Attendance: Doug Rawlings, Larry Gilbert, Suzanne Hedrick, Eric Herter, Seth Berner, Dan Ellis, Lynn Ellis, Richard Clement, Peter Morgan, Don Kimball, Dave Larsen, Martha Spiess, Tom Whitney, Sally Chappell, John Morris, and guest Jesus Acosta.
Moment of Inspiration – Dan played a live recording of “People Have the Power” by Patti Smith.
Don introduced Jesus Acosta of the Alliance for Peace and Equity in Jackson,Mississippi who briefed us on the water crisis in Jackson and the lack of assistance from Federal and State agencies. Jackson water is not potable which means it must be trucked in at considerable cost to the city. There is a dire need for donations to help provide this water and this can be done by going to www.iajems.org/emergency-fund. Don suggested a donation of $100 from the chapter and it was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously to do that.
Secretary’s Report – August minutes accepted as written.
Treasurer’s Report – Lynn is now officially our Treasurer. She has agreed to serve through the end of 2023. Thank you Lynn/
Current totals are: Savings – $4,933.29 of which $4,300 has already been designated for the Rob Shetterly project. Checking – $4,024.49.
T-Shirts – They won’t be available until sometime in November. Doug has ordered forty eight shirts, thirty of which have been requested by members. The cost will be $20 per shirt. Doug brought up the possibility of distributing them at an in-person meeting instead of mailing them out. Left over shirts could possibly be given to honorary members of the chapter. Doug will take orders for the shirts.
Common Ground Fair – no VFP table this year due to lack of staffing but we do plan to have one next year. Martha had a Peace Action Maine table and was ably assisted by Peter on Sunday.
Rob Shetterly Project – Doug reported that the organizers have only requested $1000 to pay for speakers costs for the November 5 conference. The conference is for teachers to view the film and workshops will be held to explore ways to use it in the schools that will be selected (10 schools) to show it. It is possible that not all of the $4300 we have agreed to provide will be needed for the project but just how much is not known at this time.
Fitzgerald Awards Dinner – November 17th in Portland or maybe virtual,according to Lynn. She will keep us informed as to exact time and location. We will pay $750 for seven tickets and Doug, Peter, Dan, and Seth have said they will attend. Three more are available but if not used, Peter suggested they might be given to Moms Demand Action.
Golden Rule – Peter reported that the boat is now somewhere on the Mississippi River and that a link to its location at any time can be found by going to our Facebook page. He is acting as our unofficial liaison with the GR people but would like to have some help from some of our members for the work.Anyone interested in being a crew member when the boat comes to Maine next summer can sign up on www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org.
Armistice Day – tentative plans are to gather in Monument Square in Portland on November 11 as we have done in past years.
BIW Vigil – October 1 from 11:30 to 12:30 to protest (as usual) U S militarism and weapons proliferation.
Formal meeting ended at 8:10 pm followed by a wide ranging discussion on various topics of interest including Eric’s upcoming trip to Vietnam to finish his film which will feature interviews with Vietnamese survivors of the war.He is awaiting issuance of his visa.
October meeting will be on 10/27 on Zoom.
