October 31, 2008

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
AANR Visiting I-75 Welcome Center

Today my wife, Georgie, and I will be staffing a welcome center open house along the Florida-Georgia border on Interstate 75 on behalf of AANR.  The Association is a participating partner with Visit Florida, which is the state’s official tourism agency (formerly known as the Department of Commerce)

At the open house we will staff a table and distribute giveaways such as emery boards and literature about nude recreation and AANR clubs. We will be alongside such major industry types as SeaWorld, Disney World, and Universal Studios.  The recognition AANR receives as being a legitimate part of the mainstream tourist business here is just as valuable as the opportunities we have to encourage visitor traffic to Florida and Georgia clubs.

On my return I will write up any memorable anecdotes and lessons from this event.

AANR Survey Update

We’re very pleased to report that the survey mentioned during last week’s report has had a very positive response.  To date about 1,000 members have responded to their e-mails, with evaluations on such topics as the most important service that AANR provides, to ideas for improving The Bulletin. As soon as all results have come in and been reviewed by the brand management committee we will report the findings.

Election Day Reminder

Whichever side of the political aisle that you or your members may be on, there are a few things about next Tuesday’s Election Day that are undeniable.

First, there’s no question that it will be an historic event as either the first African American is elected to the nation’s top office, or the first woman is elected to the Vice Presidency.

Second, there is little doubt that the choices made will impact the direction of the nation’s economy, which is already facing challenges.  Because events at the federal level have a way of impacting local politics as well, the election is sure to have some impact on the future of nude recreation, although it may be too early to tell what that will be.

Please be sure to have your voice heard and vote.

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 GAT Visits Sacramento, CA – October 2008

Attending a meeting with the California Parks Department representatives, including Southern Division Chief Tony Perez, were:

Erich Schuttauf – AANR Executive Director
Alonzo Stevens – AANR GA Chair
Steve Hubbard – AANR Public Lands Liaison

On Thursday evening, the above GAT advocates gathered at Laguna del Sol with AANR President
John Kinman (en route to Desert Sun Resort),  AANR-West GA Chair Don Gravalec, and Debra Sue Stevens.  The focus of the meeting with California Parks was to build a stronger relationship concerning the acceptance of nude recreation on public lands.  The results of the meeting were very positive.  Chief Perez brought the right colleagues to a two-hour meeting that resulted in future joint projects in Southern and Northern California.  Thank you for supporting nude recreation in appropriate settings. in our clubs, our homes, city, county, state and federal lands-from sea to shining sea.  Stay tuned.

California Department of Parks and Recreation manages more than 270 park units, which contain the finest and most diverse collection of natural, cultural, and recreational resources to be found within California. These treasures are as diverse as California: from the last stands of primeval redwood forests to vast expanses of fragile desert; from the lofty Sierra Nevada to the broad sandy beaches…

The Natural Choice for Huntington Beach City Council – Allen Baylis

Printed with the permission of Allen Baylis, a strong advocate for nude recreation in California.

Dear Friend:

Please support me in my run for Huntington Beach City Council. It’s time to bring intelligence, common sense, and respect for the public to our city council. We need to focus on quality of life issues such as repair and maintenance of our crumbling infrastructure, and providing open space and recreational opportunities; not social engineering. I believe that the government doesn’t have all the answers, so the public needs to be engaged to help find innovative solutions to city issues.

This is a grassroots campaign. You can help by forwarding this e-mail to all of your friends and family who live in Huntington Beach.

E-mail: rab@baylislaw.com
Office: 714-962-0915
Website  www.baylis4hbcouncil.com

VOTE on November 4th!

AANR Legislative Tracking

AANR encourages our membership to assist in the process of tracking bills and news impacting nude recreation.  Always contact the AANR Office before taking action.  This ensures that your actions are aligned with the strategy underway for any particular bill or advocacy effort.  Remember,
AANR GAT works for you!

