President’s Message:
Nuts & Bolts

By Craig E. Ward

Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep an organization like OASIS going? Probably more, and less, than you think.

Many of the low-level details are the same as for any other organization, whether the organization is a multi-billion dollar international mega-corps or your local PTA. Someone has to keep track of the records, decisions, and funds of the group. The group needs to be able to present itself to the public and have some means of communicating its message, be that message a vision of a spacefaring civilization or the next great, Killer App. Papers have to be filed on a regular basis to keep the regulatory and tax people in government happy.

Craig Ward doing a presidential bit by introducing the speakers at the March 19, 2005 OASIS Lecture.

OASIS is lucky to have people who perform these kinds of duties on a regular basis. A newsletter gets produced each month. Annual financial reports are submitted to National Space Society headquarters for tax purposes. Speakers are recruited and venues found for them to speak. And much more. We should be grateful to the people who work these processes and make this chapter a useful tool in the creation of a spacefaring civilization.

Business meetings may sound like boring, tiresome affairs, but business meetings are the crossroads for all of these activities. Activists come together to compare notes and plan for future action. Opportunities are examined and possibilities conceived. They can be exciting events.

OASIS business meetings are open to anyone. If you, as a member, are interested in what goes on and what will happen, you should attend. These meetings are opportunities to share something of significance with like-minded people.

These meetings are not just work, either. After a meeting, there is usually a group dinner at a near-by restaurant. (We also do this after public lectures and other such events. Food is an important part of the space activist life-style.) Sometimes we will “audition” a new speaker or let a known speaker test out new material for a later public event. These meetings are also a chance to exchange news and views of current events.

Business meetings are held monthly and are announced well in advance. I encourage anyone who has a interest in deeper, and more fun, participation to come to one and get an up close view of how things work, see the gears grind and know how the nuts and bolts hold it all together.

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