Hi, everyone!

Our annual Workfest starts this coming Friday, 5/19, and
runs through Sunday 5/28.  Our plans this year are to get
the current crop areas planted, and expand a little bit with
more planting boxes.  We also hope to get some work done on
the structure.

We will begin each day at the assigned time, and work until
we are done with that day's activity.  Except where
mentioned, food will not be provided; bring your own lunches!

ISECCo's 20th anniversary is coming up in 2 years; any
suggestions on what we can do to celebrate?

If you are no longer interested in being on our mailing list
please let us know so we can remove you.

Since it has been such a long time from our last email, a
brief explaination of us and our activities might be in
order.  The International Space Exploration and Colonization
Company is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted
to developing the technologies needed to colonize space. 
When we formed in 1988 we decided that one of the most
important technologies for long-term survival in space was
growing food.  Very few people had investigated controlled
ecological life support systems (ie growing food in a closed
system), and the technology was (and is) poorly developed. 
So we have spent the last 18 years working to improve the
technology, starting with simple garden experiments and
moving up to greenhouses, the Basement Biosphere and now
Mars Base Zero.  Mars Base Zero is a 24' (7.3 m) wide by 44'
(13.4 m) long greenhouse, which includes a very small (less
than 20 m2--200 square feet) apartment.  It is designed to
determine how big to make Nauvik, our next structure, which
will be a totally sealed ecosystem (Mars Base Zero is an
open ecosystem providing food but not air or water--and is
not capable of closing air, water and several nutrients). 
We have now had 3 closures in Mars Base Zero; a 7-day, a 39
day and a 7 day.  This year we are hoping on 1 or more short
(7 day?) closures, though we are going to be doing crop
experiments and thus may not grow enough food.  Although not
designed to do so, we are hoping Mars Base Zero may be able
to grow enough food to close the food cycle; as our growing
techniques improve we hope to approach this goal, which
requires a closure of at least 75 days.

Sincerely yours,
Ray R. Collins, President

International Space Exploration and Colonization Co. (ISECCo)
P.O. Box 60885
Fairbanks, AK 99706
(907) 488-1001
https://isecco.org

p.s. please fill in the proxies at the bottom of this letter
and return them.  If you aren't an active member your
thoughts or comments will still be welcome...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Workfest Schedule:
5/19, Fri
Meet at Ray's house at 6 pm for dinner; planning session
starts at 7.
Activities: planning & scheduling.

5/20, Sat
Meet at Mars Base Zero at 10 am.
Activities: pump out the structure, clean up from the winter.

5/21, Sun
Meet at Mars Base Zero at noon.
Activities: plow.

5/22, Mon
Meet at Mars Base Zero at 10 am.
Activities: plow, plant.

5/23, Tues
Meet at Mars Base Zero at 10 am.
Activities: planting, upgrading planting boxes.

5/24, Wed
Meet at Mars Base Zero at 2 pm.
Activities: buying & planting pre-plants.

5/25, 5/26; Thurs & Fri
Meeting at Mars Base Zero at 10 am.
Activities: To be determined; if all planting is done we'll
work on the structure.

5/27, Saturday
Meeting at Mars Base Zero at 11 am.
Activities: Water system hookup.

5/28, Sunday
Meeting 1: at Mars Base Zero at noon.
Activities: Cleanup.
Meeting 2: Dinner at Ray's house at 6, Meeting at 7 pm.
Activities: ISECCo Meeting of Members!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  

At our Meeting of Members we need to elect officials and
review expiring bylaw articles.  We will also discuss future
directions, especially as our lease on the Mars Base Zero
property will be expiring in 2010.  I realize this sounds
like a long way off, but building an ecosystem takes many
years and if we choose to move on from Mars Base Zero it
might be wise to at least begin thinking about it now. 
Another possibility is to see if the lease on the property
might be renewable.

Although all are welcome to attend the Meeting of Members,
only active members are elegible to vote.  An active member
is defined as anyone who either did work or donated money to
ISECCo since the last Meeting of Members.  If you are an
active member but will not be able to attend the meeting,
please email us your proxy (vote) on each of the following:

Officials (see https://isecco.org/office/official.html):
Vice President (Currently Kraig):
Kraig Smyth has been associated with ISECCo for more than 10
years.  It is his land that Mars Base Zero is located on,
and he has provided use of the land for more than 10 years
without charge.  His support has been key in moving our
projects forward.
Vote for Kraig:____
Fill in other candidate:_____

General Secretary (Currently Ruth): 
Ruth Freeburg has been our General Secretary for 2 years
now, and has generously consented to continuing.
Vote for Ruth:_____
Fill in other candidate:______

Directors:
We have two Director positions up for election this year;
Debi-Lee is stepping down and Kraig Smyth is her replacement
nominee:
Vote for Kraig:____
Fill in other candidate:_____

Ray Collins has been President of ISECCo since it's
inception in 1988.  He has also been Director about half the
time.  His term is up this year, but he has offered to
continue to serve:
Vote for Ray:_____
Fill in other candidate:_____