Linda Berry, Director of Publications

The Bulletin

The December issue is in production.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator

Positive Publicity

Joe Duty with Wise County Messenger won a photography award at the AANR Convention.  Jeannie Diehl and Lucy Heide received the award and it was mentioned in the Wise County Messenger online.

Update on Bob Migliore

Bob went to the hospital for tests and came back with a clean bill of health. He’s cancer free.

News about Wayne Roberts

Past AANR-NW President and Trustee Wayne Roberts has been diagnosed with rectal cancer. He is undergoing 24-hour chemotherapy at the present time. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Terry Justice, Club/Member Liaison

There is one address change this week for North Carolina Naturists:

North Carolina Naturists
PO Box 241821
Charlotte, NC 28224-1821

Update Your Certifying Officer Information

I am asking all clubs to please update their Certifying Officer information.Please either mail or fax the updated information to my attention at the AANR office.

Happy Halloween

FROM THE AANR STAFF

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director

Last week I was traveling working on a couple of government affairs
projects.  Since my return it has been a busy week here in the AANR offices
in Kissimmee.

2009 Budget

Among the top priorities here is work on the 2009 budget for the association.  We appreciate the many committee chairs who have communicated their thoughts and requests.  And we appreciate the work that, in response to John Kinman’s request, region presidents have been doing to estimate the number of memberships we’re likely to see from those regions next year. Collectively, these help us prepare the draft that we will present to the budget committee meeting next month.

Something to think about

While we’re on the subject of budgets, this week the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Darden company, known for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants, with headquarters in central Florida, spent over $400,000 to send 61 employees for the two day annual conference of the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C.  While there, these employees approached members of Congress and their staff to discuss such issues as legislation requiring nutrition information on menus and union labor in the food service industry.  The story reported that the company had spent just over $1 million this year on D.C. efforts.

I would ask you to compare those numbers against what your association, AANR, and its regions have been able to accomplish in Washington D.C., for just a fraction of the figures reported above.

Last June, AANR and the regions sent eight volunteers and me to the nation’s capital to participate in the American Recreation Coalition’s Great Outdoors Week.  In all, our team visited over one-third of all Congressional offices, holding personal meetings with lawmakers, staff, and/or dropping off literature.  We also met with officials from numerous federal agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service.  Topics discussed included bills attempting to censor nudity, support for public lands and nudity on public lands, plus offering AANR as a future resource.  In all, it cost about $15,000 to accomplish all this.

How?  Volunteers share rooms in hotels, they share cabs to Capitol Hill, or walk when the weather allows.  They also move quickly, alternating from holding scheduled appointments and making “fly by” visits to offices located on the same floor between appointments. And they take few breaks.

Two years ago, the editors of Roll Call, the nation’s leading newspaper serving the Hill, called me to ask about the team of “lobbyists” that they had heard we’d “hired” to descend on Congress that year.  After stifling a laugh I had to explain that our “army” was made up almost entirely of volunteers.  Roll Call dedicated nearly two pages to reporting our cause. So please know that your Association entrusts the membership dues and donations that you make possible and uses them to present a credible voice for nude recreation.

Surveying Member Opinion

This week our office launched an e-mail based survey to just over 6,400 members.  The survey gauges customer opinion on a variety of subjects ranging from thoughts about The Bulletin to members’ number one suggestion for improving their Association.  Results are automatically tabulated via computer, and over 500 surveys have already been returned.

This project was made possible with great assistance from Marketing Chair Pat Brown, Trustee Sharon McLeod, and President John Kinman who helped develop the questions used. We received substantial help from Lynn Von Hagel of the Publications staff who took care of “publishing and distribution.” Most of all, our good friend and mentor, “Mr. B” who provided many hours of expert advice about applying the best methodology to improve accuracy and reliability of our survey results.  We extend our deepest thanks to them for helping us achieve what would cost thousands of dollars were an outside survey firm employed!

AANR Helping Clubs and Members

This week Steve Vickers and I prepared Claritas data on the customer base for an AANR business and are providing that data to one of AANR’s Marketing Consultant volunteers who is assisting that business.

