Community of Reason

MEETING SUMMARIES

First Meeting - February 2000
Second Meeting - September 2000
Third Meeting - February 2001
Fourth Meeting - October 2001
Fifth Meeting - March 2002
Sixth Meeting - October 2002
Seventh Meeting - March 2003

First Meeting - February 2000

The initial founding meeting of the Coalition took place on February 25-27, 2000, in Minneapolis. Representatives from the American Humanist Association, Atheist Alliance International, and the Council for Secular Humanism were present. Four other national freethought organizations were invited, but did not attend.

I think our first meeting was a resounding success, due primarily to the good will and cooperation showed by all. We focused on what brings us together, rather than on what sets us apart. Here is a summary of the decisions made by the Coalition members.

The first project selected (PAD) was to Publicize, Attract and Defend our community. We call ourselves humanists, atheists, agnostics, rationalists, or skeptics, and we are a "community of reason" in contrast with the well-known "community of faith." The purpose of the PAD project is to let society know that a significant number of freethinkers exist in this country and to demonstrate to society that we (your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even family members) are moral and ethical people. We also saw the PAD project as a way to publicize the existence of national and local freethought organizations in order to attract new members. Each member organization agreed to create an action plan most suitable for its particular circumstances, entailing active involvement with members and local chapters, and carry it out using its own resources. All organizations agreed to a free and cooperative exchange of information about this project and to publicize within their organizations the cooperative effort of this Coalition meeting.
Coalition member organizations agreed to discuss with their Boards the possibility of a future joint national Conference in Washington, featuring prominent freethinkers and invited politicians, which we would propose that C-SPAN televise, just as they televise the Christian Coalition's Road to Victory Conference each year. That kind of publicity would be invaluable, since there are more freethinkers who have never heard of any of our groups than there are members in all of our organizations combined. The reality is that no one of our national organizations is large enough to make as significant an impact as we would like, but by working together, we would have a much better chance to effectively counter the constant political and social threats coming from the religious right.
Coalition representatives planned to meet again in Washington, DC, in September, by which time each organization would have had a chance to implement the PAD project. We hoped at that time to expand our cooperative efforts and be able to issue a joint press release.

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Second Meeting - September 2000

The second Coalition meeting took place on September 8-10, 2000, in Washington, DC. Representatives were present from AHA, AAI, and CSH, as well as observers from the American Ethical Union, Campus Freethought Alliance, North American Committee for Humanism, and Secular Student Alliance. Here is a summary of the decisions made by the Coalition members.

We formally adopted our Coalition for the Community of Reason (CCR) name, in support of the 8% to 11% of the American people who do not believe in a deity.
The CCR issued its first press release regarding Joe Lieberman's political speeches discriminating against nonbelievers. We also formed a small committee to establish a procedure for promptly issuing future press releases.
Reports on college campus activities were presented by Micah White from the Campus Freethought Alliance and by Patrick Kline from the Secular Student Alliance. Both these important and energetic organizations were then voted membership into CCR. (The other observers had been authorized by their Boards only to report CCR activities to their organizations.)
The CCR planned to continue its first project of publicizing, attracting and defending our Community of Reason. Each CCR member would offer 10% ad rebates to their local chapters that placed ads in their community publications. Each CCR member organization agreed to prepare and send sample ads to their affiliates.
We anticipated the creation of a CCR Web site, thanks to a generous offer of the Internet Infidels. The Web site would include a calendar of activities for all freethought organizations to help prevent overlapping events. We also planned to formulate and place on the Web site a set of "moral compass" talking points for our Community of Reason.
We considered working on the development of a quick-response grassroots network to respond to television programs that fail to include a non-religious or skeptical viewpoint on shows dealing with religion or paranormal subjects.
A committee was formed to begin the thoughtful, detailed discussion necessary in order to consider holding a joint national CCR conference in a future year.
A committee was established to draw up a proposed mission statement for CCR.
All CCR member organizations agreed to improve on and expand our free and cooperative exchange of information and ideas.
The next CCR meeting was scheduled for St. Louis in late February.

