Minutes of Charlotte Area Green Party - May 11, 2002

Members present: Kathryn Kuppers, Alan Burns, Harry Phillips, Richard Hornsby, Gregg Jocoy, Gray Newman, Mark Ortiz, and Kajur Washburn


• Kathryn Kuppers read minutes from the April meeting (actually held in March), her final official duty as CAGP Co-Clerk, 2001-02.
  
  
• Treasurer Mark Ortiz reported that Mark, Gregg, Alan, Chris Piegler, Kathryn, Gray, and Harry have paid party dues for the April 2002-to-March 2003 year. The party took in $43 at Earth Day activities at UNCC on April 22. Total cash reserves are $502.11; $439.11 is held in our bank account and the remainder is in cash. The $502.11 figure will shrink to $495.11 after the bank’s service charge.
  
  
• Gregg asked about the 150-person CAGP mailing list and suggested the need to contact these folks. Gray agreed to prepare for party review a letter, which would include a questionnaire, to send to this list. Gregg also suggested that we create an “ezine” with our news and then send it to Gray for distribution to this list. It was suggested that it might be best to send out a query letter with the questionnaire before including the ezine in a mailing.
  
  
• Gregg attended a May 1 Labor Day Parade meeting and reported that a parade float costs $475 and that sponsorship is $150. It was suggested that five or so of us might volunteer to be parade marshalls. We will be able to distribute Green Party views on labor issues at the parade. It was not clear whether or note we would have a table.
  
  
• Kathryn, who personed the CAGP table at Earth Day addressed our need to have literature available at next year’s event. We should consider in the future having some 20 Greens at our Earth Day table to educate folks to issues impacting the local environment.
  
  
• Alan reported on the Chapel Hill convention and noted that the North Carolina Green Party’s affiliation with the Green Party of the United States was endorsed. GPUS now has our paperwork and it is being processed.
  
  
• An amendment to By-Law #10 was ratified. The amendment states that in case CACP dissolves our money will be sent to GPUS.
  
  
• Gray had several announcements. First, none of us can have “charlottegreens.org” as part of an email address. Second, we can help with Habitat for Humanity projects simply by contacting them. Third, our party is officially registered now with two campaigns to support a death penalty moratorium. Fourth, a speaker from the Swann Fellowship (fighting to preserve integration in public schools) would be available for a Fall Lecture Series. Fifth, Gray, and maybe Gregg, will attend the GPUS Convention in July in Philadelphia.
  
  
• Our next stream clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, from 8 to 11 am. Kajur will get needed equipment and will contact the group.
  
  
• With regard to advertising CAGP, Alan shared pricing information from Contagious Graphics. He will check into smaller quantities of bumper stickers and report what he finds. Creative Loafing charges $50 a week for a back-page ad.
  
  
• Gregg volunteered to pursue free media coverage to advertise CAGP re: press releases and conferences. He’ll get a fax machine soon and be able to send press releases to local media.
  
  
• Alan will contact Chuck re: a June yard sale. We may decide to postpone the sale until August.
  
  
• The group agreed to post on our web site Alan’s letter calling for an investigation into the events of 9-11. He’ll send it to the group for editing first.
  
  
• Gray will consider running for the county’s Soil and Water Conservation position.
  
  
• Harry will call Pam Beck about speaking to us at our June meeting.
  
  
  Respectfully Submitted on May 27, 2002
  
  Harry Phillips
  Co-Clerk