AANR Weekly Report – 8/21/2009
Erich Schuttauf, Executive Director
A Warm Thank-You
A warm thank-you is extended to Brenda and Gary Spangler and Jim Bishop and the staff and volunteers at Oaklake Trails for hosting a truly outstanding and memorable convention that was enjoyed by the AANR Board, staff, and membership. Look for convention coverage in the October issue of The Bulletin.
Attached, you will find my Executive Director’s Report that was presented at convention.
Congratulations!
On August 4, 2009, the Lake Como Co-op, Inc. property was certified by the Florida Division of Forestry as a Stewardship Forest. Lake Como is the first nudist resort in Florida to achieve this certification.
US Air has partnered with Club Orient in St. Martin. According to Club Orient, they are the first nudist resort to be a recommended resort on a major airline’s Web site.
The American Nudist Research Library has been named the Best Research Foundation in the Best of Orlando 2009 publication. The newspaper states, “…the ANRL was created to preserve the history of the social nudist movement in North America and throughout the world.”
Carolyn Hawkins, Public Relations Coordinator
Publicity
We had an interview with The Journal Record “Taking Care of Business” at convention and it has very positive quotes from Gary and Brenda Spangler, Susan Weaver, Jawn Bauer, and me. They also mentioned that the Stroud City Manager visited.
http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=101642 (you have to subscribe to open)
Brenda Spangler and I had a very positive interview with Gwen Faukner Lippert of KTOK Radio out of Oklahoma City.
FantaSeaFest Cruise, October 27-November 4, 2009
AANR will have a booth on board the cruise. If you would like your club brochures displayed, please send approximately 30 to me at the AANR office. If you will be on board, bring the brochures to the AANR table.
Link below regarding Skinny-Dip numbers
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2009/08/21/last-word-on-nudist-roommates/
Skinny-Dip link regarding Desert Sun Resort and Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs:
http://www.kpsplocal2.com/global/story.asp?s=10706960
Linda Berry, Director of Publications
The Bulletin
Where has the summer gone? We’re already working on the October issue of The Bulletin.
Cyber Bulletin
What is a man’s favorite thing to do when he’s 90 years old? Find out at http://www.aanr.com/cyber_bulletin.html.
E-Bulletin
The latest issue of the E-Bulletin went out yesterday. Not receiving the E-Bulletin? Sign up at http://www.aanr.com.
Terry Justice, Club/Member Liaison
Kona Sun Klub in Hawaii has a new web address which is:
Paradise Pines RV Park and Condo Association also has a new web address which is:
Naturist Family Network in NY has a new phone number which is:
518-698-4824 please delete 888-815-5829
Sherwood Forest in Maine needs to have the phone number 207-564-3030 deleted immediately.
Finally:
Please help me congratulate Desert Sun Resort in Palm Springs, CA, on achieving their Charter.
Well done, John and Elizabeth. This was done in almost record time. Great job.
Have a wonderful weekend, everybody.
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 Convention 2009 – Oaklake Trails
Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, and members who made our stay at Oaklake Trails Naturist Resort (www.oaklaketrails.com) such a wonderful experience. The resort is absolutely breathtaking with an abundance of open space and trails, located in the rolling hills of Oklahoma with plenty of green grass, oak groves, and all the woodland creatures who roam/fly within the park’s parameters. Everyone was so helpful and attentive to making the AANR Convention a tremendous success!
Government Affairs discussions were passionate and thoughtful. My message was that great work is being done within The Naturist Society (TNS) and AANR through their government affairs teams, respectively, the Naturist Action Committee (NAC) and our Government Affairs Team (GAT). Both teams of volunteers are working towards the preservation of nude recreation, and we all need to be mindful of this effort when communicating our opinions at the poolside and online. One attendee identifying himself as a “NACer” appreciated the urge to have all those involved and on the sidelines be respectful of the hard work being done by both organizations.
The GAT Auction was a big success again this year. Special acknowledgement is given to club Auction Coordinator Dennis Duncan for all his efforts in the months before the event through to the auction close. Dennis played a major role to ensure that every auction item was collected, logged, and safely stored. Thank you, Dennis, for making it such a smooth event from start to finish!
There were 120 Silent Auction items and six Live Auction items. The auctions brought in $8,878 in proceeds, plus $2,000 for the SMS Society fundraiser. A total of $10,878 will benefit the work of the AANR Government Affairs program. A sincere thank you to all the donors and bidders who contributed!
