all Mars Society-related receipts to Marty.
• The chapter will compile a teacher list and offer $250 to each teacher (up to $5000 total) for students to go on a mission at the Challenger Center. (money from the NASA Alumni League)

• 1 point for every display table or presentation about the Mars Society, its projects and/or research.
• 1 point for every ten contacts made (name & email address recorded & relayed to Headquarters)
• 2 points for every member interviewed on radio/television/newspaper concerning Mars exploration ('Mars Society', "Robert Zubrin" and/or "The Case for Mars" to be mentioned at least twice)

• 4 points for every staffer met with
• 5 points for meeting with actual Representative

• 2 points for every article published in a non-peer-reviewed periodical describing past or present research in the Mars Society.
• 3 points for articles published in peer-reviewed journals
  

• 1 point for every $100 of cash contribution collected
• 1 point for every $200 of in-kind contribution collected
• 1 point for every evening spent on Mission Support
  

• 1 points for every member renewed
• 2 points for every new member joined.

• Open Positions – Secretary, Treasurer.
  • Amiee nominated self for Secretary. Elected with a unanimous vote.
  • Steve nominated Marty for Treasurer. Marty accepted; elected with a unanimous vote.
  • Suggested positions for the future include Educational Outreach and Political Action Coordinators.
• Web Hosting – officers can now get email @marshouston.org. Contact Stacy Clifford for access.
• Status of email list / format for distributions
  • Starting now, mass-emails should be in one format (to be set up and distributed by Steve Jordan).
    • All addresses should be in the BCC field to protect privacy.
    • There should be an option to unsubscribe by sending an email to a certain address.
  • Two distribution lists will be generated: one for officers, one for the general membership.
• Public Service Announcement
  • Should be designed as a national PSA so local chapters only need to tweak the end to mention the chapter.
  • Should be about 30 seconds
  • Get the JSC Public Affairs Office (PAO) to help with suggestions
  • Creation of PSA ad hoc committee considered, but declined for now.
• Fall Banquet
  • September 25 at Bay Oaks Country Club.
  • Members are $20, non-members are $25, students are $15.
  • Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar will be the keynote speaker.
  • Bebe will start publicizing it in mid-August.
• Schedule for upcoming general meetings
  • Franklin Chang-Diaz’s presentation at Rice has been approved. It’ll be on October 16 and strictly on the VASIMR engine.
  • Bebe has asked to have either Don Henninger or Gretchen Thomas give a talk on the INTEGRITY project at JSC in November and at Rice in May. (INTEGRITY will be an integrated test facility that will run simulated surface-landing missions.)
  • Mike Ewert will talk about his solar refrigerator (for which he got a patent) at JSC in February and at Rice in April.
  • The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) conference is in March, so there won’t be a Popcorn Series lecture that month
• Add to list of potential projects/meeting topics for general membership meetings
  • Could make the shell of the Canadian Pressurized Rover into a traveling exhibit and drive it to museums around the country—call it the Marsmobile
    • Could put it in a parade, i.e. the Rodeo Parade
• Status of Ohio Rivalry Proposal
  • Is a go—Carl Carlsson suggested getting a “10-gallon” cowboy hat and throwing down a Texas challenge to the Ohio delegation at the national convention
    • The challenge would last one year and could be on new membership, (good) media exposure, etc.
• Managing Action Items
  • Bebe has a spreadsheet that could be used to manage open, in progress, and closed action items.

• Bylaws
  • Marianne put together a bylaws document for the chapter. This is required to apply for 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
  • Bebe suggested April for officer elections. Marianne is in favor of a calendar year or school year election schedule because that’s how most people operate, plus there will be more lectures and events during the school year.
  • Tentatively decide to have elected officers immediately take office, eliminating “lame duck” officers
  • Tentatively decide to have officer elections in November or December.
  • Vote to accept the bylaws as-is and amend them later as necessary: Motion by Carl Carlsson, seconded by Bebe, passed unanimously.
• 501(c)(3)
  • The national Mars Society is a non-profit organization, but they can’t extend the non-profit status to local chapters.
  • Marianne suggested also applying for the “H option” of 501(c)(3) which will allow the chapter to spend up to 4% of its funds on political activities
  • The chapter needs an address before it can apply for non-profit status. Marianne suggested sharing a PO box with the local National Space Society (NSS) chapter
    • Cost is $120/year, each organization would pay $60/year.
    • It’s at the 77062 post office on El Camino Blvd at the Pineloch intersection.
• Bank Accounts
  • The chapter needs a checking account to pay for the banquet.
    • The credit union will allow businesses to open accounts if someone signs a DBA, which effectively opens an account in one person’s name.
    • Until the chapter is granted non-profit status, any bank accounts will be taxed.
  • Bebe requested reimbursement of $160 of personal money she spent on last year’s banquet; this should be brought up again when we actually have some money.
• Miscellaneous
  • Patt asks for volunteers to copy handouts
    • Carl Carlsson will copy handouts for the next meeting.