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Third Meeting - February 2001

CCR meeting 3 took place on February 23-25, 2001, in St. Louis. Between the prior meeting and this one, a CCR Charter was approved by email, a CCR press release opposing the nomination of John Ashcroft for Attorney General was approved and sent out, and two additional organizations (Institute for Humanist Studies and Internet Infidels) were admitted to the Coalition by emailed agreement. The meeting opened with a "prayer," attributed to Missourian Harry Truman: "It's remarkable how much can be accomplished if you don't care who gets the credit." Cooperation among representatives from the seven national member organizations then led to the following:

A recommendation to increase the amount of PAD project ad rebates above the current 10% to affiliated local groups that advertise in their communities. Given the reported effectiveness of smaller ads, organizations will consider rebating money for ads other than the model ads they have provided.
A decision on a new CCR project, in which all member organizations would promote the right to choose healthcare according to conscience, and would resist the intrusion of religious organizations in violating this prerogative. National organizations would provide some assistance to chapters having such problems in their communities (lack of access to birth control and abortion, undisclosed restrictions after Catholic-public hospital mergers, etc.).
A decision by CCR national organizations to suggest to local chapters that they ally with other like-minded organizations in their state or region in order to form a loosely organized secular council. The purpose would be to approach state officials or elected bodies in order to create a friendly relationship and target specific issues of secular-religious concern. The secular councils might also decide to work on other projects.
The announcement that the CCR Web site (www.communityofreason.org) has been constructed, which will house the Coalition charter, press releases and position papers, an events calendar for local and national groups, links to member organizations and contact information, and opportunities to support Coalition efforts.
A decision that, to attract publicity, CCR would produce and send press packets to selected religion writers/media contacts, and then follow up with phone calls.
A decision that the CCR would sponsor a joint national conference of member organizations in Washington, DC, in 2004. This meeting should expose each organization to a broad audience, including students and potential new members, and the combined nature of the conference might result in some much-needed media attention. To maximize the turnout and impact, five of the seven member organizations have agreed to refrain from holding a separate national conference that year. For the other two, AHA and CSH, approval to forgo a national conference in 2004 will be sought at their May 2001 Board meetings.
A decision that since minor expenses will be incurred in the immediate future, a CCR account would be set up at AHA so people can send donations payable to AHA and earmarked for CCR.
A plan for the next CCR meeting to be held in Washington, DC, the weekend of October 26-28 in conjunction with the 80th birthday banquet for Warren Allen Smith (author of "Who's Who in Hell?") that Margaret Downey is coordinating.

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Fourth Meeting - October 2001

The Coalition for the Community of Reason, consisting of 8 national nontheistic organizations, held its 4th meeting on the weekend of Oct. 26-28, in conjunction with the 80th birthday/banquet for Warren Allen Smith (author of Who's Who in Hell). Rob Boston, assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, also gave a workshop on publicizing CCR organization activities.

Recommendations from the meeting include the continuation of some projects already underway as well as the start of new projects.

Rebates by several organizations are still being given to local affiliated groups that advertise in their communities. Individual organizations will continue to place press releases on the CCR Web site: www.communityofreason.org. If a consensus among the members can be reached on any specific issue, the CCR will also have a joint position statement on its Web site. Some state or regional secular councils have formed coalitions in order to help secularists gain a stronger voice in their communities. A list of nontheistic organizations for each state is being compiled by CCR.

All CCR member organizations agreed to publicize the bicentennial anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's "Wall of Separation" letter of January 1, 1802. They will place information on the CCR Web site and alert their chapters about this resource. Some groups might wish to celebrate the occasion on April 13, Jefferson's birthday. Local chapters are encouraged to ask their mayors or governors to issue a related proclamation or declare a special church/state separation day.

All CCR member organizations favored allowing one official representative from each organization to attend the others' conferences without paying a fee, and to be introduced at the conference as a courtesy. ]

A committee was created to identify and recommend to the CCR Board the 10 or 12 major issues of concern. In preparation for the CCR Joint National Conference in Washington, DC, in 2004, a Conference Planning Committee and a Conference Theme Committee have been formed. Some of the ideas mentioned for a theme were:

To promote humanism to decision makers in our society and to educate them in order to affect change;
To get publicity for our movement;
To provide the attending organizations with the tools necessary to achieve these goals.

A CCR account has been set up in order to accept donations to partially defray some of the conference costs and for other CCR activities. Contributors may either send donations payable to AHA and earmarked for CCR, or donate online through The Wall of Reason project and our affiliation with PayPal.

