karenlahey

Well, this is it – my final president’s column.

And I’m going to tell you a BIG secret.  When I’m writing this, it’s not really July.  It’s really May. J  Similar to late night talk shows, this goes to publication long before you see it.

I’m in the midst of getting ready for the season.  AANR-NW Convention is coming up and I found out today that the flyers have the wrong date.  Preparing for Northwest Folklife is challenging.  In addition to making sure we have enough volunteers, we have to make sure we know what our message will be, we need to make sure we have adequate supplies.  I spent two weeks ago cleaning up logos to put onto our new tote bags.  They came today and are spiffy.  Planning to smile for four days straight is daunting.  My face hurts just thinking about it.

But all of this is just the minutia of being president.  And I really have enjoyed it.  By the time you are reading this, we will know whether I have been elected as AANR Club Trustee.  If not, I’ll try again in two years.  If so, I look forward to serving you in a different capacity.

I want to give my sincere thanks to every person and every club that has been there supporting me.  I truly believe that the Northwest is the very greatest region in all of AANR.  We know one another and like one another and we work together in ways other regions can’t begin to understand.

Please continue to work together.  Give your support to my successor.  Regional president is not an easy job and they will need your help, just like I did.

I’ll still be around.

I want to personally thank everyone for the great response to the call for support in opposing the new rules proposed by the Oregon Department of Forestry.  Please be sure to read the GAT report to learn about its successful outcome.

It is time for AANR elections.  You will have received your ballots in this issue of the Bulletin.  Two years ago, the Northwest had the best turnout of any region in the election.   But it was just over 10%.  We can do better than this.  Voting is easy to do.  This year, there is one contested election.  And you get the opportunity to vote for two of your fellow Northwest Nudists to represent you as club trustees on the AANR board.  Theresa “T” Price and I are in the running for the two club trustees from the smallest of the clubs.   Be sure to read our statements in the voter’s guide.  Feel free to contact us if you have questions.   We really need your support.  Please take the time to vote.  Kathy Smith (AANR-NW Member Trustee), Paul Kuntzman (Secretary/Treasurer), Sharon McLeod (Vice-President), and Bev Price (President) are all running unopposed.

You may wonder why I am running for club trustee and not regional president.  It is because I can no longer be president of AANR-NW.  My four years have run out.  I have really enjoyed serving as your president.  And I will miss it.  But now it is someone else’s turn.   And it is also time for you to get involved.

Two of the AANR officers, Paul and Sharon, are both members of AANR-NW.  And two recent AANR Presidents have ties to our region, Pat Brown and John Kinman.  The Northwest is well represented on the AANR board.

But we mustn’t rest on our laurels.  AANR leaders are grown from strong regional leaders.  We NEED you to step up and get involved.  Come to our board meetings and conventions.  Our region has a director from every club.  At meetings, you have the opportunity to meet people from other clubs in the region.  We won’t make you volunteer.  And we do have a lot of fun.  At meetings, there is always entertainment, good food and much camaraderie. These meetings are always listed at aanr-nw.org and publicized in the eNews.  So just show up. If you want more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at president@aanr-nw.org.  The next meeting is our annual convention.  This year it is July 12-16 at Sun Meadow Resort (www.sunmeadows.org), where a great time is always had by all.  And, August 8-15,, the AANR convention will be at the Willamettans (www,willamettans.org).

Don’t be shy.  Your ideas, creativity, enthusiasm, skills are needed.  Please get involved.

Check out the myriad of upcoming activities.  If you don’t yet subscribe to the Northwest Nude eNews, you can join at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016.  We won’t spam you and we will guard your privacy.

When I became your president over 3 years ago, my plan was to listen to what you wanted and to respond.  During that time, I hope that you have felt that you have been heard.

However, during that time, I have also listened to myself and have learned what I believe it is important for us, as nudists, to stand for and to work for.  Because we live in a society where nudism is frequently equated with sexuality and is considered verboten, where we must be vigilant and watch for laws that would criminalize mere nudity, it is up to us to educate our fellow citizens about nudism.  My good friend Terri Capshaw, one of the owners of Sun Meadow Resort, coined the term ‘Nudity in the Community’.  I love that phrase.  The best way to teach people about nudism is to let them meet us, let them get to know what kind of people we are.  We are not scary.  We are not dangerous.  We are not threatening.  However, inviting them to coffee will probably not work really well.  So let’s get involved in our communities.  Yes, we may have to wear clothes, but we can put up with it for a few hours for the cause.