• August 7, 2003: John Connolly’s “How Good Mars Science Became a Bad Mars Movie” presentation at the Gilruth Center for aerospace industry co-ops and Mars Society members
• August 22-24, 2003: Ballunar Liftoff at NASA JSC
• August 23, 2003: Mission to Mars at HMNS (Houston Museum of Natural Science)—tickets are sold-out for the Challenger Mission
• August 27, 2003: Mars Approach Party at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (3600 Bay Area Blvd, on the corner of Middlebrook Dr.)—7 pm ‘til ?
• September 25, 2003: Banquet at Bay Oaks Country Club
• October 16, 2003: Franklin Chang-Diaz’s VASIMR presentation at McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall, Rice University
• October 18-19, 2003: Wings Over Houston Airshow—booths are sold-out for this year. Can think about getting a booth next year, but will cost lots of money.
• November 2003: INTEGRITY project lecture at JSC
• TBD: Christmas Party at Dick Edwards’ and Anita Gale’s house
• February 2004: Mike Ewert’s Solar Refrigerator lecture at JSC
• March 2004: Lunar and Planetary Institute Conference
• April 2004: Mike Ewert’s Solar Refrigerator lecture at Rice
• May 2004: INTEGRITY project lecture at Rice

• August 23, 2003 at 3 pm at The Outpost

• Stacy will check out email archiving capabilities
• Bebe will put up a contact address for more info on the August 27th Star Party
• Bebe has until August 6th to get contractors in line for the Star Party—already has three
• Stacy will provide website info and password to Amiee for backup
• Steve will set up an example of the new mass-email format and send it to Carl Carlsson
• Carl will notify Patt of mass-email bounce-backs so Patt can update the master database
• Carl will also resend the email list to Patt
• Bebe will post tentative lecture dates on the website
• Carl Carlsson will send potential project and meeting topics to Stacy to be put on the website; including the recent “Marsmobile” suggestion
• Amiee will get the action item sorting spreadsheet from Bebe.
• Marianne will email the PO Box address to Bebe.
• Marty will look into the 501(c)(3) “H option”
• Steve will get everyone’s email address
• Carl will forward partially completed 501(c)(3) applications to Marty if we decide to pursue that registration

• Rep. Lampson's Space Exploration Legislation
• Web Hosting
• Public Service Announcement
• Fall Banquet
• Format for email distributions to general membership
• Add to list of potential projects/meeting topics for general membership meetings

• May general membership meeting follow-up
• Review of survey results
• Draft tentative schedule for officers and general meetings through end of year.
• Discuss Tam Czarnick's suggestion for Ohio rivalry

• TBD

• Rep. Lampson’s Space Exploration Legislation – Carl Carlsson reviewed an email update on recent Mars Society and NSS visits to Congress. The update is included as an attachment to these minutes.
• Web Hosting – Stacy confirmed that the domain www.marshouston.org is up and running. Check it out. Stacy will contact the MS Webmaster to have this new url linked form the MS web site. For now we will maintain content on both servers, but may decide to just maintain one after a few months have passed. MSOH officers can provide Stacy with a request to have MSOH email forwarded to their personal inbox; if you want this, provide him with your preferred username, password, and forwarding address.
• Public Service Announcement – The CD provided by Steve Jordan had some good examples. Some suggested approaches might include: “serious” (patriotic or logical; condense one-minute Congressional speech by Congressman Cooksey, or “Do you wonder why we achieved so much in the 1960’s but have been going around in circles ever since…?”), or funny (“The future is a big rip!”; “If you want to communicate with little green men and wear tinfoil hats, we are not the group for you”; or playing off a conversation between kids). Before we put a lot of effort into this, it was agreed that we need confirmation that, as a non-profit organization, our ad will qualify as a PSA and that we can expect radio stations to actually play it.
• Fall Banquet – Tabled for now. This may end up being a general membership meeting; we have a date reserved for the Gilruth Center in September. It was suggested that a great topic may be a presentation by local MS members who have spent time at the MDRS. Those individuals include Jonathan Dory, Jennifer Knowles, Steve Jordan, Don Baker, and at least one other individual whose name I don’t have.
• MSOH Officer MS Dues – We continue to encourage our officers to maintain their membership in the Mars Society as well.