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Fifth Meeting - March 2002

March 15-17
Atlanta Airport Marriott Hotel
Atlanta, GA

Participants:

CCR Representatives:

Edd Doerr, Tony Hileman, American Humanist Association (AHA).
Bobbie Kirkhart, Joe Zemel, Atheist Alliance Inc. (AAI)
Ed Golly, Jim Strayer, Camp Quest
Ed Buckner, Norm Allen, Council for Secular Humanism (CSH).
Debbie Goddard, Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA)
Larry Jones, Matt Cherry, Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS)
Bill Schulz, Internet Infidels
Ross Henry, David Schafer, June Schafer, North American Committee for
August Brunsman, Cliff Palmer, Secular Student Alliance (SSA)

Others:

Herb Silverman, Facilitator
Alan Levin, Webmaster
Sharon Fratepietro, Recording Secretary.

Meeting Schedule:

Friday, March 15: Dinner (7 p.m.) and informal socializing.

Saturday, March 16:

1. Call to order by Herb Silverman, Facilitator
Requests for additions to the agenda

At Tony's request, consideration that the Humanist Society of Friends be considered for membership in the CCR should be included under the agenda item "Expanding membership in the CCR."
Also at Tony's request, this item should be moved on the agenda after the item "Nature of CCR."
At Herb's request, "Future leadership of CCR" should be added after "Expanding membership in the CCR."

Recommendation for meeting procedures:
Each person should talk no more than 3 minutes maximum, unless giving a presentation on a proposed project; and let's go around the table to give each person an opportunity to speak once before anyone talks twice.

2. Self-introduction of representatives

OLD BUSINESS--Project Reports

3. Nature of CCR

All read or spoke about his or her organization's vision of what the CCR should be, followed by discussion about those statements.
August asked to add fundraising by CCR to the agenda, which was done.
Tony proposed having a straw vote by show of hands on whether each person believes the CCR is an institution in itself, or if the CCR exists only as a forum where organizations come together in loose federation to discuss common issues and identify how they can address the issues together.
Result of straw vote by individuals: Staying as formal organization=8 Informal=4

4. Expanding membership in CCR

Camp Quest was confirmed as a member by unanimous vote of organization
The Anti-Discrimination Support Network appears not to be an independent organization, and so organization representatives unanimously voted to table this application for membership.
The Humanist Society of Friends was confirmed as a member by organization representatives voting 11 in favor, 3 opposed.
After discussion about others who might be interested in joining the CCR, Herb agreed to invite the Military Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers (MAAF); Tony to invite the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ); and David, at his discretion, to invite the Huumanists (Unitarian Humanists).

5. Future leadership of CCR

Herb said that after 3 years as organizer and facilitator, he felt that CCR could more easily move forward under new leadership, and recommended IHS for this role. IHS representatives respectfully declined because of its being a member organization of CCR. Herb agreed to remain in his current position while all members look for a suitable person to fill that role in the near future.

6. Committee to identify and recommend 10 or 12 major issues for CCR

Larry will email his list of major issues to all members, who will then look for previously prepared statements on those issues and send any found to Larry.
This committee consists of Larry, Tony, Ed Buckner, Bill, Debbie and Herb.

7. Joint CCR Conference in 2004--Theme Committee Report

Larry reported that the committee approved the theme "A new secular order."
Ed Buckner said the CSH has refused to participate in the proposed conference.
Matt said he would agree to chair the proposed conference only if all CCR organizations were to participate.
Tony said that the AHA Board refused to cancel the regular AHA conference the year of the proposed CCR conference. Herb said that the AHA is on record as supporting the CCR conference. Tony said that the AHA Board has not been asked to allocate resources, so the approval is contingent on what the conference participation would involve.
Bobbie said that with the CSH pulling out, she would have to review with her Board the AAI commitment to participate, and Joe said that if it looked as though the conference would be successful, he believed the AAI Board would participate.
August said the SSA would be happy to cooperate with any organizations that would sponsor the proposed conference.
Bill said that the people on his Internet Infidels Board who originally favored the conference have left the Board, and that the current Board had not approved of the conference yet.
After much discussion about scaling down the conference and having a smaller event, it was decided to explore having a one-day symposium or conference and banquet for a total of 100 people, in Washington, DC, in 2004.
A meeting of the CCR would possibly follow the event.
Tony said he would agree to help with this project, but not "plan it or do it."
Matt will chair a committee to explore this project, and Debbie, Bill, August and Jim agreed to be on the committee.

