This is Chapter 2 of The Universal Good Deal, you may want to start at the beginning.
2
This man, John Barrow, was the first Martian to speak with the Aliens. As I have related, he was second secretary of the American Association of Aerial Advertisers. The Association maintained its headquarters in an unimpressive office space rented from a strip mall in the Martian city of Dallas, located between a payday loans company and a Latin-themed fitness club.
The real name of this organization has come down to us in several different forms. In some accounts you will find that it was the Association of American Aerial Advertisers, while in other cases it is reported as the American Aeronautical Advertising Association. It is my opinion that the Association itself was uncertain of its name; it seems that the members were primarily concerned with the alphabetical prominence of its acronym, and could not be troubled to agree upon the name beyond its initials. This absurdity was but a single example of the host of problems the Martians created for themselves through the use of language—but now is not the time to delve into that particular folly. Barrow acknowledged the awkward fact of the Association’s obscure name by carefully rearranging the name on all official Association materials, so as not to favor any particular faction.
The Association was created by a man named John Ross in an attempt to lessen his tax bill; he thought he might illegally transfer some of his business's profits to its tax-exempt budget. Ross had traded free aerial advertising to a lawyer in exchange for a mission statement and charitable filing status for the Association.
As the founder of the organization, Ross established himself as first secretary. Beyond holding this title, Ross was rarely in the office, preferring to remain at what he referred to as his 'real job,' which was towing banners through the sky with a small airplane. And so the operations of the Association, such as they were, fell to the second secretary. It has been said that many people start life expecting to end up as a celebrity or a hero, and then spend their whole lives as minor civil servants. For Barrow, it was the reverse. He was one of those children who thought file cabinets were great fun; world domination came later.