• Format for email distributions to general membership - Carl will ask Steve to set up an email address book listing for local Mars Society members. This is necessary to efficiently forward items which the Mars Society is forwarding for distribution. There also needs to be a standard template indicating why the individual is receiving this email, and who to contact to be removed from the list. The distribution list should not be visible to those receiving it, for privacy purposes.
• May general membership meeting details – We settled on Thursday, May 29 at 7 pm as our target. BeBe will try to get a suitable room at Rice University. Marsaff’s is another option.
• Establishing a checking account – Depending upon the response at the May General Membership Meeting, BeBe will look into establishing a checking account and securing grant money.
• Begin listing potential projects/meeting topics to initiate discussion at general membership meeting – Here is a list of those that have been suggested to date (we should keep a running list in the minutes):
  • Develop an inexpensive, portable display for events, trade shows, etc.
  • Collaborate with another chapter (Austin?) on a robotics project, perhaps a prototype for exploration of lava tubes on Mars
  • Sponsor an MDRS experiment, perhaps an astronomical observation/image processing project involving a local astronomy club
  • Sponsor a Mars-related “Space Week” event
  • Actively support the annual Mars Settlement Design Competition

• There will be an upcoming Rotary dinner that will include a “Space Communications Award”. Marianne will attend, and BeBe might also. It will be an opportunity to meet a few individuals with experience in “getting the message out”.

• TBD after May general membership meeting

• BeBe will schedule a meeting room for the May General Membership Meeting and communicate location back to me as soon as possible.
• BeBe will check with Maggie Zubrin for updates to political action efforts.
• BeBe will prepare a thank you letter to Stacy’s boss (Philip O’Hara, President/Owner of Directory One) for hosting our website.
• BeBe (with help from Marianne) will look into establishing a checking account and getting some grant money to work with (wait to see how the May meeting goes first).
• Stacy will contact the MS Webmaster to update the link to the new website.
• Stacy will post meeting details on the website as soon as they are confirmed.
• Carl will develop meeting program, including assisting John Connolly as necessary with presentation "How a good science fiction movie becomes a bad mars movie".
• Carl will forward address list for local MS members to Steve with request to set up email address book listing and template for efficient email distributions.
• Steve will verify that our organization meets the requirements and we can expect to get a PSA played on the radio.
• Steve will develop a list of publications, TV channels, etc. where we can advertise the meeting in their "community events" calendar. Other suggestions for getting the word out are welcomed. (Please plan to have this ready at least 2 weeks before the meeting so we have time to get the word out.)
• Marianne will get BeBe a contact email for an NSS speaker (Elliot Pullman?) who may be able to provide guidance for us on how to successfully get our message out.
• MOSH officers who want a “marshouston.org” address can forward a preferred username, password, and forwarding address to Stacy. He can set it up so that messages are forwarded to your personal address automatically.

• Accepted Minutes from November meeting.
• Rep. Lampson's space exploration legislation. Marianne: Committee memberships are in flux; need to wait for changes, then meet with Tom DeLay, then Lampson. Carl: LA chapter (Tom James) reviewed Lampson's bill, Carl would like to edit it to bring to Lampson. Marianne will forward it to NSS Policy Committee. NSS is coming up with a position and wants to work with the Mars Society. BeBe: NASA Exploration dept. is developing an operation blueprint for further Mars Exploration, including Nuclear Propulsion (Project Prometheus). Carl and Marianne will meet to work on editing a presentation, cc'ing to BeBe.
• Mars Quest - Interactive Mars display in Lafayette, LA. BeBe will talk to EX, etc. to bring exhibit to Houston.
• Trade show display. Carl proposed having a better 'standing' display for use as needed. Carl will check with a professional for a donated or purchased display. Pat Czarnik has a model in storage. Need to find standard booth dimensions for trade shows. Marianne thinks it is too much investment for the local chapter. Tabled for later.
• Public Service Announcements - Steve says radio stations will play these for free. Carl will listen to a CD of award-winning ads. Steve recommends 'He's So Hot'.