8. CCR intra-communication: Are we informing all CCR members of organizational press releases and activities?

All organization press releases should be shared with others in the CCR by way of the CCR listserve.
Amanda is no longer able to be the CCR Web master, so Alan is filling this function with occasional help from Amanda.
Alan will collaborate with the SSA to create a calendar of secular holidays and put it on the CCR Web site.

9. Jefferson's letter celebrations

This was successful in many cases and we should look for other opportunities to do projects like this.

10. PAD reports

Only one organization has applied for funds to the AHA, but 3 or 4 have asked how the project works. The AHA grants a 50% rebate of advertising costs up to a maximum of $500.
The CSH has not publicized this project in their newsletter so far, but Ed Buckner plans to do it soon and ask future groups to put the CSH name in the ad. CSH is also developing a package of materials, including a videotape, on how to do publicity. The CSH offers a rebate of 10% and they haven't yet set a limit.
Bobbie said that the AAI project "got lost in the matching funds program-50% of a particular outreach expense up to $200." She is going to suggest that the AAI encourage advertising.
The SSA offers 50% of the advertising cost (and not just for print ads) up to $200.
Herb encouraged groups to invite their local newspaper's religion editor to speak to the groups and get to know them, which might result in some favorable newspaper publicity.

11. Free conference admission for one representative to any other CCR member organization.

The AHA has already invited all organizations to send a member without fee to the AHA conference in May.
The CSH Board refused to allow this.
The SSA has been doing this for some time.
Bobbie said that this is first year she's heard about this and it is a little late to do anything about this for the AAI conference this month. She will recommend that the AAI do something along this line, but nine comps may not be possible.

NEW BUSINESS

12. Additional cooperative efforts besides PAD?

Bill's wife has produced radio ads on CD with room for local tags and will provide the CD free to any group who requests it by sending an e-mail to bill@infidels.org. The ads might be placed as PSAs (Public Service Announcements) on local radio stations or college radio stations, or else as paid ads if local groups want to do this. For an as-yet undetermined fee between $25 - $100, Bill will have customized ads recorded with the local group's name in them. Bill will send everyone the Web address for the site where you can listen to potential ads and vote to produce the ones you prefer.

13. Certification for nontheistic lay leaders in military (HSOF or other?)

Tony said this matter will go to the Humanist Society of Friends (HSOF) in 2 months for consideration. There is a question about what kind of certification the military wants-Lay Leader or Certified Celebrant.

14. CCR brochure

Marie Castle of AAI said she'd do one by April. It would require CCR approval for use. Its purpose is in case an event might need to be publicized or someone wants information apart from the CCR Web site.

15. CCR Finances

Larry has about $960 belonging to the CCR in a PayPal account.
Tony has $700 in an AHA account earmarked for CCR. He offered donors their money back when the New York Times ad they had donated for did not run (because of disagreement by the organizations on the wording of the ad), and most wanted their money back. Tony recognizes with a letter any contribution of at least $250.
Tony said the AHA is willing to maintain the account for CCR so that donations can be tax deductible under the AHA 501(c)(3) status.
Larry will send the $960 to Tony to add to the AHA account for CCR.

16. Next CCR meeting?

In Amherst, NY, Oct. 4-6. Ed Buckner will host.
Sunday, March 17

17. Further consideration of agenda item #5--the nature of the CCR

Edwin Kagin was consulted by phone the previous evening by Ed Golly regarding the advisability of incorporating the CCR, having by-laws and officers, etc. Edwin Kagin reportedly did not believe it is necessary to incorporate the CCR and said if it were to be done, an attorney in the state where the incorporation would be on record should do it.
Bill said he has done several incorporations in Kansas without an attorney's services, and would be willing to do the incorporation of the CCR in Kansas, but he cannot promise to continue living in Kansas in future years and there must be a continuous resident agent living in the state.
Bobbi said there are probably several people in California who would be willing to serve as an agent for the CCR in the event incorporation is desired, and suggested that Stuart Bechman might be willing to serve as a secretary-treasurer should one be necessary under incorporation rules.
David moved to form a committee to find information about getting incorporation and 501(c)(3) status for the CCR, plus other options, and report back within 3 months by email to the member organizations. Larry seconded this motion. The motion passed, with one person opposed and one abstention.
The committee will consist of Bill (the chair), Bobbie, Edwin Kagin, and maybe Ed Buckner (who was not present at this session--Herb will ask him if he wants to serve). Norm will check with Joe Levee on his opinion about this.
This exploration does not obligate CCR to incorporate in the future.

