The 2008 AANR-NW Fall Regional Board meeting weekend is October 3 through 5 at Lake Bronson club near Sultan. Washington.

Any AANR-NW member interested in observing the region at work may attend. For weekend information and the agenda, contact me at president@aanr-nw.org .

If you have been an AANR member for over one year, you are eligible to purchase AANR Lifetime membership.

The window is closing on the cost of $500 per individual Lifetime (or Elite Life if you already are a life member) membership.

Due to the recent membership vote, the cost will go to $700 effective October 1. Contact your club Certifying Officer (or AANR if you are an AANR associate member) to pay and lock in these rates.

Mike Parker
AANR-NW President

Calendar

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
Clubs Report on Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

Last week we held those clubs in Texas and Louisiana close in our thoughts
as Hurricane Ike made landfall. Printed below is information about our
clubs from AANR-Southwest President Lucy Hide.

Fortunately, the damage to our regional clubs was minimal: Emerald Lake Resort suffered the most damage, with downed fences, six trees lost, no power/water, and roof leaks in the clubhouse. Twelve brave souls rode out the storm in the clubhouse, so they were on hand to immediately do what they could to mitigate damage when rainwater started dripping into the clubhouse. Natural Horisun suffered no structural damage, just one limb came through the roof of a trailer cover. The remainder of damage was many limbs and
tree debris on the grounds. Lone Star Resort was also without power and had several trees “topped” by the winds. Castaways Travel had no power earlier in the week. Members of the Healthy Hides of Houston and Gulf Coast Nudist Yacht Club are still assessing damage to their personal homes, and we all wish them well. Star Ranch, Ponderosa Resort, Gulf Haven, and The Point (formerly BB’s Hideaway) all fared well with no significant damage. We can all count our blessings in this regard. Our members who lived in the areas
that received storm damage are working to recover from fallen trees, water damage, and the inconveniences brought on by this disaster.

Whenever bad things such as this storm occur, it is always good to see how our members pull together to help others. Members at NHI took food and water to those in need in Houston; Emerald Lake members pitched in to share food and other necessities while waiting for power to be restored. Members
at the affected clubs looked after their neighbors’ possessions, securing deck furniture and other items prior to the storm’s arrival. Once the storm passed, everyone on site got busy helping pick up debris and setting things right. It is really heartwarming to watch our members come together as a “community.” Club owners outside the area called the affected clubs, inquiring about damage and offering to come help clean up if need be. This is the sort of response we know we can count on from all our members and
what makes it so nice to be a part of the AANR extended family!

AANR Helping Members

This week our office responded to calls from a member in the Pacific
Northwest with a cantankerous neighbor making things difficult. Events have
escalated to the point of the neighbor occasionally even trespassing onto
the member’s acreage. We provided guidance and are in the process of
assisting the member with finding an attorney to whom we can refer him for
assistance.

Our office also answered questions for another member about nudism and child
custody.

NANETTE WICKERSHAM, MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT

There has been a lot of confusion since the latest e-mail sent regarding the
AANR dues increase.

To simplify matters, as of October 1st, 2008, the Basic membership will go
up $5.00 per person. Currently, the AANR portion of the dues submitted are
$25.00 for an individual and $42.50 for a dual. The new rates for the AANR
portion of dues submitted will be $30.00 for an individual and $52.50 for a
dual. Please Note: you must still remit your Region dues as well.

Below is a chart that reflects the total dues (AANR and Region) to be
collected and remitted after October 1st, based on the Region in which your
club is located.

DUES INCREASE AS OF OCTOBER 1st, 2008

Individual Dual

AANR-E $40.00 $72.50
AANR-FL $38.00 $68.50
AANR-MW $42.00 $76.50
AANR-NW $42.00 $76.50
AANR-SW $40.00 $72.50
AANR-W $38.00 $68.50
AANR-WC $41.00 $74.50

As a reminder, the Life Membership will go up to $700 per person and the
Elite Life Membership will go up to $1400.00. Again, the Region Life dues
must accompany these memberships when submitted.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 800/879-6833 or
membership2@aanr.com.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator

Positive Publicity

Here is a great interview regarding Sky Farm:

> http://tinyurl.com/SkyFarmVideo

Florida State University did an article regarding Tallahassee Naturally.

>
http://media.www.fsunews.com/media/storage/paper920/news/2008/09/11/ArtsLife/Closer.To.Nature-3424344.shtml?refsource=collegeheadlines

Steve and I had an interview with ESPN Magazine this week, but there is no
print date yet.

Linda Berry, Director of Publications

The Bulletin

The October issue went to the printer on Tuesday, and November is in
production.

New Opportunity

For the first time, banner advertising space is available on the cover of
The Bulletin. It will be publicized in the October issue. Contact Martha
Young at > bulletinads@aanr.com or
800/879-6833, ext. 228 for details.

Miscellaneous Projects

Erich has been teaching the publications department the language codes for
the product section of our Web site.

Out of Office

I’ll be out of the office Monday-Wednesday of next week, but Martha and Lynn
will both be available.

