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HOH is a proudly
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In 2008, if elected, I would hope to continue with the remaining items on the overall agenda originally proposed. In addition, many other new ideas and opportunities have become apparent, and I’d hope to move in those directions as well. One major item effecting my actions would be the 5-Year Plan, which is currently being crafted by the 5YP Committee as of this writing. If this document is voted in by the membership, I would plan to align our agenda with its intent. Following, I will outline proposals based on a combination of what I suspect that will entail, and my own intentions. This should hopefully give members a good idea of where we would be headed as an organization, should they choose to elect me. Of course, all of this is provisional, flexible, and open to change based on new desires of the membership and unexpected circumstances. Furthermore, should the 5YP develop in other directions than it seems to be, or if it is not voted in by the membership, this too should effect our direction.
1) CONTINUED MARKETING EFFORTS Of course, all current outreach efforts will continue. One of the nearest items will be the beginning of regular but modest ads in the university newspapers for Rice and U of H, and probably some other options. I will also be designing a new brochure entitled, "Have You Seen The New HOH?" which will focus on all the new aspects of the group and attempt to be appealing to both new eyes and those who may have known about us for some time but have not participated for some time. Our recent involvement in MySpace, Meetup.com, and Facebook seem to be going in very positive directions. I therefore plan to get us more involved with video production for our website and on YouTube. But we need to work more on inviting these folks away from their computer screens and into real-life gatherings and events so they can feel welcome as part of our community. In that regard, it would be helpful if more of our longtime members could get onto these sites so they can get to know more of us and see us discussing the events and one another’s company we’ve all come to enjoy. I will be happy to help anyone interested in doing this with which sites are involved and how to be a part of them. Another item coming very soon would be an attempt to regain lapsed participants. This will include a paper mailing sent to all of the names for which we have physical address (some 170+ addresses), inviting them back to our Gathering and other events (and will likely include the new brochure). This effort will also include a similar appeal made vie email, to the remaining people on our mailing list, for which we have only email addresses (another 60). Lastly, we will make such an appeal to the 210 friends signed up on our MySpace page, who are currently a different group of people than those on our regular roster.
2) ‘THE HUMANIST PERSPECTIVE’ RADIO PROGRAM This matter was raised and discussed
by participants at our HOH Brunch recently. It was felt that, with the Atheist
Hour having been taken off the air, we might try to get a new program
running on the radio. This time, it would be a Humanist program with a
more positive slant, and consist of a fresh group (although we’d very
much like those experienced with the Atheist Hour to serve as
advisors behind the scenes). These changes were considered to be a good
way to make the radio station consider us anew. This coming year, I would
like to organize a committee of any who volunteer (hopefully including
some of the Atheist Hour folks), to begin to (a) develop a format
for the show, (b) create some demo recordings, and once ready, (c)
approach the radio station with the proposed program.
3) ASSISTANT The name of the game has been trying to explore what options get us the biggest effects for the least money. But there is another commodity that acts as a limiting factor to what we can do, and that is time. Being employed full time, it has been a challenge to work on everything I have this year, to say the least. Even with all of the wonderful people who have taken on tasks as officers, directors, and committee members, I still find myself working almost every single day on something related to HOH, with more opportunities we could be getting to left untouched. Delegating this workflow efficiently has been one of my main items of attention. It was agreed recently in the 5YP Committee that HOH would be highly benefited by a part-time assistant. This person would be paid perhaps up to 4 hours per month, which HOH can easily afford. In that 4 hours, they would handle most of the logistical matters that consume my time, leaving me to focus on writing and design of outreach materials, and organizing our big-picture growth and development initiatives. Therefore, this intention will likely become a part of the 5-Year Plan. Consistent with that, I intend to find such a person as soon as possible.
4) LONGER TERM PLANS Consistent with the 5-year plan to be upcoming, the following is designed to (a) increasing membership and funds dramatically, followed by (b) getting a space of our own (meaning a rented space, shared with HCOF if possible):
We begin to talk about Patronage like we've talked about membership, while membership alone will be less emphasized. Patronage will automatically include membership in both AHA and HOH. Our website will still have a subtle link on the bottom of the Patron page for those who wish to become only members, without being a Patron. However, the current funds we get from membership after AHA’s cut ($15/year) is minimal - we should start to move in the direction that focuses on Patronage. For those who can't afford it, but want to be members, we'll inform them of the option to pay the much smaller annual dues and be only a member and not a Patron. Step 2: Regional Gatherings We cancel the HOH Brunch and instead begin having our Gatherings on the FIRST and THIRD Saturday of each month. The one on the third Saturday will be for all of HOH as usual. The one on the first Saturday will be a regional Gathering. There will be perhaps 3-4 of these happening simultaneously at strategically placed spots around the city of Houston (one NW at the Wirt UU, one in the Clear Lake area, one inner loop, and perhaps one SW). We'll need to get one person for each location to volunteer as "Regional Organizer" who will be responsible for running his/her local regional gathering. These organizers can form a Regional Planning Committee and come up with a program for the first Saturday. This can be the exact same program, since they will all be happening at the same time - thus, saving the trouble. The Planning Committee that currently exists will continue as it has, planning content for the Third Saturday Main Monthly Gathering for all of HOH. These regional gatherings should make it much easier for people to get to, hopefully increasing attendance. Attendees there should be encouraged to attend the larger Gathering on the third Saturday too. Step 3: Patronage Drive Once the regional gatherings are in place, we can send out paper mailings to everyone on our list we have physical addresses for (and the rest emails). We can announce the new regional gatherings for their area and ask that they become Patrons. At that point, benefiting attendees by maintaining all current programs, and asking for more Patrons should become our priority. As we gain more Patrons, we'll have more and more ability to advertise our group and do more things. It seems very possible the Women’s Club and Youth Group may breath new and diverse members and Patrons into the group as well. Step 4: Founding the Houston Humanist & Freethought Center (HHFC) There's no telling how long this will
take, but once we reach a total of 40 Patrons, we'll be taking in
$800/month, not counting other donations. At that point, we can seriously
go to HCOF prepared to rent a space with their help. This could be a space
in a strip center, amongst other sorts of stores, which is good for foot
traffic and visibility. It should have at least two rooms, one larger and
the other smaller. The larger one should be at least the size of the main
room currently being used by HCOF. Once we actually find a place and get
specific figures, we may discover that we need a few more Patrons.
Regular Activities at the HHFC building will include:
Free tutoring for neighborhood kids Free art classes Humanist Scholarship ($500 to winner of Humanist Essay contest) Humanistic Citizenship Award (annual plaque and ceremony for a person in the Houston area who has helped to further a humanistic cause)
Conclusion These may seem like ambitious steps but I believe we can achieve them if we all participate. 2007 was in many ways a transitional and preparatory year, as we went through great deal of refurbishment and reorganization. Now we will be ready to get into the real meat of some things that should have a noticeable and significant impact on our local Humanist community. None of these programs planned for 2008 would have been effective or possible without the preparations and reform we instituted in 2007. Furthermore, none of the accomplishments of 2007 could have been achieved without the logistical preparations during Tom Brucia’s presidency. It’s my hope that we can all pull through to give Houston the kind of robust, well rounded, Humanist and freethought community a city of its size deserves. Thanks for your time.
Daniel Strain
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