18. Meeting adjournment

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Sixth Meeting - March 2002

CCR Meeting #6
October 4-6, 2002
Holiday Inn
Buffalo, NY

Participants

CCR Representatives:

Tony Hileman, Roy Speckhardt: American Humanist Association (AHA)
Bobbie Kirkhart, Joe Zemel: Atheist Alliance International (AAI)
Edwin Kagin, Helen Kagin: Camp Quest (CQ)
Debbie Goddard, DJ Grothe: Campus Freethought Alliance (CFA)
Ed Buckner,Tom Flynn, Paul Kurtz: Council for Secular Humanism (CSH)
Fred Edwords: Humanist Society of Friends
Matt Cherry, Tim Gordinier, Larry Jones: Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS)
Clark Adams, Bill Schultz: Internet Infidels (II)
David Schafer, June Schafer: North American Committee for Humanism (NACH)
August Brunsman, Jende Huang: Secular Student Alliance (SSA)

Others:

Sharon Fratepietro (Recording Secretary)
Mary Ellen Sikes (Joint Conference)
Herb Silverman (Facilitator)

Meeting Schedule

Friday, Oct. 4
Dinner (7 p.m.) and informal socializing.

Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m. – TBD and Sunday, Oct. 6, 9 a.m. - TBD

1. Call to order and opening remarks (Herb)

2. Self-introduction of representatives and others

3. Requests for additions to the agenda

Tony—Correction to minutes of CCR meeting on March 15-17, 2002. The proposed New York Times ad did not run because there were insufficient funds to pay for it, not because the organizations could not agree on the wording of the ad.

4. Free exchange of publications among member organizations (Jende)

Jende suggested that all organizations send one free copy of their publications to each of the other CCR organizations as a sign of good will
After discussion, the organizations agreed to send magazines, but not newsletters, to other organizations, either in print or electronically. When an organization has a problem with this extensive distribution, it will be done on a case by case basis.

5. HSOF Celebrant certification for members of CCR organizations (Fred)

Fred announced that the rule covering who is eligible to apply for certification as an HSOF celebrant has been liberalized. Instead of the requirement that an applicant must have been an AHA member for the prior year, or have secured a special waiver of this requirement, an applicant now need only demonstrate an understanding of and support for Humanism. One way to do this, for example, is by showing membership in any of the CCR member organizations. Once the application is made, all other rules apply: the applicant must join the AHA and maintain AHA membership while a celebrant.

6. Super-majority (2/3) of organizations voting for CCR to take positions or promote actions. (Herb)

After a discussion, Herb withdrew this motion when it was apparent it would not pass.

7. Committee report on incorporation and 501(c)3 status (Bill)

Bill reported on the requirements and procedure the CCR would follow to become incorporated and attain 501(c)3 status. The ensuing discussion revealed a lack of interest in pursuing the matter.

8. Joint CCR Symposium/Conference (Mary Ellen)

Mary Ellen described an offer by Charles Haynes of the Freedom Forum in Washington, DC, to co-sponsor a public event with the CCR to attract media attention and give voice to the non-religious community. This would occur in Washington in 2003 or 2004. The Freedom Forum would provide their convention center with TV upload links, and a budget for the event. The Freedom Forum also has contacts with the media, whom they would invite to attend, and they would not charge admission for the event.
The CCR would only need to arrange for a discounted block of rooms at a Washington hotel.
Mary Ellen would head a CCR committee to discuss specific details about the event with Charles Haynes, including format, speakers and how the topic would be framed.
Tony and Paul both objected to the CCR as an individual entity co-sponsoring the event with Freedom Forum. Their preference was for co-sponsorship among the ten individual organizations and Freedom Forum in an event that would exclude mention of the CCR. Tony said that the CCR was founded as a forum, not as an organization that does things in its own name. Paul said the CSH board had voted not to jointly sponsor events with other organizations.
Herb pointed out that if the Freedom Forum requires that the CCR sponsor the event as an umbrella organization, and any of the ten members votes against this sponsorship, then apparently CCR would not be able to accept the Freedom Forum offer. Herb suggested that the CCR might better split into two organizations, one a loose forum and the other an activist coalition.
Mary Ellen expressed concern about having to individually communicate with and work out event details that could be vetoed by any of the 10 member organizations, rather than communicate with the CCR as an umbrella group.
Bobbie moved that Mary Ellen head a committee to move forward and explore with Charles Haynes the various possibilities of having different options for sponsorship for the event. The motion passed unanimously.

