Minutes for the February 13, 2005 Planning Meeting for M19 Event

Submitted by Sarah Gonzales on November 14, 2005 - 4:54pm. ::

Minutes for the February 13, 2005 Planning Meeting
for PAA's Mar. 19 Event for the 2nd Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
The meeting began at 5:10 P.M. at Ninfa's on Post Oak Blvd.  Bill and Cheryl Crosier, Kathleen Kain, Charles Lindahl, Karen Williams, Randy Scott, Lee Loe, Don Cook, Jo Ann Wolf, Cary Stanford, Rochelle Brackman, and Jim & Madeleine Williams were in attendance.
Bill discussed Theresa's checklist for the event:

  • Promotion
  • Outreach
  • Media outreach
  • Event Coordinators
  • Speaker Coordinators
  • Site Coordinators
  • Stuff to Give Attendees
  • Parks/Permits
  • Educational Material

He urged PAA members not only to saturate the media but also to spread news of the event through word of mouth at churches, Democrat Clubs, mosques, etc. He also stressed that whoever is contacted should be contacted more than once over the next month. Bill suggested we call right-wing radio stations to invite listeners to attend as a way of honoring the war dead.

A major topic of discussion was the format for presenting the names of the U.S. and Iraqi victims. The following suggestions were offered:

  • distributing a picture or a slip of paper with the name of a victim to each participant
  • scrolling the names on a large screen throughout the event
  • reading the names aloud (each one punctuated by a drumbeat, perhaps)
  • announcing the names of the U.S. dead and Iraqi victims simultaneously over 5 or 6 megaphones
  • printing the names in Lee Loe's newsprint handout in a light color background ink, like a watermark
  • including the names of wounded, suicides, deserters, and conscientious objectors when presenting the names of the dead
  • starting the recitation of names on Friday and continuing for twenty-four hours as a "pre-event" to attract participants for the "main event" on Saturday
  • appointing a "names" committee to make the final decision and to find out if a permit is needed for the round-the-clock name vigil

Other topics discussed were:

  • consolidating all info_stories about soldiers and Iraqis, words to songs, etc. into one newsprint handout.
  • contacting Sheila Jackson Lee to speak. Randy Scott has agreed to do so.  Willie Simmons has not yet contacted Nabil El Obludi to speak, but he may keep trying.

The following people volunteered to act as contact persons for committees:

  • newspaper committee: Lee Loe (leeloe{at}igc{dot}org), assisted by Rochelle Brackman (rbrackman{at}aol{dot}com)
  • songs: Kathleen Kain (kkain1{at}earthlink{dot}net)
  • promotion: Rochelle Brackman (rbrackman{at}aol{dot}com)
  • candles: Madeline Williams (magicas{at}pdq{dot}net) and Rochelle Brackman (rbrackman{at}aol{dot}com)
  • names committee: Cary Stanford (carystandford6{at}ev1{dot}net) and Madeleine (magicas{at}pdq{dot}net)  (They have the list of names. They need input on the presentation of the names at the event. See above.)

The meeting adjourned at 6:30 P.M.
Minutes by Kathleen Kain, with minor additions by Bill Crosier.