AANR-NW GAT Solicits Volunteers for a Fun Day at Rooster Rock Nude Beach
Save-the-Date: August 25th Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Submitted by Shirley Gauthier, Oregon State GA Coordinator
Volunteers will be joining the Rooster Rock park hosts for a fun day at the beach. This is a great opportunity to combine a fun day at the beach and support the Rooster Rock State Park staff in greeting visitors and handing out the new beach cards. The object of the beach day is to promote and raise awareness that public indecency will not be tolerated at Rooster Rock State Park. Your volunteer time can include a swim, hike, or walk around the island.
Volunteers simply greet visitors and pass out the new cards. The new cards include the Oregon Statute definition for public indecency and contact numbers for the Multnomah County Sheriff (503) 823-3333 and the Oregon State Police (800) 452-7888.
It’s easy! Just pack up your towel, sunscreen, lunch, and water and meet us at Rooster Rock State Park at the entrance to the clothing-optional beach at 10 a.m.
Remember that every person you come in contact with is a potential club, resort, and/or AANR member.
A huge thank you to the volunteers who have already contributed to the success of the beach card project!
For further information or to confirm you can volunteer, contact Shirley Gauthier at sherbog@msn.com
Assateague Island Fall Clean-up and Maryland Coastal Day
Submitted by Ray Simpson, Maryland State GA Coordinator
Advance registration is now open for volunteers to help at the Assateague Island Beach Clean-up on Saturday, September 19 and show how much we nudists care about this wonderful beach area. This is a CLOTHING REQUIRED event.
When? Saturday, September 19, 2009
Where? Assateague Island National Seashore
Assateague Island National Seashore entrance fee waived
Meet at the North Beach parking lot (first left after the entrance booth)
Clean-up begins at 9 a.m.
Beach-lovers will gather on Assateague Island to comb the beach. But they won’t be collecting seashells, or even scouting for wild ponies. These volunteers will don work gloves and set out with trash bags to clean up the coast. The event coincides with Maryland Coast Day, so volunteers at Assateague Island State Park can participate in Coast Day festivities immediately after the clean-up. Coast Day features live music, local cuisine, crafts for the kids, and lots of fun interactive exhibits.
Be sure to bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, and gloves (if desired).
To sign up and for additional information concerning this event, contact Ray Simpson at Govenmentaffairsmd@aanr-east.com or phone 301-399-9338. Please include your name, e-mail address and phone number when signing up. We will need this information to contact you in case of any last minute updates or changes.
Why Your AANR Membership Matters
Excerpt from the Executive Director’s Report presented at the AANR Convention 2009 *
AANR’s Mission…
The Association has long believed that the benchmark for evaluating whether a year has been successful is to measure activity against its mission statement. Let’s review that mission:
…to advocate for nude recreation and nudity within appropriate settings and to inform society of the benefits of such through ongoing membership growth.
Breaking the mission into smaller parts, we find the following critical passages:
Advocacy — It includes not only protecting and defending the cause of nude recreation, but also serving as its voice, the way that an attorney advocates for a client. That means being pro-active too… seeking out opportunities to leverage the relationships that our volunteers, members, and clubs have with policy makers to gain more ground.
Nude Recreation and nudity within appropriate settings — Our members enjoy nude recreation in their favorite clubs, traditional nude beaches and swimming holes, and their own backyards. As it is not possible to foster an appreciation for recreating in the nude if our culture persistently rejects nudity and the human body itself, AANR often finds itself providing the voice for sane dialog on that topic. Finally, we observe the critical distinction between places where nudity is, and is not, appropriate. At times that means stating, publicly if necessary, that there are things nudists should not do.
Informing Society — In shorthand, we call this function the Public Relations team. And in more “traditional” days public relations meant sending press releases, conducting interviews, or giving tours. However, now it’s just as common for the team to use social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube to inform. Much like military strategists use aircraft and artillery to support a good infantry, you will find a public relations thread running through most 2009 activity.
Ongoing Membership Growth — Often the very best way to explain why nude recreation is so special to an “audience” is to get them to experience it themselves. For AANR, that includes making members who over time visit nude destinations and events, and experience others vicariously in the pages of The Bulletin and the E-Bulletin. Membership growth frequently translates into growth in financial support, making it possible to do more of the important work described above.
* More excerpts to follow next week!