9. Approval for Mynga Futrell and Paul Geisert to approach the First Amendment Center about inclusion of CCR as one of the co-sponsors for the pamphlet "Religious Liberty, Public Education, and the Future of American Democracy: A Statement of Principles." (Herb)

This motion passed unanimously.

10. Criteria for removal of CCR member organizations (Bobbie)

Bobbie offered four reasons why a member might be excluded for good cause
Discussion revealed that Roberts Rules of Order has a procedure for removing a member, and that the CCR Charter mentions that the CCR will be governed by Roberts Rules of Order.
Some speakers wanted to use a combination of Bobbie's reasons and Roberts Rules, while others did not.
A decision on the issue was deferred until a copy of Roberts Rules of Order can be produced for examination and discussion.

11. Name and Day of Annual Event (Herb)

(a) National Day of Reason or Rational Day of Thought
(b) First Thursday of May (NDP) or Second Thursday of May

The vote was to accept the National Day of Reason, on the first Thursday of May.

12. CCR finances (Tony)

AHA has $430 and the IHS has $960 donated to the CCR in the past. The AHA has an account set up for the CCR. Larry will send the $960 to Tony to put in the account.

13. CCR brochure (Bobbie)

Bobbie produced a draft brochure she had written about the CCR.
All agreed to email her with desired changes no more than 30 days from the date she emails them the original draft.
Absent any requests for changes, the draft version will apply.
Tony agreed the AHA would be responsible for printing the brochure.

14. CapWiz for relevant government issues. Donate time or money (Joe)

Joe suggested that either CCR as an umbrella group or individual groups license the software known as "CapWiz," a program that facilitates grassroots activism by allowing people to easily fax or email voter opinions to public officials. The program can also send press releases to 9,000 members of the media, and post issues to other Web sites like Yahoo-Issues. Cap-Wiz costs $6,000 per year and requires some work to monitor issues, design letters and alert voters.
Since no one was able to decide at the meeting whether or not to use the program, it was decided that anyone wanting to move forward on the issue contact Joe Zemel.

15. Godless March on Washington discussion (Herb)

Ed Buckner and Bobbie announced events sponsored by their organization that will take place on the day of the March.

16. Vote of confidence for Bill to approach Campfire USA with proposal. (Herb)

A unanimous vote that Bill should proceed with his proposal to Campfire USA.

17. Committee to identify and recommend 10 or 12 major issues for CCR (Larry)

Tim presented a descriptive list of non-theistic positions that could be used as common resource documents when CCR organizations need to quickly respond to public issues that arise frequently.
These issues could be put on the CCR Web site as the official CCR position.
Tony objected to having an official CCR position on issues.
Others wanted to make some revisions to the document.
David suggested putting it on the CCR Web site and saying it is a document created by the Institute for Humanist Studies.
Herb suggested saying that certain CCR member organizations had signed on to it.
Fred suggested using the document merely as a resource rather than one unanimously accepted by the CCR members.
It was unanimously decided that Tim should post the document on the CCR listserve, that it remain there for 30 days for comments by the members, that Tim post the updated document 30 days thereafter, and that the members should then rediscuss the use of the document.

18. Future CCR meetings:

(a) Change from twice to once a year (Ed)
(b) If we meet in spring, Missouri (Bill)

Matt moved that this discussion be deferred until a decision would be reached on agenda item #19 the following day.
The motion passed unanimously.

