Last update: 18-January-2010 (a)

The January 2010 Newsletter has been sent to all members with a working email address in our database. If you didn't get a copy, let the webmaster know so we can get your profile set up to receive future emails. Newsletters are emailed to any former Comsat employee (or surviving spouse) who registered as a member. Printed copies of the newsletter will be mailed on January 19 to members without a working email address in our records. But only if the member has paid dues for at least one year since joining. If you didn't get an email nor a printed copy by mail - it means we don't have a working email address nor a valid mailing address. Let the webmaster know so we can figure out what needs to be changed.

The policy is to only mail newsletters to our members who do not have an email address or internet account. This helps control one of our biggest costs, and reduces the time needed to process a mailing. A full mailing requires many hours of work. Newsletters are mailed to members who have paid dues at least once.

Each year, an update to the dues paid and dues status messages is performed. The database has been updated. You can view your status after you sign in. After you sign in - visit the "Edit my profile" link (left) - to see more detail or to update your contact information.

COMARA Group Room on Snapfish
Brent Jacocks created a group room on Snapfish for COMARA photos. The group room gives you a way to order pictures (only if you want them) and another way to view photos from events.

address: http://comarashots.snapfish.com/snapfish

The first album to be uploaded contains pictures from the First Wednesday in December Gathering at Roys Place on December 2. If you don't have one, you will need to set up a free account on Snapfish. You can opt out of the group at any time.

Click on "Roys Place 2009" to view the slideshow from Snapfish. There are thumbnails displayed in a ribbon at the bottom of the page, and controls for the speed of the show.

The pictures are also included here on the COMARA site at: social/firstwed09/picDisplay.htm

Henri Suyderhoud wrote a note saying that he enjoyed the pictures, but would like to see names of people in the pictures. If you know the names of people in any pictue and have the time, please feel free to send an email to members(at)comara.org with the picture number and the name(s) of individuals. We'll add the names to the display.

From the "Benefits Desk" - Prescription drug coverage
CALL FOR ACTION - For those currently receiving prescription drug coverage through the Lockheed Martin medical plans. Call, write or e-mail your two U.S. Senators and tell them that you support the continuation of the $600 annual tax credit per employee to employers who offer prescription drug benefits to their retirees, thereby preserving the system where some seven million retirees have their drug costs covered by private plans at lower cost to the federal government than if they were all in Medicare Plan D.

An article by Tom Scully, former COMSAT Government Affairs staffer, in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, December 4, indicates that this "subsidy" is threatened by a possible amendment to the health care reform bill in the Senate. You will recall that Lockheed Martin sends all those participating in a retiree medical plan an annual letter stating that the prescription drug coverage offered by the company provides "comparable coverage" as compared to the Medicare Plan D program. However, I am of the opinion that the Lockheed plan is substantially better than the Medicare Plan D plan, and well worth fighting for.
Read the rest of Jack Hannon's discussion in the benefits section.

See the Scully article at Wall Street Journal - Medicare Part D 'Reforms' Will Harm Seniors

2010 COMARA Strathmore Orchestra Plans: With the concurrence of the Intelsat Retirees Assn., and subject to the availability of good orchestra seats once the annual subscription drive is completed, COMARA has reserved a block of tickets for the All-Brahms concert on Saturday, March 20, 2010. The program includes

BRAHMS Hungarian Dance No. 5
BRAHMS Violin Concerto, with Chee-Yun as soloist
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

Free parking at the Grosvenor Metro Station Garage - fourth level. Tickets are $39.20, and your check must be received by February 27, 2010. See the COMARA Night at Strathmore announcement for details.

Former COMSAT Employees Taking Early Retirement from Lockheed Martin

Jack Hannon answered a question from a former COMSAT employee who wondered what benefits were available for an employee who had completed ten years of service: The COMSAT Retirement Plan, which Lockheed Martin is honoring in full, allows one who had ten years of service to take full retirement pension benefits at age 62 and early retirement at any time (the first of any month, even) after reaching age 55, subject to a reduction factor of six percent per year earlier than 62 in which you elect this.
Visit the Benefits section to read the full answer.

One feature has been added to recent Benefits section pages - members can post their thoughts for all to read. This feature will soon be added to other sections. If you have any problem with this feature, contact the webmaster.

John L. Martin Jr. Services December 14, 2009
John L Martin, Jr. Obituary

Note from Teri Martin: I am sorry to inform you of the passing of John L. Martin, Jr., November 15. He was 89. Serious medical difficulties had not set in until near the time of his death. He had still been walking in the Park twice a day and avidly watching shows about astronomy.

