[meteorite-list] UAz Sothwest Meteorite Center

From: Matt Morgan <mmorgan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Jan 20 20:21:35 2006
Message-ID: <43D18C98.1020402_at_mhmeteorites.com>

Michael:
Well said. Nicely put...
Matt Morgan

Michael L Blood wrote:

  
Hi All,
      Since there seems to be some controversy over the situation,
as the sponsor of the Auction hosting lectures by the U of A Southwest
Meteorite Center I thought it appropriate to share some of my perspective
on the situation and motivation for having them as guests at the auction
center.
      There are a number of things I think are at play here and I would
like to be very candid in sharing them:
      I, too, was initially shocked to hear Marvin Killgore had been hired
to be curator of meteorites for the U of A Southwest Meteorite Center. I
had always perceived Marvin to be one of the most competitive oriented
of all the meteorite dealers I know. However, in talking with Marvin, he
had obviously "changed hats" and was clearly no longer thinking as a
dealer at all. Instead, I heard his entire focuse placed upon on the goals
of the U of A SWMC (I will leave that for Marvin to express at his lecture
introducing same at the auction. Hopefully, he will include what they
told him when he initially expressed they might want to hire someone
with a stronger academic background. I found their rationale compelling,
but I don?t want to steal any thunder from his upcoming lecture).
      I don't know how many of you know this, but Marvin is (was) the
only dealer I knew who had earned approval to classify meteorites. His
photo of all meteorite types became an instant text on meteorites.
      He told me he was out of the commercial end of the business and
Kitty would be handling any residual commercial activity related to
the remaining material held by his business. (Later, that was clarified to
mean exclusively the completion of any commercial deals initiated
prior to the time he accepted the position with the U. of A. - the room
in Tucson with be devoted to the U of A Southwest Meteorite Center,
exclusively and not to meteorite sales)
      When I mentioned earlier that Marvin was one of the most competition
oriented of all dealers, I can add to that that in all the years I had
interacted with him he was always completely honest with me - even
about his feelings of competition - he was the dealer most resentful of
my auction in Tucson, for instance, and never hesitated to tell me so.
In addition, he always treated me fairly in every deal we made, always
coming through with whatever he had agreed to do. Therefore, I had no
trouble "buying" that he was now coming from a completely different
orientation. I tend to trust people until/unless they give me a
reason not to
trust them. Marvin has never given me that reason and I have known
him a long time. Therefore, I encourage you to extend that same trust
until/unless he behaves differently. I encourage you to come and hear
what Marvin and his colleagues have to say about the U of A SMC, their
vision and goals. Judge for yourself.
     As for Mike Farmer's reaction, he should not be judged harshly
here. On the face of it, such questions about conflict of interest, etc,
are
completely natural. It must have come as a shock to hear another dealer
was taking over the care of tens of thousands of dollars of material you
had donated to an institution. It is unfortunate he did not receive this
information in a more comprehensive manor and I regret any roll I had
in contributing to the shock he must have experienced hearing about it
indirectly. There is much talk of the various sectors of the
meteorite community
being inter supportive, between scientists and dealers, collectors and
finders, etc. This support was my motivation in hosting the talks by the
U of A SMC in the hall prior to the auction. In addition, I believe it
gives
many collectors the opportunity to hear some of the scientific sides of
the meteorite equation and the opportunity to ask questions.
      Just thought it appropriate I let you all know my thinking on this.
      Best wishes, Michael
                                 

-- 
<><><><><>
Matt Morgan
Mile High Meteorites
http://www.mhmeteorites.com
http://www.mrmeteorite.com
P.O. Box 151293
Lakewood, CO 80215 USA
eBay user id: mhmeteorites

Received on Fri 20 Jan 2006 08:21:28 PM PST