Directors of Heinlein Prize Trust have $weet gig

Last December, I posted the compensation figures for the top-paid employee at each of four national professional writer associations: SFWA, Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America. In short, I concluded that the executive director of the RWA, who earned more than $100,000 in Tax Year 2007/2008, has a lovely gig!

Well, it seems that some of the directors of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust, a private foundation based in Houston that rewards accomplishments in commercial space activities, also have a sweet gig. Check out these Per Week of Work (p/w/w) numbers, all based on IRS Form 990 tax forms filed by the Trust and available for public inspection thanks to GuideStar and the Foundation Center:

Calendar Year 2003
• Art Dula, paid $35,000 for 10 hours p/w/w
• Buckner Hightower, paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w
• James M. Vaughn, Jr., paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w

Calendar Year 2004
• Art Dula, paid $95,000 for 20 hours p/w/w
• Buckner Hightower, paid $74,500 for 5 hours p/w/w
• James M. Vaughn, Jr., paid $37,000 for 5 hours p/w/w

Calendar Year 2005
• Art Dula, paid $147,000 for 20 hours p/w/w
• Buckner Hightower, paid $64,500 for 5 hours p/w/w
• James M. Vaughn, Jr., paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w

Calendar Year 2006
• Art Dula, paid $61,000 for 20 hours p/w/w
• Buckner Hightower, paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w
• James M. Vaughn, Jr., paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w

Calendar Year 2007
Neither GuideStar nor the Foundation Center has the paperwork for Calendar Year 2007.

Calendar Year 2008
• Art Dula, paid $35,000 for 20 hours p/w/w
• Buckner Hightower, paid $55,000 for 5 hours p/w/w
• James M. Vaughn, Jr., paid $35,000 for 5 hours p/w/w

Speaking of rewarding accomplishments in commercial space activities, the Heinlein Prize Trust recently announced that it has made "a secured investment in Sea Launch Company, a California based commercial launch services provider that has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization since mid-2009."