There will be Military Honors on Monday, December 14, 2009, at 2:30 PM at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery-Shelter #4-San Antonio. A Reception will follow immediately after at The Towers in the Club, 22nd floor.

Colin Bathgate - Nov. 28, 2009
Colin Bathgate Obituary

Colin Bathgate was head of security at Clarksburg. A celebration of Colin's life will be held at a later date. See the obituary if you want to be notified when plans are complete.

Pictures from COMARA Social now Available

Dave Reiser and Young Lee took pictures at the COMARA Social on September 20 and have shared them. We have a total of 60 pictures, and these are posted in two groups. A link at the top of each page will take you to the other set.
2009 COMARA Social Pictures Page 1 and 2009 COMARA Social Pictures Page 2

Click on any of the pictures, and the slide viewer view for pictures on that page appears in a new window. Use the "Next" and "Prev" buttons to move through the set - or the left and right arrow keys. The "View Original" button temporarily replaces the current picture with a full-size image. Type BackSpace or click the browser Back button to return to the slide viewer. The resolution of the "View Original" picture should be high enough to print a 6x4 inch picture. The pictures from Dave Reiser are 10 Mb, but were reduced to about half for quicker downloading. Contact the webmaster if you want a copy of the full resolution picture.

Thanks to Dave and Young for a great job in taking these photos.

Ancient Mariners Luncheon - December 5

A group of employees who were involved in the mobile satellite side of COMSAT's business has been holding a Holiday luncheon for the past eleven years, with spouses and guests, to eat, drink, reminisce, and get caught up on developments in each other's lives. The group, dubbed the Ancient Mariners, has always had a great time at these gatherings, and we would welcome any other former COMSAT employees who might like to join us. If you'd like more information, or would like to be included in this year's luncheon, which will take place on Saturday, December 5, you can contact Kim Baumgartner at kim.baumgartner@vizada.com Kim

First Wednesday in December at Roy's Place - December 2

Where has the time gone!!! It's that time of the year again: the Annual 1st Wednesday in December(2 December 2009) COMSAT Labs/COMSAT Old Timers Get-to-gather at Roy 's Place.
2 E. Diamond Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301-948-5548

It's a completely informal event starting around 6:30 pm. Please stake out a seat and order from that table to simplify the ordering and payment of meals. In the past, this event was for Labs employees, but now it has evolved to include all COMSAT Alumni, spouses and anyone who can spell COMSAT. So, help put the word out to other alumni and send me a short email to ronaldj@erols.com so I can get a ballpark number of attendees.

Looking forward to seeing you all there.
Ron Johnson

Officers for 2009 - 2010.

• President: Joe Pelton
• Vice President: Irv Dostis
• Secretary: Maury Mechanick
• Treasurer: Tom Kirkendall

Social and Annual Meeting Sept. 20, 2009 - The 2009 COMARA Reunion and Annual meeting was held on Sunday, September 20, 2009. Dave Reiser and Young Lee provided some pictures from the social. View them at 2009 Social Pictures

Joe Pelton, with some advice from Denis Curtin, managed to negotiate a great deal for the social. Joe's negotiating skills along with the surge in last minute reservations, allowed us to break even on the cost of the social.

Permanent Hall of Fame for Satellite Communications
From Joe Pelton

The idea that there should be a place that records the history of the the satellite industry within a permanent museum exhibit has been gestating for some two years. The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), with support from the Intelsat Retirees Association (IRA), the Satellite Users Interference Retirement Group (SUIRG), and COMARA have now signed an MOU with the National Electronics Museum (NEM) to explore how this idea might be converted from concept to an exciting reality.

The NEM is about 1 mile from the Baltimore Washington International Airport. It already has a number of interesting displays from the communications, electronics, and space fields and its Board has been very receptive to the idea. We also have pledges from various organizations of satellite artifacts and historical documents and a lot of proposals. The design study to determine how space might be reallocated and satellite displays developed will cost a few thousands of dollars. We are hoping that industry and other groups can help make this happen. There will be more details at the September 20th reception, but if you would like to assist in the planning please contact Joe Pelton (joepelton@verizon.net), Steve Teller (teller@steveteller.us), or Maury Mechanick (mmechanick@whitecase.com).

Please call Joe Pelton 703 536-6985 or contact jpelton@gwu.edu or any other member of the committee. Many thanks. Joe Pelton