DEAR FRIENDS:
This is my fourth report on progress on the COMSAT Legacy Project for those
who have donated, volunteered or, otherwise, shown an interest in the effort.
Organization
Bill Coulter continues to work with Lockheed legal staff to determine exactly
what type of not for profit structure their tax lawyers require us to assume.
I have been told that a very simple agreement will be prepared once our
status has established.
Work at Lockheed Martin
The schedule with Lockheed continues to slip as Lockheed copes with an
avalanche of paper left behind by departing LMGT staff. I expect all of the
materials that I have requested from the Bethesda location to be moved to
Clarksburg later this month. At that point, with help from volunteers, I
plan to develop a more detailed catalog of the materials. They will be kept
at Clarksburg as long as Lockheed is willing, thus postponing potential costs
for remote storage.
Display for COMARA Party
As mentioned in the last bulletin, there will be a display of COMSAT
materials at the COMARA party on March 4. In addition to the two COMSAT
banners, I plan to display an Intelsat II model, a scrapbook of early news
clippings, satellite tie tacks, COMSAT at 10, a booklet on the Bethesda
ribbon cutting, two paintings from my own collection (Inmarsat III and a
shuttle launch), an award from the Maryland legislature, and many photos.
Among the photos will be JFK signing the Act, JVC signing the Intelsat
agreement, Early Bird, the Early Bird launch, the Andover horn,
Tregaron, 2100 L Street, L'Enfant Plaza, the Labs, Intelsat VI, Roaring Creek
and photos relating to COMSAT's two EMMY awards. Thanks should be given for
the help of Dan Swearingen and his committee for the arrangements at the
Army-Navy Club and to the volunteers who helped, Bill and Linda Brobst, Peter
Jacxsens, Walt McKee, Tom Kirkendall and Ruth Berman.
Other Activities
Hale Montgomery has begun a review of videos and has arranged for conversion
of 3/4" tapes to VHS. This, hopefully, will facilitate conversion to digital
form in the future. He has also located what is now a rare commodity, a
16mm projector, which we will rent to enable us to inspect a number of COMSAT
films.
I have learned some more about the EMMY awards and the NAACP medal. The first EMMY was awarded to COMSAT and Hughes Electronics in 1966 for the introduction of live television across the Atlantic. There were two statuettes, one for each company. Siegfried Reiger and Harold Rosen accepted the awards. Harold has the Hughes statuette in his study at home but I have not yet been able to locate Reiger's. The second EMMY was awarded in 1993 for the MINI RDAT, the Rapid Deployment Earth Terminal. Accepting for COMSAT was John Morris along with awardees, Dave Reiser, Kim Kaiser and Fred Seidel. That statuette is in the hands of Lockheed.
The NAACP medal which was awarded for minority recruitment, is hanging on a sixth floor wall at Lockheed, Bethesda. I only recently discovered this display which has some 35 COMSAT mementos. I have asked Lockheed for the entire collection but have received no answer as yet.
Ed Martin
Edward J. Martin
Executive Secretary
7122 Plantation Lane
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: (301) 770-0984
Fax: (301) 881-5726
E-mail:
edmartin752@aol.com