Terry Justice, Club/Member Liaison

BB’s Hideaway has been leased to new owners Sherral and George Miller. They
have changed the name of the resort to The Point. They are still a 100%
club.

Phone numbers remain the same.

Address: 503 Private Road 7363 (note new street number)
Wills Point, TX 75169
E-mail: thepoint75169@aol.com

New e-mail addresses for AANR-East are all
in the format username {at} aanr-east.org :

Susan Weaver president {at} aanr-eat.org
Jim Lane vicepresident
Mary Williamson secretarytreasurer
Audrey Weber membertrustee
John Andersen directorjandersen
James Corsentino directorjcorsentino
Barry Murphy directorbmurphy
Steven Stoller directorsstoller
Barry Talmage directorbtalmage
Tim Thomsen directortthomsen
Gloria Waryas directorgwaryas
Bob Pelc rovingambassadorbpelc
Pam Pelc rovingambassadorppelc

Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs

REQUEST: Print the following in your Club Newsletter or send to your members
in your E-News, when timely and appropriate. We want the members to know
what GAT does for them!

AANR’s Membership in American Recreation Coalition - Urgent Call for Club
Events in October and November 2008

Reported by John Hunter, AANR GA, Washington, D.C.

For your information. If you have any event to submit, just follow the
instructions. Feel free to pass this along to others who might be
interested.

John Hunter

“As a way to encourage participation in the November 2008 elections by
America’s recreationists and to provide forums for discussion of issues
important to recreationists, the American Recreation Coalition is developing
a database of widely-attended events which will occur in October and early
November 2008. The database will be made available to all candidates for
federal and state office on a non-partisan basis.

“Your help in developing this database is crucial. Please fill out and
return the attached form, Survey of 2008 Fall Events, for each event you
feel should be in the database. We are looking for events like
boat/RV/sports shows, fairs, large club gatherings and more. Of special
interest are events in the following states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, Washington,
New Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
Montana, and Missouri.

“We need your help as soon as possible. Please have your forms back to us by
Monday, September 22. When you are finished completing the form, click
Submit Form to return it. You may print out copies for your own use, as
well. Thanks.”

Derrick A. Crandall, President
American Recreation Coalition

www.funoutdoors.com >

If you have questions or comments, please contact Debra Sue Stevens at
debra_sue@mindspring.com.

National Coastal Cleanup Day - Saturday, September 20

There are a multitude of volunteer opportunities at beaches nationwide this
coming Saturday. Do a Google search and find out what opportunities are
near where you work and play. Make a statement that you support AANR in
protecting and promoting our precious public lands. Cleanup opportunities
are usually clothed.

For example, visit the Ocean Conservancy Web site at
www.oceanconservancy.org > . The
Conservancy’s mission is: “.promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems
and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life. Through
research, education, and science-based advocacy, Ocean Conservancy informs,
inspires, and empowers people to speak and act on behalf of the oceans. In
all its work, Ocean Conservancy strives to be the world’s foremost advocate
for the oceans.”

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
Our Prayers Are With Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana as Hurricane Ike Approaches

Ike is presently a category 2 storm that may intensify to category 3 before it makes landfall on the Texas coast some time around midnight. According to reports, bands of rain and wind have stretched as far as 150 miles in either direction of the storm so, depending on where it ultimately hits, it could impact Louisiana and Arkansas as well.

We are holding our members and our clubs closely in our thoughts and prayers this morning. The crowded roads and limits on available fuel, coupled with uncertainty about Ike’s path, make it difficult to decide whether to leave or stay put and brace for the storm.

We ask our clubs in the path of the storm to give us a call on Monday, if possible, and let us know how you and your members are doing.

Pasco Sheriff Explains Comments in Media

You will recall that in a previous weekly report we included copy of a letter I sent to Sheriff Robert White over comments he allegedly made to the press during a political debate which linked “nudist colonies” with crime and prostitution. This week I received a signed letter of explanation in which he apologized for comments that had been reported out of context. As he further explained, his comments were meant to demonstrate that the county is not “ultra conservative” for purposes of applying laws that require conduct offensive to contemporary community standards. He has also agreed to a meeting with representatives of AANR and me in the future.

Advocacy - Representing the Rights of Nudist Grandparents and Parents

Speaking of Pasco, this week Carolyn Hawkins, Steve Vickers, and my daughter Madeline joined me in traveling there to attend a legal hearing on behalf of a member who lives in Lake Como club.Florida’s Division of Children and Family refused to allow this member any visitation with her two granddaughters if the visits would take place at the club.

I represented the member as her pro bono attorney when the matter was taken before a Sixth Circuit judge. We prepared and filed a number of legal papers with the court including a Petition for Grandparents’ Visitation and a memorandum of law in support of that petition. During the hearing, we were allowed only a minimal opportunity to speak.

There is some good news to report from the hearing, albeit not much. For one thing, it’s clear that the member/grandmother will be allowed unsupervised visits of up to a weekend in length, as long as those visits take place off club grounds. For another, the judge made it clear that when the girls’ mother, who lost custody of the girls over some criminal problems, regains custody she is free to bring them to Lake Como.