• Membership - Carl gave membership list to Steve, will try to e-mail. Steve will tell Pat Czarnik which members are in the Houston area. Carl asked for a map for an idea of geographic distribution. BeBe knows someone who will help host a meeting in the Galleria area. BeBe asked Steve to maintain anonymity of email addresses.
• Carl suggested getting an opinion from the membership about dividing the meetings up.
• Potential Projects - tabled.
• Web Hosting - Stacy says we can buy MSOH.org for $10 and host on site for free. BeBe wants to keep hosting on Mars Society server. Alternate domain name of 'marshouston.org' was passed by vote. Stacy will look into redirecting to Mars Society server.
• Bebe moved that Carl be Vice President-elect immediately to be President in September 2003. Marianne suggested 'Vice President'. Motion passed.
• Unpaid memberships - BeBe requested a waiver for Stacy, asked for the rest to pay national dues. BeBe suggested some local dues. Carl suggested talking about dues at a general meeting.
• Fall Banquet - Semi-formal was agreed to. BeBe will get a speaker. Everybody but the speaker pays for the meal. Must decide what fraction goes to Mars Society and scholarships to Haughton Island. 3rd week in September was agreed to. Theme 'Send Houston to Mars' passed by vote.

• Space Legislative Conference - April 5-7
• Prospace.org March Storm - March 9-15

• 'Our NASA' - March 14 - South Shore
• Jennifer's trip to Hab - March 8-16

• April 26, 2003 at The Outpost

• Carl will send Tom James' write-up to Marianne
• BeBe will check on sponsorship for Mars Quest
• Steve will map out membership, correlate with congressional districts
• Carl will listen to PSA CD
• Jennifer will check on Mars Society exhibit at Museum of Natural Science during Galileo exhibit.

• None discussed

• Louisiana Mars Blog, maintained by Tom James, was mentioned at the outset. (check it out at www.lamarssociety.org)
• The Mars Society (of Houston and elsewhere) needs a more impressive physical display. It was proposed that such a display could be kept in or near Orange, Texas (a central location to Houston and much of Louisiana). This would allow both usage of the display and construction costs to be spread over Mars Society Chapters in Houston and Louisiana. Some good early suggestions could include a large tri-fold display (easily stored, quickly deployed, low cost, easily updated) or a model of the Devon island/Mars habitat (one exists already). Perhaps we can find one that is old or for some other reason very cheap and refurbish it; the donor might be persuaded if it were tax deductible.
• Although the World Space Congress was sparsely attended (this was blamed on the economy though it is probably also due to the fact that we have made space exploration dull), the Mars Society signed up 30 new members!
• There was discussion of some very interesting Robotic exploration of lava tubes; see http://www.eisci.com/mothergoose/ms-iv/gus-msiv.html for more information on "spelunkobots" (Gus Frederick of Stanford calls them "Speleobots.) This might be a project once we increase membership, perhaps in conjunction with another chapter.
• Next, we addressed a problem: Why is it that MS chapters in smaller cities have better turnout, more interest, and seem to do more? Houston, which should be the crown jewel of the Mars Society, has very few members who actually do anything, low turnout at functions, etc. It may be Houston's sheer size that balks us. Example: Stacy drives 50 miles to come to meetings. It was proposed that we could have smaller chapters; actually sub-chapters...a Mars Society of the Woodlands, Mars Society of the Heights, Mars Society of Clear Lake, Bear Creek, Glendale, Katy, etc. People wouldn't have to go as far to participate. We might find ways to give people (especially kids) something to do, something to take home and remind them of Mars and keep it top-of-mind. (e.g., Popsicle sticks with stuff glued to them - letting kids dress up like a Mars explorer.) Also, instead of trying to do it all, and do it all at once, we should focus on just one or two things and doing them well. Like the dog chasing a car, what do you do when you catch it? We need to be ready for lots of people to respond.
• It was proposed that we write and produce a Mars Society Public Service Announcement. Radio stations are required to provide free airtime for PSAs, and Mars Society's 401(c)(3) status allows us to use this. If we were to produce a radio ad, what message would we use? We can get Paul Christy to announce it. We should produce two versions - one each for Houston & Louisiana. What things do we want to say, how do we need to say them? Stacy and someone else indicated that there is information that's already being used by Mars Society on its posters; this could be recycled and used as copy in the PSA.
• We also need a new domain for people to go to that's easy to remember.
• We could produce a mixed mode CD with audio (for playback in CD players) and Mars Society data in info section; such a CD could be handed out at the next WSC and other functions for about $0.40 each; there are business cards that cost more.
• There was a brief discussion of a NASA Alumni who's building Mars colony, but no other information was recorded on this topic.