Many of our clubs are already doing it.  In one weekend in September, there were four community clean up events scheduled.  In conjunction with SOLVE and the Oregon State Parks, AANR-NW participates in several beach cleanups each year.  There was one scheduled for Sauvie Island-Collins Beach and one at Rooster Rock State Park.  On the same weekend, both LARC and Lake Bronson were out doing their Highway Cleanups. I know other clubs also are part of this program, but I’m sure if I list them, I’ll miss some of them.  A few weeks earlier, Kaniksu Ranch had  a fabulous dance which turned into a fundraiser in support of the fire fighters and their efforts.  Hundreds of dollars were raised from Kaniksu Members, prompting the band to remark that they never knew nudists had such deep pockets. These are all great ways for our communities to see nudists as being their helpful neighbors.

Most of our landed clubs are members of their Chamber of Commences.  I know some of them are very active.  Of course that gets publicity for the club out, but it also lets other business leaders get to know a nudist and therefore learn a bit about what nudism is.

We are in the gray time of the year.  But we are also coming up to a time of giving.  Perhaps your club could organize a fundraiser or a clothing or toy drive.  Or how about a blood drive.  They are always in particular need around the winter holidays.

As an individual, you have the greatest opportunity to let people meet a nudist if you are willing to let the people you know that you are a nudist.  If you want to do it in a somewhat subtle way, there are some neat buttons that say “I’m a nudist and I vote”.  Or wear your nudist t-shirts when you go out.  And then answer questions.  You will be surprised how little it really matters to other people once they know.

When I became your president over 3 years ago, my plan was to listen to what you wanted and to respond.  During that time, I hope that you have felt that you have been heard.

However, during that time, I have also listened to myself and have learned what I believe it is important for us, as nudists, to stand for and to work for.  Because we live in a society where nudism is frequently equated with sexuality and is considered verboten, where we must be vigilant and watch for laws that would criminalize mere nudity, it is up to us to educate our fellow citizens about nudism.  My good friend Terri Capshaw, one of the owners of Sun Meadow Resort, coined the term ‘Nudity in the Community’.  I love that phrase.  The best way to teach people about nudism is to let them meet us, let them get to know what kind of people we are.  We are not scary.  We are not dangerous.  We are not threatening.  However, inviting them to coffee will probably not work really well.  So let’s get involved in our communities.  Yes, we may have to wear clothes, but we can put up with it for a few hours for the cause.

Many of our clubs are already doing it.  In one weekend in September, there were four community clean up events scheduled.  In conjunction with SOLVE and the Oregon State Parks, AANR-NW participates in several beach cleanups each year.  There was one scheduled for Sauvie Island-Collins Beach and one at Rooster Rock State Park.  On the same weekend, both LARC and Lake Bronson were out doing their Highway Cleanups. I know other clubs also are part of this program, but I’m sure if I list them, I’ll miss some of them.  A few weeks earlier, Kaniksu Ranch had  a fabulous dance which turned into a fundraiser in support of the fire fighters and their efforts.  Hundreds of dollars were raised from Kaniksu Members, prompting the band to remark that they never knew nudists had such deep pockets. These are all great ways for our communities to see nudists as being their helpful neighbors.

Most of our landed clubs are members of their Chamber of Commences.  I know some of them are very active.  Of course that gets publicity for the club out, but it also lets other business leaders get to know a nudist and therefore learn a bit about what nudism is.

We are in the gray time of the year.  But we are also coming up to a time of giving.  Perhaps your club could organize a fundraiser or a clothing or toy drive.  Or how about a blood drive.  They are always in particular need around the winter holidays.

As an individual, you have the greatest opportunity to let people meet a nudist if you are willing to let the people you know that you are a nudist.  If you want to do it in a somewhat subtle way, there are some neat buttons that say “I’m a nudist and I vote”.  Or wear your nudist t-shirts when you go out.  And then answer questions.  You will be surprised how little it really matters to other people once they know.

At our Spring Board Meeting last April, it hit me how very, very welcome I have felt at most of our clubs.    This revelation happened when club volunteers were bringing us breakfast just to make it easier while we were setting up for the board meeting.  During the last few years, Jim and I have visited all of the landed clubs in our region.  During our visits, club members have gone out of their way to make our visits great.  When we have been holding meetings, they have made sure that we had everything we needed to run the meeting.   When we were just visiting, they always setup a situation so that I could talk to their members, answer questions and find out what they need.   I just wanted to say an extra thank you to all of these great clubs in the Northwest.  You know who you are.

At the Spring board meeting, we had a discussion about how we greet visitors and show hospitality.   It is especially important that the person at reception is friendly and welcoming.  A few years ago, a video with some tips for the front desk was distributed by AANR.  If your club can’t find theirs, please let me know and I will try to get a copy for you.

Everyone can make it their job to be a greeter.  If you see a new face, say hello.  Several weeks ago, I was driving to our local club and had stopped to look at one of the signs that needed replacement.  A couple stopped to ask if we needed directions.  They were new to the club and didn’t know us.  But what a great addition they make to our community!