19. Additions to the agenda: New format for CCR vs. original purpose of CCR

Bill and Clark offered a written proposal for some members of CCR to spin off into an activist group, while others would remain as a discussion forum for member organization leaders.
Roy offered an alternative verbal proposal that the CCR keep a decentralized structure and form voluntary, temporary affinity groups among members to address specific issues.
Tony proposed replacing the charter with a statement of intent.
David made a motion that Tony and other volunteers write a statement of intent for CCR to become a leadership forum, replacing the charter with this statement. The motion was seconded.

Tony, along with August, Tom and Paul, wrote and submitted the following:

Statement of Intent of The Coalition for the Community of Reason

The Coalition for the Community of Reason (CCR) is a forum of national organizations representing and representative of the reason-based people in the United States who do no accept supernatural views of reality.

The Intent of the CCR is to come together periodically in loose confederation at national leadership summits to discuss issues of common interest and concern, and to encourage participating organizations in finding ways to address them cooperatively.

A facilitator selected by the organizations shall work with others in drawing up agendas that reflect the interests of the participating organizations, and shall preside over meetings. The facilitator with the consent of the organizations present may invite other organizations or individuals to attend future meetings.

Tony moved that the CCR member organizations accept the draft above to replace the present charter.
Matt proposed an amendment to Tony's motion that the name of the organization should be changed to one different from the CCR to reflect the change of charter. After discussion and a vote, the motion failed.
Bobbie proposed an amendment to table Tony's motion until by-laws for the CCR could be formed.
After discussion and a vote, the motion to table failed.
After discussion, Tony's motion passed.
After discussion of how often the CCR should meet, that matter was tabled.
It was agreed that the next CCR meeting would take place in Kansas City, Missouri, on the first or second weekend in March, depending on when Bill will get a speaker.
Jende made a motion to have a by-laws committee. The motion passed by a vote of 11-5. Herb appointed Edwin the chair of the by-laws committee, and Fred, Ed Buckner, DJ and Bill agreed to serve on it. The committee will report at the next CCR meeting.
Tony nominated Herb to be the next CCR meeting convener and all agreed by acclamation.
David made a motion that the CCR now regards itself as a leadership forum and authorizes Mary Ellen to deal with the Freedom Forum to set up the event discussed in agenda item #8. The motion passed unanimously.
Mary Ellen repeated her earlier expression of discomfort with the prospect of representing ten different organizations in deliberations with the Freedom Forum, instead of representing the CCR as an individual entity, as offered by her proposal.
Bobbie asked if the situation turned out that the Freedom Forum required listing the CCR as the co-sponsor, would any group veto that listing, and both Tony and Ed Buckner said their organizations (AHA and CSH) would vote no on it.
Bobbie said the new charter, absent by-laws, would rule by majority, and Edwin Kagin agreed.

Other matter:

At the request of DJ, Bill volunteered to distribute a contact list of CCR representatives.

20. Around the table for closing comments and suggestions

Time did not permit this activity.

Seventh Meeting - March 2002

CCR Meeting #7
February 28-March 2, 2003
Four Points by Sheraton, Kansas City.

Participants

Tony Hileman, Mel Lipman (AHA)
Bobbie Kirkhart, Barbara Stocker (AAI)
Edwin Kagin, Helen Kagin (CQ)
Fred Edwords (HSOF)
Matt Cherry, Tim Gordinier, Mary Ellen Sikes (IHS)
Clark Adams, Bill Schultz (II)
August Brunsman, Jende Huang, Stephanie Kirmer (SSA)
Paul Geisert, Presenter
Herb Silverman, Facilitator

A presentation by Paul Geisert was given about the new term “Bright” as referring to a “a person whose ethics and lifestance are based on a naturalistic worldview.” Edwin Kagin gave a report for the bylaws committee recommending limited rules and regulation.

Individual organization reports were given by Tony Hileman for the AHA, Bobbie Kirkhart for AAI, Edwin Kagin for Camp Quest, Fred Edwords for the Humanist Society of Friends, Matt Cherry for IHS, Bill Schultz for II, and August Brunsman for the SSA. Each discussed their organizations’ activities since the October meeting.

The National Day of Reason was discussed, and a sign-up sheet was passed around so organizational representatives could sign on to a letter being sent to President Bush about the issue. General discussion topics centered around fundmentalism’s threat to American society and how it can be effectively countered by CCR member organizations.

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