• None discussed.

• TBD

• Stacy – check website - Stacy will look for web site of a display-making company; hopefully, from this we can make sure that any display we build will work with normal Booth Requirements
• Carl – check with Tom James on status of his idea for an inexpensive tri-fold display; check internet auctions for availability of used trade show displays.

• Steve/Martha – check on PSA rules
• Carl – bring one-minute Congress speech on Mars to next meeting as starting point for PSA

• Stacy to check on alternatives

• Marianne has some names of old members and will send them to Steve to contact. Grant will help Steve contact members.
• Steve said he could get Public Service radio spots through his wife. BeBe knows a producer and can get the spots recorded. Carl knows a Congressional Candidate who has promised to make a speech on Mars on the floor of the House if elected.
• BeBe said that the group needs a way to reach young people.
• Marianne mentioned local Honor Societies.
• Carl gives presentations to young people.
• Grant will contact Consortium on inviting Carl to speak.

• BeBe will send out the ideas and wants the officers to draft a statement.

• Carl suggested a consistent time to get people into the habit of participating.
• Marianne suggested a group activity and BeBe suggested a star party, but that it will take time to organize.
• The next general meeting will be in April. John Connolly will speak to the group about Emerging Technologies, which would help with Manned Mars Missions.

• Carl had some for the Louisiana Chapter with a list of books and web sites on the back.
• Stacy, Steve and Carl will meet to work out the details for designing the business cards.

• Carl volunteered.

• BeBe suggested that the web site logo be used on Mars Society T-Shirts. Carl will get a quote for having them made.

• Marianne suggested that the local chapter apply for 501(3h) status to allow it to lobby.

• Marianne suggests getting 2 signatures on checks from the chapter.
• BeBe wants all the officers to agree on expenditures
• Petty Cash will be the only excepting, this is something that would be used for misc. expenses

• Carl says the Louisiana chapter has bylaws on their web site at http://www.lamarssociety.org/. BeBe says everyone should check the site.
  

• Stacy will help to make a Yuri's Night web site.

• Marianne says that the NSS Board of Governors will be meeting here that week and that we might have a fundraiser with some of the celebrities on the Board.
• BeBe will try to get Tom Hanks to attend.

• Stacy said that the procedure for being nominated is on the Mars Society web site.

Name	Company	E-mail Address
Grant Davis	USA	grantdavis@lconn.com
Robert Carroll	USA	Robert.j.carrol1@jsc.nasa.gov
Tim Cooper	LMSO/Aerotek	Tim.p.cooper1@jsc.nasa.gov
Gary Dahlke	USA	Rocket1@palmnet.net
Bebe Kelly-Serrato	Lockheed Martin	Beatriz.a.serrato1@jsc.nasa.gov
Chris Barnes	USA	Chris.l.barnes1@jsc.nasa.gov

Name of Office	Length of Office	Duties	Nominee or Current Officer
President	2 years +	Leads the group sets the agenda, and the tone for the organization	Chris Barnes (Current) BeBe Kelly-Serrato (Nominee)
President Elect or Vice President	2 year + This person trains with the President and then takes over the slot when he / she steps down	Helps with the presidential duties and trains and serves with the President in tandem	Marianne Dyson (Current)
Administrative Secretary	1 year +	Records the minutes, consigns checks with the financial director after approval is received by all officers	Grant Davis (Nominee)
Financial Officer (Treasurer)	1 year +	Tracks and balances all funds for the organization. Signs all checks
Public Relations Director	1 year +	Provides all press releases for the MSOH Chapter announcements and advertisements for the chapter meetings and social events.	BeBe Kelly-Serrato (Current)
MARS Web Site Master	1 year + this has usually been an appointed or applied for position.	Provides web design and posting of all pertinent materials. Posts the minutes and all announcements for the MARS Society of Houston.	Stacy Clifford (Current) Grant Davis (Nominee)
Liaison NASA Ambassador	Appointed only! Not term limited	This officer is an appointed post, and is always a representative of the NASA JSA Exploration Office. The duties of this officer are to provide the group advice and direction as to the rules regarding what is politically acceptable to NASA.	John Connolly (Current)
Project Science Officer	Selection is by the board or officers, is by invitation. After elections this officer is selected from a group of Scientists who are presented for consideration. Service is unlimited.	The Science Officer along with his committee chairs this working group in the selection of scientific projects for the MARS Society Houston Chapter.	None presented until after January Officers will select from those who apply.
Director of Membership	1 year +	Tracks all membership information, maintains mailing and email lists reports to the financial officer membership status. Prepares invitations for social events and handles the distribution and RSVP's for the chapter.