Our office continues to communicate with a member of the Association from the Midwest who faces being denied custodial visits with her granddaughter on the basis that she and her husband are nudists, although they have not involved the granddaughter in visits to their home club since she was a baby.

We also sent a detailed package complete with marketing statistics, Claritas data, and articles from such publications as The Wall St. Journal, Forbes, and USA Today about the strong dollar value of the nudist market to the owners of a property that was once nudist, but had gone to being clothed under the new ownership.  We are hopeful that they will consider returning their business to nude recreation.

Linda Berry, Director of Publications

The Bulletin

The November issue has printed and is on its way to you.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator

Positive Publicity

Link below talks about naked travel

http://www.examiner.com/x-1132-Outdoor-Travel-Examiner~y2008m10d20-Naked-Travel-for-the-Clothing-Challenged

Steve Vickers has had five interviews with college students from the local Valencia Colleges as well as two from a California college.  One student from Valencia visited Cypress Cove Nudist Resort and Spa.

Terry Justice, Club/Member Liaison

Unfortunately, we have a club closure to report this week. Musqua Meadows of
AANR-Western Canada has closed as of October 16, 2008.

I wish all a happy and safe weekend.

Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs

AANR West Regional Newsletter

Alonzo and I have been involved with Government Affairs since the late 1990s.  AANR West is our home region and, seriously, the efforts being put forth by the clubs and members are making history.  Those AANR members enjoying nude recreation in their clubs and on public lands are saying that nudity on public lands is a big deal and a concern through their correspondences and fundraising efforts.  Contributions continue to be raised for the AANR-West Public Lands Relief Fund.  Check out the October 2008 <http://www.aanrwest.com/documents/WesternSun0810r.pdf>  Western Sun for more details.

Linda Berry, Director of Publications
The Bulletin

The November issue went to the printer on Tuesday. On Vacation I will be out of the office next week, October 20-24. Martha Young and Lynn Von Hagel will be available if there is anything you need. Lynn will send out the weekly report from my computer.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator
Positive Publicity

The link below does not mention AANR, but it mentions travel and high-end nudist travel.

http://www.examiner.com/x-865-New-York-Budget-Travel-Examiner~y2008m10d12-Un ique-Lodging-for-the-Budget-Traveler

“With travel becoming so specialized for expats seeking out vegan to nudist to high-end luxury vacations, it’s no longer necessary to book the same cookie-cutter hotel year after year.”

Check out the link below about Solair: http://www.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/video_nudist_resort_explains_way _of_life/39900/

PINKTOBER 17TH

Some of the AANR staff heard about Pinktober 17th on XL106.7 radio. They talked about everyone wearing pink on Friday 10/17/08 and to let the station know, and the company would be announced on air. They also asked for a photo to put on the radio station’s Web site. When they mentioned The American Association for Nude Recreation on the air, it was lighthearted with “they usually are nude, but today they are wearing pink.”

AANR got more mention than anyone else. We all wore our pink AANR shirts and sent a photo to the station. Watch for it at: http://www.wxxl.com/main.html If you are having an event for breast cancer awareness, please forward the information and dates. If you have already had one let me know about that also.

On The Mend

I received an e-mail from Brenda Spangler. She was in rehab for 10 days, but is home now. She said that her legs are still not that strong and she’s using a four wheel walker. Her grandson thinks it is just for him. It has a seat and he likes to ride on it. She’s getting ready to start physical therapy.

Terry Justice, Club/Member Liaison

Here are the directory changes for this week. We have two new clubs joining us:

Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers
Portland OR

This is a provisional/proprietary nonlanded club.

Southwest Naturist Network
Scottsdale, AZ
Web: www.swnn.org
E-mail: joinus@swnn.org

This is a non-landed proprietary club.