Expiring articles (see https://isecco.org/office/bylaws.html
for the new; the old is at
https://isecco.org/office/bylaws.051506.html):
ISECCo has a sunset provision in our Bylaws to assure they
get reviewed on a regular basis.  This year we have 3 bylaws
that need to be reviewed; the Board of Directors has
approved them as written:

Article I
No changes to this article, with the exception of the
addition of the reviewed this year sentence:
The principal office of the Corporation in the State of
Alaska shall be located in the City of North Pole. Article I
is included in these bylaws at the time of their creation on
3/1/88. Article I was reviewed by the Directors and at the
Meeting of Members on January 20, 1996 and it was approved
as written.  This article was reviewed during the May 2006
Workfest by the Board of Directors and the Members, and
approved as written.

Vote to Accept as written:_________
Vote to Reject or modify (please include
modifications):__________

  * * *

Article VI: Officers

   1. The officers of the Corporation shall be a President,
a Vice-President, a General Secretary, an Organizational
Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other officers as may be
elected by the Board of Directors or assigned by the President.
   2. The President is appointed by the Board of Directors
and is delegated to run the day-to-day business of the
Corporation. The term of the President is unlimited.
   3. The officers, excluding President, of the Corporation
are appointed by the President and ratified either by the
Board of Directors or the members in a majority vote of 50%
or more of the voting members. Should the appointed official
fail to be ratified by either the Board of Directors or the
voting members a new officer must be appointed. The term of
these officers shall be two years.
   4. A President can be dismissed for cause by the Board of
Directors.
   5. Any Officer or Director may be removed from office by
a majority vote of at least 50% of the voting members. A
notice of no confidence is declared by a written submission
calling for removal of said official. If this notice is
signed by 10% or more of the voting members a special
election must be called to vote on removal of said Officer
or Director within 60 days of receipt of said notice.
   6. The President shall preside at all meetings of Members
and of the Board, shall be the chief executive officer of
the Corporation, and shall generally supervise and manage
the affairs of the Corporation. The President shall make
reports to the Directors and Members and perform all such
other duties as are incident to this office or are properly
required of him by the Board of Directors.
   7. The Vice-President shall perform all such duties as
may be properly required of the Vice-President by the
President or the Board of Directors, and in the absence or
inability of the President, shall exercise all the powers of
President.
   8. The General Secretary shall be responsible for general
research, keeping membership files updated and have charge
of the corporate books and perform such other duties as are
incident to the office, or are properly required of the
General Secretary by the President or the Board of Directors.
   9. The Organization Secretary shall keep the minutes of
the meetings of the Directors and Members, shall make such
reports and perform such other duties as are incident to the
office, or are properly required by the President or the
Board of Directors.
  10. The Treasurer shall have custody of all moneys and
securities of the Corporation, and shall keep regular books
of account. The Treasurer shall be in charge of maintaining
the records of the donations granted for any purpose. The
Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the Corporation as may
be ordered by the President or the Board of Directors, and
shall render an account of all his transactions as
Treasurer, and of the financial condition of the
Corporation, and shall perform all duties incident to the
office or that are properly required by the President or the
Board of Directors.
  11. The Officers and Directors of this Corporation shall
serve without salary. 

Article VI is included in these bylaws at the time of their
creation on 3/1/88; further clarification is added on
January 27, 1989. This article reviewed in the Meeting of
Members on 1/20/96 and gender specific phrases were removed.
 This article was reviewed during the May 2006 Workfest by
the Board of Directors and the Members, and approved as written.

Vote to Accept as written:_________
Vote to Reject or modify (please include
modifications):__________

  * * *

Article XI: Indemnification
No changes to this article, with the exception of the
addition of the reviewed this year sentence:

Every person who is or shall be or shall have been a
director or officer of the Corporation and his personal
representative shall be indemnified by the Corporation
against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by or
imposed upon him in connection with or resulting from any
action, suit or proceeding to which he may be made a party
by reason of his being or having been a Director or officer
of the Corporation or of any subsidiary or affiliate
thereof, except in relation to such matters as to which he
shall finally be adjudicated in such action, suit or
proceeding to have acted in bad faith and to have been
liable by reason of willful misconduct in the performance of
his duty as such Director or officer. "Costs and expenses"
shall include, but without limiting the generality there-of,
attorney's fees, damages and reasonable amounts of paid in
settlement. Article XI is included in these bylaws at the
time of their creation on 3/1/88. Article I was reviewed by
the Directors and at the Meeting of Members on January 20,
1996 and it was approved as written.  This article was
reviewed during the May 2006 Workfest by the Board of
Directors and the Members, and approved as written.

Vote to Accept as written:_________
Vote to Reject or modify (please include
modifications):__________

















Through dirt, through the stars!

Ray::President, ISECCo

ISECCo
PO Box 60885
Fairbanks, AK 99706

(907)488-1001
https://isecco.org

email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2005