August 19, 2001

Freeman Memorial Branch Library 16602 Diana Lane,
Houston, TX

• Only problem is that Chris Barnes cannot attend a weeknight time due to his job (not a 9-5)
• Possibly two meetings may be necessary??
• If Bridget Galloway is to start a new chapter at Rice University, Stacy believes that both chapters should be integrated/merged.
• Suggestions on chapter coordination
• See first, if Bridget will actually start a chapter
• If so, then what time/place?
• Chris does not want the chapter to be an exclusively college chapter
• A college chapter tends to exclude outside personnel
• Meeting time/place won’t be changed for the time being unless it is called to a vote

• Could be called ‘2001.. A Mars Odyssey’
• First order of business is to nail down a place. (Rice?? – could help in merging chapters)

• Stacy will talk to Bruce Mackenzie about changing this
• Also need to list current contacts see below + BeBe
• Need to move the site to the Mars Society
• We have the three contacts needed (Chris, Stacy, Marianne)

• Atmosphere was raised 30 degrees C(!)
• But, a warm surface temperature doesn’t imply a warm atmosphere
• 50 degrees on the surface could be below zero at head level.

• Possible gas-core system could get people to Mars within two weeks (!!)
• Franklin Chang-Diaz had a proposal that could get people to Mars in half the time available now, which is three months

• Members of the Oregon chapter are also interested in and have done research on the idea of using Martian lava tubes as human habitats.  They may be receptive to some kind of joint project on this subject in the future, such as a cave rover or an informational/research web site.

• Banner could be very expensive (for color banners)
• Banner does not need to be complicated, only a simple design
• MSOH logo on left, large letters on white background, with the Mars Society main logo

• Could coordinate with stargazing
• Held at the George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park

• Only part of the entire package
• A submittal was sent to JPL, and they seem interested

• At Mars, you have a substantial atmosphere and plenty of gravity to slow you down
• The Moon has weak gravity and no atmosphere
• You must use all propellant to slow down at the Moon
• At Mars, the atmosphere and increased gravity can do the work for you.

• Change the button for ‘National Society’ to the Mars Society official icon
• Add BeBe’s name to the chapter contacts (as the MSOH PR person)
• Suggestions for changing text color (Stacy likes the current text color)
• MSOH Flyer modification (Chris thinks the flyer is too wordy)
• Work on the text by chapter consensus
• Grammar check
• Add link to the MSOH to flyer
• Image add-ons
• Intent is to get peoples’ attention
• Already have nice color banner
• This will be done by chapter consensus
• Make it look nice, but don’t overdo it
• Possible MSOH logo by link
• Meeting time/place announcements (look up MSOH website for directions)
• Possible change of website location (Angelfire doesn’t allow files in PDF, CGI format)
• Change the website before putting out flyers so flyers aren’t misleading
• Possible link to the Special Announcements section (name link)
• Put this in left frame (navigation bar)
• Extra page in the Minutes page to archived minutes (over 3 months old)
• Remove old, unused projects
• Suggestions page built, but CGI scripting not available in Angelfire
• Moving the MSOH site to the Mars Society server

• Need to determine when exactly the spacecraft will enter Mars orbit
• Announcement and plans need to be scheduled early so peoples’ schedules are set
• Place still unknown (possibly Rice again??)
• Can Bebe check into this one?
• Hotels are a possibility
• Events are still unknown (need to plan early)
• This time, MSOH should have center spotlight
• Interested in talking to CLA-NSS for assistance

• These will be sent once confirmation of the new minutes have been posted on the MSOH website