Cherokee Closed for Day Visitors

The AANR office has received a few inquiries this week pertaining to Cherokee Lodge and Resort in Tennessee. It seems that they are at the moment closed to day visitors due to unforeseen circumstances. I shall keep you posted as information comes in. Debra Sue Stevens, Government Affairs Debra Sue will have a report next week.

Hidden Spring first indoor nude recreation night on October 26 is coming soon. From 7 pm until 9 pm we will have the availability to leave our swimsuits behind and enjoy a sports pool, two hot tubs, two Sauna, and for the energetic people among us use the volleyball or racquet ball courts again. For those who like pampering our massage therapist is present again with her chair massages.

The cost for the event has remained the same and is $10 per person for AANR/TNS members when pre registering and $12 for non members. Prices at the door will be $5 higher. Pre registration will close on October 22.

For more information and details about the venue please contact Hidden Springs at hsevents@verizon.net or leave us a voice mail message at 503-841-1995.

Hope to see you all in a couple of weeks.

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
Keeping Some Good Friends in Our Thoughts and Prayers

Over the past few weeks, we have learned about several members of the AANR family who could use your prayers and good wishes as they undergo or recover from medical treatment. Bob Migliore of Canada, longtime AANR trustee and vice president, continues to recover from surgery to treat prostate cancer.
Wayne Roberts, who served many years as AANR-Northwest President and trustee for the region, was also recently diagnosed with cancer. Finally, Brenda Spangler of AANR-Southwest is recovering from back surgery. We care very much for all of them and wish them a speedy recovery.
Advocacy In Action

This week, I worked extensively with an attorney in Pennsylvania who is defending a criminal case involving nude photography. While the case does not concern a member and AANR is not inclined to become directly involved, I was able to provide case law and other written materials to help the lawyer understand the difference between mere nudity and depictions that violate legal standards.

Coming Soon To An E-Mail Box Near You

As you may know, AANR has collected a considerable list of e-mail addresses from members. In turn, many of these members have elected to receive our E-Bulletin every two weeks. In addition to distributing information, we are now seeking to hear from members on improving the Association. AANR Brand
Management Chair Pat Brown and members of her team have been working with me to develop survey questions and a distribution plan consistent with methods for scientific polling. We plan to begin surveying groups of members in the very near future and will let you know what we learn.

Linda Berry, Director of Publications

The publications department had lunch with staff writer and cartoonist Ron Warne this week while he was at a convention in Orlando. Ron is from Ontario, Canada. Ron and his partners developed the Mytrak System (known as Curves Smart) that is now in Curves locations throughout the world.

The Bulletin

We’re in the final proofing stage for the November issue.

E-Bulletin

Subcribers watched the Queen of the Road video at a nudist park. To join the fun, sign up now at www.aanr.com.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator
Positive Publicity

Check out the link below regarding Solair Recreation League:

http://www.wbir.com/print.aspx?storyid=65891

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 GAT Preparing for 2009 Legislative Session

AANR Government Affairs continues to utilize the following software to track legislation and communicate with members interested in GAT in their own backyards. The AANR Legislative Tracking Report is a result of this work. This week I have been working with our StateNet representative to ensure all accounts for the AANR GAT members are updated and proper logins are confirmed. The team will be attending an annual training later this month.

* What is StateNet? – Our StateNet ( www.statenet.com/ ) legislative tracking service continues to provide AANR and GAT with information about proposed bills and regulations in all 50 states, U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate and the District of Columbia. From quickly checking when a state legislature is in or out of session to keeping a sub-list of bills to watch. It is a powerful tool that assists in our legislative efforts.

AANR Legislative Tracking List

The number of bills we are tracking continues to decrease. Bills in the states of AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MS, NE, NM, OK, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, WA and WV have been moved to an Inactive status for one or more of the reasons:

* Enacted (the bill passed)
* Failed, but left in committee (the session has ended but the bill
could surface again)
* Failed and withdrawn from consideration
* State session has ended for this year

This Week in Session:

There is 1 State and DC in Regular Session.

OH is in Skeleton Session.

IL Special Sessions “a”-”z” are meeting in Perfunctory Session.

