Dallas / Ft. Worth NORML

Here are the minutes from the October monthly meeting: Please note there are a lot of volunteer opportunities available and resources needed. Please look at the end of the post for these opportunities.

Dallas/Fort Worth NORML
October General Meeting
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007

The meeting started at 4:20 p.m.

Officers in attendance:
Ryan, President
Elisabeth, Secretary
David and Ashley, Events Coordinators

Members in attendance:
Tuesday
Larry
Karen
Dan
Thao
Randy

guests:
Jean Philippe
Will

Topics:

Southern States Conference:
The idea of holding a NORML conference for the southern states, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, etc. was brought up previously by Leon, the public information officer, and ideas for the conference were discussed at the meeting.

Ryan, who recently returned from the NORML national conference in Los Angeles, suggested we mimic that conference's theme of “coming out of the closet” about marijuana use.

David suggested we also focus on the fact that marijuana smokers are active participants in politics and have voter registration cards available for participants.

Larry suggested that as well as focusing on marijuana smokers, we should also educate people about the benefits of industrial hemp [which contains no psychoactive component but is illegal under current drug laws]

David suggested a list of things we will need to decide about having a conference before it will be possible to host one:

-decide a location
-what chapters will be included
-find a sponsor to pay for expenses
-a specific schedule of events
-advertising and mass invitations
-how much to charge for admission
-movies/presentations to show
-schedule speakers
-media outlets
-other socially responsible organizations that want to be involved
-marijuana lifestyle magazines (like High Times) involvement

The suggested time to put on this conference was April 2008.

Philanthropy:
David suggested that DFW NORML appoint a philanthropy officer for matters of promoting community service activities for NORML to participate in, and Tuesday volunteered for the position.

David suggested looking into the Adopt a Highway program, and looking into the community service programs such as Circle K. http://www.circlek.org/about/

Karen suggested contacting the Dallas Greater Council to find service opportunities.

Fundraising:
Since holding a conference would require a lot more money than DFW NORML is currently working with, some ideas were put forth for fundraising.

David suggested appointing a fundraising officer, although the position was not filled at the time [and currently remains unfilled]

Tuesday suggested having a bake off and donating food to a shelter; she also suggested having an essay contest regarding some aspect of marijuana legalization, with the winner to be read at the conference.

Elisabeth talked about holding another benefit concert [such as the Reggae Madness concert we had in August], and where it might be held. Various suggestions were made that UR Moms in Denton might not make a good location anymore, as the University of North Texas chapter there was also starting to use that venue for benefit concerts.

Tuesday suggested appealing to doctors and medical associations for donations and membership, because although in Texas doctors aren't allowed to recommend medical marijuana, most are aware of the benefits and healing properties of the plant.

Raising Awareness:
Several ideas were presented about how to continue to raise awareness about NORML, specifically the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter.

Ashley suggested getting together with UNT NORML to plan a joint event; she also suggested sending a DFW representative to the UNT meetings to share information about upcoming events. She also noted that UNT NORML is having a fundraising concert in November of this year.

David noted it was recently Homecoming at UNT, and we could have a NORML table at Homecoming next year for only $160.

Will announced an event on December 2 at 1919 Hemphill, which would include a number bands and socially responsible groups, who would be given open mic time throughout the night to discuss their cause. We agreed to have a table at that event.

Karen suggested getting involved at local universities, such as the University of Texas at Arlington, SMU in Dallas and TCU in Fort Worth, and local community colleges. It was also suggested that we could advertise in campus publications.

Karen also suggested that we research the upcoming Texas constitutional amendments that will be up for voting in 2 weeks, and make that information available on our website for people to educate themselves. David noted that the more educated we are as a group about current politics and laws, the more weight we will carry when appealing to state and national representatives.

Membership:
Elisabeth announced that October 31 will be the last date for $10 memberships. Our membership drive started in the summer, and will end after that date. Of course we always welcome new members, but after that we will go back to varying price levels that start at $15.

Karen suggested giving discounts to renewing members, and discounts for people joining together, such as couples or friends.

November and December Meeting:
We rescheduled the November and December meetings to avoid the holidays for the most part. Both will be held at 4 p.m. at 1919 Hemphill on the SECOND Saturdays of the month. These dates are Saturday, November 10, and Saturday, December 8.

The meeting adjourned at 5:20

Here are the volunteer opportunities available/the help we need right now!

-Help with planning the conference (if you have any experience in this area or are willing to help, we need you!).
-Ideas for community service work; we also need someone to get in touch with a community service organization (one that was suggested at the meeting, or another one) to find out how DFW NORML could help.
-Fundraising ideas; we also need to find a music venue in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who would be willing to host a NORML event (preferably for free, or limited cost).
-We need a couple of people who want to come to the December 2 concert at 1919 Hemphill who are willing to work a NORML table (hand out information, sign people up for the email list, etc.)
-Finally, if you are a student at any university in the DFW area where NORML does not have a presence (so far the only one I know of that does have a NORML presence is UNT), we need people to volunteer to spread the word about NORML at their school.

Of course there are benefits to volunteering for DFW NORML! We will give a free membership to anyone who volunteers for TWO events. For example, if you work the NORML table on December 2 at 1919 Hemphill and commit to keeping your university's student center stocked with DFW NORML fliers and brochures, you can be a member of NORML for FREE!
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~well behaved women rarely make history~