AANR Weekly Report 10-24-08
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
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.