MA is in Informal Session.

There is 1 state in Special Session.

Statistics for This Year:

o 8 states currently have active bills that could impact nude recreation

o 2,108 bills have been reviewed personally by AANR.

o 288 bills have been reviewed in full text by AANR.

o 38 bills are on the Government Affairs “Legislative Tracking List.”

o 111 bills moved to an inactive status.

o Bills are being tracked in the states of: IL, MI, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA,
and WI. Additionally, tracking bills in the US House and Senate.

AANR encourages our membership to assist in the process of tracking bills
by:

AANR works tirelessly to compile these weekly lists and engage volunteers and lobbyists as necessary. AANR prefers to work quietly with our legislators to prevent future laws that could impact nude recreation, but we are well prepared to engage in other methods of resolution, such as: letter writing campaigns ONLY when necessary. Always contact the AANR Office before taking action. This ensures that your actions are aligned with the strategy underway for any particular bill. If you would like to request an updated report of your region or state, please send a request to debra_sue at mindspring (dot) com.

Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
Basic Media Skills – Beating the media at their own game

Your AANR Brand Management team has produced a new DVD – Basic Media Skills – Beating the media at their own game. This information will help you become an effective spokesperson and avoid the traps and pitfalls set by reporters. For those who have had some experience, this information will serve as a refresher that can help you build on your strengths and enhance your ability to plan and control media coverage.

Since 1995 AANR has aggressively sought to educate the public regarding social family nude recreation through professionally trained spokespersons placed in mainstream media by our public relations and marketing firms. As a public relations professional for over 20 years, Susan Weaver has directed the Association’s PR strategy and worked with AANR staff, volunteers and clubs to ensure that they deliver effective messages.

The result has been excellent stories in such mainstream publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time magazine, and many other media outlets.

While Susan has conducted media workshops in all seven of AANR’s regions, trained regional officers and club representatives to carry out effective interviews in their local media and has helped clubs owners and operators carry out PR crisis management to manage the message provided the media, she has not been able to reach every individual who wants to represent nude recreation.

Media interviews can be a powerful tool, for good or for bad. Media shapes public and political opinion, and one statement quoted or misquoted can make a huge difference.

For this reason, AANR has funded the preparation of this media training DVD. For those who have never taken AANR’s excellent media interview training from Susan Weaver, or for those who might like a refresher, this is a great benefit.

AANR will send your club this powerful DVD as a thank you for your support of AANR. Just respond to this message letting us know you would like a copy and provide a current contact and address where we should send your DVD.

It’s Budget Season Again

As a recent message from AANR President John Kinman notes, the staff is at work compiling figures from 2008 and, with that information, preparing a draft 2009 budget for the budget committee. We would ask that committee chairs provide us with proposals–and especially any which would substantially change their budgets from 2008 levels–to our office no later than Monday, October 6. Please e-mail your information to Cindy Horton at FinDir@aanr.com. Thank you.

AANR Helping Members and Clubs

This week AANR fielded calls and e-mails from two members concerning child custody matters. The first was from a pair of member grandparents in Illinois who may be denied visitation with their granddaughter on the basis that they belong to a nudist club even though the child has not been taken to the club and is not exposed to nudity within the home. The second issue concerns a member mom who overheard a state social worker tell another parent that “adult nudity in the presence of a child is never acceptable and would trigger an investigation.” We have emailed a response with written information and additional suggested resources.

Finally, AANR assisted two clubs this week. A club in New Mexico has used a camping area on U.S. Forest Service land without incident for several years but is now encountering challenges due to new park personnel being assigned to the area. On the West Coast, a club learned that a problem group may be planning to book an event on their grounds.

Linda Berry, Director of Publications
The Bulletin

You’ll read the “inside scoop” about Nancy, Don, Mark, Darrel, and Karri in the November Bulletin that is in production.

Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator

Positive Publicity

PR was a little slow this week, however there was a mention in ESPN Magazine http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3602871