However, the judge adamantly refused to allow visits to Lake Como as long as the girls can be considered to be in the custody of the state. The judge noted that the state does not customarily like children to be placed in settings with multiple common areas (i.e. any mobile home park??) where they may encounter strangers. NAKED strangers? That’s even more problematical said the judge.

It was difficult to get many words in and our attempts to put on live witness testimony from Carolyn about her grandson Steve growing up in a nudist club (as well as my daughter’s positive experiences visiting Como) were rebuffed.

We applaud this grandmother, who has offered her granddaughters a wholesome place to visit ever since they were born, for pressing for her rights. And we appreciated the opportunity to represent her. A brief story in the St. Petersburg Times which relays accurate facts about the case is available here: http://www.tampabay.com/news/briefs/article807031.ece

This case serves as a reminder of why there MUST be organized, professional advocacy for nude recreation such as AANR provides. We happened to have knowledge that among the staff and persons assembled in the courtroom that morning, there were people who have visited, belong, or have relatives who belong to Pasco nudist clubs. But they were not in the position to speak up for nudism or this grandmother.

Our office received other calls from concerned members this week who needed AANR to help speak up for them:

In South Dakota-a father who has been a member of the Association must answer questions for investigators after his 15-year-old son let it slip to a school counselor that the family goes to nudist parks and is occasionally nude at home.

Elsewhere in Florida-a father with custody of his 17-year-old son has been served with a petition to modify custody brought by his ex-wife who claims that nudism is inconsistent with the son’s religious upbringing.

Michigan-a father and family has sought our assistance with materials to help educate an ex-spouse about nude recreation so that they can diffuse her objections to visits to area clubs before those objections grow into a legal problem.

Congratulations To Two AANR Clubs

Congratulations are in order for Solair Recreation League of Woodstock, Connecticut, and to PSHS of Mohnton, Pennsylvania, for stories about their clubs which ran in the media over the past week. Numerous members of these clubs agreed to be interviewed and did a great job of portraying nude recreation as fun, relaxing, and worth giving a try for readers who might consider giving it a try.

You can find links to both pieces in the section by Carolyn Hawkins, below. Great job, clubs!

Minutes Online

Thanks to Sharon McLeod’s fast and efficient work, the minutes from the AANR annual meeting and board meeting have been distributed to the board. They can be viewed online in the download zone of both Member Benefits and Club Services sections of www.aanr.com.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator
Positive Publicity

Check out the positive link below regarding PSHS “Camp near Reading barely a refuge for ‘naturists’ ” http://www.enquirerherald.com/365/story/313928.html

Link below talks about Solair “Members at Woodstock Nudist Camp Attempt to Debunk Myths” http://www.nbc30.com/news/17407122/detail.html

Linda Berry, Director of Publications
The Bulletin

The October issue will go to the printer on Tuesday of next week.

The E-Bulletin

E-Bulletin subscribers read: Shoppers at shopping malls in 24 U.S. cities were greeted by employees wearing nothing but black aprons with “Ask Me Why I’m Naked” printed in large white letters. You, too, can read the entertaining stories every two weeks. Sign up now at www.aanr.com for this free online publication.

Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs

REQUEST: Print the following in your Club Newsletter or send to your members in your E-News. We want the members to know what GAT does for them!

The Cape Cod Beach Coalition Mid-Summer Report (07/23/2008)

Reported by Bill Falconer, AANR East Public Lands Volunteer Ludlow, MA 01056 Phone/fax 413-583-6877 mrcapp@netzero.net

This midsummer report finds beach activities to be normal with no unusual complaints. CCNS Rangers are spread thin but still conduct weekly routine patrols. I have interacted with several and have had no reported problems but verbal warnings have been given. Granted I’m not there all the time nor have I talked with all the Rangers. The following beaches were visited on a number of occasions, talking with beach users.

• Race Point - Mostly textile with remote nude use.
• Hatch’s Harbor - Mostly textile and fishermen with remote nude use.
• Herring Cove North - Mostly textile and fishermen.
• Herring Cove South - Gay and topless nude use, some sexual activity.
• Provincetown - Mostly textile with some topless.
• Head of the Meadow - Mostly textile with remote nude use.
• Longnook - Main beach textile, nude use to the east. Shades of the past. A mounted horse on Longnook brought back a time when rangers patrolled on horse three decades ago. The Longnook beach has suffered serious erosion and the textiles have moved east. The nude section has moved considerably and there is a large unused zone.

This year the Cape population is down with vacancies at many B&B’s during the week. Weekends still find the bike racks filled for the walk into Herring Cove South. Less users may mean less tickets and warnings. Attempts to meet with the editors of the P-Town Banner and Cape Cod Times resulted only with phone calls. Each would consider publicity for the next Clean-up.

THINK SUN!! Bill Falconer AANR GAT Fact

Thanks to AANR dues paying members and club owners, AANR is working on public lands with your help. Yes, all clubs and AANR participating businesses are important to AANR, and supporting nude recreation on public lands is essential to our movement.