ASSEC Quarterly Meeting Live Blog

You can watch the live stream at http://www.sprocketeers.org/live-stream/ Stream appears to be down. Apologize for the host issue.

Meeting has been called to order. Commission members are watching WAAY coverage of Smile As BIg As The Moon.

Dr. Barnhart is absent from the meeting due to a death her family.

Commission members are now viewing a 5 minute recording from 19 Kids and Counting featuring the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp. Over a 1.75 million households are expected to watch the episode featuring the family visit to Space Camp.

Weeklong programs reservations are at 333 year to date vs 127 last year. Weeklong camps are up 10.3% with 6303 reservations toward the 10,000 camper goal for 2012.

Full time equivalents from 278 in 2011 to 253 in 2012.

Merchandise sales per transaction and over all sales are up. Reason attributed include moving entrance back to old museum entrance, better merchandise and increased museum attendance.

Center celebrating flight of Friendship 7 with free admission for teachers and one guest during the upcoming weekend.

Center will be hosting a birthday party in March to celebrate Dr. Von Braun sponsored by Lockheed Martin. More information to be posted soon.

Energy trail will open on earth day on April 20, 2012 featuring hybrid cars and other renewable entry exhibits. Trail will grow with time.

Mammoths and Mastodons coming to center on Memorial Day followed by Math Alive in September 22, 2012. Center is offering special filed trip packages for school systems including one they includes overnight stay in Space Camp Habitat. After Math Alive departs in January work will begin on the Advance Technologies exhibit In the museum atrium.

Center has hosted meeting with several members of the Von Braun Astronomical Society to discuss moving their planetarium to the center. The planetarium would be retrofitted into the Spacedome IMAX. The center and VBAS will continue discussions going forward.

Several improvements have been made to the food service areas including a face lift of the public area and planned improvements for the camp cafeteria.

Center is in early discussions with California Science Center for a possible Space Camp program. Dr. Barnhart will be visiting later this week.

Center continues to work with international licensing including China and India. The commission has notified the owners of the India license that the commission has lost trust in their ability to complete the project and are now holding the within strict guidelines of the signed contract including getting current in their payments. The contract also states that the group has 5 years to open the camp. That opening deadline will be in November of 2012.
Other early discussions for potential Space Camp licensing are on going with the Kiwi Space Foundation of New Zealand.

Commission as approved minutes from annual meeting.

Registration and finance figures are being reviewed. Center is currently showing positive numbers against budgeted revenue and continues to keep under expenses under budgeted amounts. The trend results show that expense control continues to save the center considerable amounts of money. (charts will be uploaded tonight).

Commission discussing cash flow I regards to paying off the credit line over the long term as the center improves their cash flow. In the fourth and fifth amendments with First Commercial Bank will acknowledge covenant violations and the bank will waive the violations for a 2500 fee. The center will continue the step downs of the credit to 4.5 million in March followed by another step down in September. Additions step downs will occur with a maturity date of March 31, 2013.

The commission is discussing that the center is still in violation of bank covenants and the bank is aware of the situation and that the situation more than likely will continue.

Commission has approved the fourth and fifth amendments with First Commercial Bank.

Commission has approved a contracts to Foam Applications for roof repair, film and royalty fees for new IMAX movie Space Junk, K2 Communications and Math Alive exhibit.

Center working with MSFC and Alabama Department of Transportation to gain approvals to move orbiter boat tail to the center in the coming months.

USSRC Foundation has collected $616,594 in donations for the period ending January 22, 2012. $609,228 has been transferred to the center accounts.

Commission discussed various committee reports for recent months.

No old business. New business included comments from chair that a lawsuit had been filed by a former employee. The center plans to fight it “aggressively”. Meeting adjourned.