There is only one first impression.   And a bad first impression is damaging to nudism.  A good friend of mine went to a club where they didn’t feel welcome.  It was their first try at social nudism.  It took over five years for them to try again at a different club.    I am very glad that they were willing to give it a second chance, even if it took years.

It is July already, but, as always, there is a lot going on in the nude Northwest.

On July 11, at noon PST, we are “Skinny Dipping again”.  To make it interesting, we are having a friendly competition among our clubs.  Whichever club has the greatest percentage increase over the last skinny dip event gets a badge for their website.

The AANR-NW Convention follows in July at the newly renamed Tiger Mountain Family Nudist Park in Issaquah, WA .    FS was neither a fraternity nor was it in Snoqualmie.    Tiger Mountain is celebrating a big birthday (70) and the theme of the convention is “Party in your Birthday Suit”.  In addition to sports, seminars and food, there will lots of live entertainment.

The NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) Legislative Summit is the nation’s largest gathering of legislators and legislative staff for more the 40 years.   Each year, one of the most popular booths is the AANR booth.   This year, the Summit is in Seattle August 3-6 and AANR-NW is hosting the booth.  As everyone that knows about this conference says, “It is a big deal.”  Carolyn Hawkins from AANR will be coming to help.

The following week is the AANR Convention “Surf City” at Sun Meadow Resort.  Do you realize how lucky we are to be so near to the AANR Convention?  I hope everyone is planning to attend.  I know that Sun Meadow is planning a great convention.  Whenever we have a AANR convention in the Northwest, the clubs come together to put on the reception.  This amazes the rest of the regions.  They can’t believe that we are willing to cooperate.  So, let’s do it again.   It would be great if each club could bring a dish to share.

So, other than those activities, there are all of the great opportunities for fun that the Northwest clubs provide.  There are fun runs, concerts, art shows and other events.  Do you get the Nude News?  If not, you can sign up at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016 or visit the http://www.aanr-nw.org/ home page.  Each week, there is a list of all of the events in the Northwest for the next two weeks.

Have fun.  Enjoy the sun.  Find time to relax.

In my opinion, there are two entwined concerns that face AANR and AANR-NW today.  These are advocating for nudism and declining membership.

Advocating for nudism takes many forms.

The most obvious is watching for harmful legislation and working with legislatures to prevent unintended consequences that are harmful to nudists.  For example, an unintended consequence is one where a law is written to regulate the sales of alcohol at strip clubs, but is worded such that nudist resorts can’t get a liquor license to sell or serve alcohol.

However changing public opinion is another way to advocate for nudism.  Changing public opinion can happen in many ways.  But it starts with letting everyone know who we are and what we do as nudists.

We change public opinion in many ways:

• Booths at public fairs where people can see real nudists, who are not too different than they are. As one example, last year over Memorial Day Weekend at Northwest Folk Life, we talked to approximately 2000 people.  They asked real questions about why we were nudists.  We will be there again this year.
• Press releases about fun events in the nudist community. This year we will be ‘Skinny Dipping Again’.  There will be press releases.  Many of our clubs also send out press releases and have made friends with the press.
• Nudist participation in community events. This can be done in many ways.  A few years ago, Shirley Gauthier was instrumental in putting together an entry for the Springfield, Oregon, entry for hosting the premier of The Simpson’s Movie.    Every year, Kaniksu puts on a neighborhood barbeque for their neighborhood.
• Road Clean Ups. Many of our clubs participate in road cleanups and then have their names posted along those roads.
• Wearing your nudist T-Shirts out in public and being willing to answer questions about nudism. This is something that individuals can do.  It is remarkably effective.  People will read the shirt, laugh and then ask questions.  If you have flyers to give them about clubs or activities in the area, it is even better.
• Telling your family and friends that you are a nudist. Just being willing to tell your family and friends that you are a nudist helps change public opinion.  They know who you are and therefore have to let go of stereotypes.

That brings us to the second concern – declining membership.  Changing public opinion is about publicizing who we are.  And if we let people know we are there, some will want to join in the fun.

But we have to make sure it is fun.  This means we have to respect one another, understanding that different people like to do different activities.  Excluding people because they are not like us puts a very negative feeling to the gathering.  We need people of all ages, from all walks of life, all races and all sexual orientations.  Being nude is about being accepted.  How can we feel accepted if we aren’t accepting?

So, why do we need to grow membership?  We need to grow membership so that we have the people and resources to continue to advocate for nudism.  And we need to advocate for nudism to protect our membership.

There has been a lot of positive developments at the AANR level.

What has happened:  There was an extra Fall Board Meeting on November 15^th to discuss some the ideas that were presented at the AANR Convention.    This added board meeting gave the incoming board of trustees a chance to look at these ideas and begin implementation of the proposals that they deemed of highest priority.  The board meeting was in Las Vegas.  The location was chosen because of cost.  There are inexpensive rooms and meals.  And airfare to Las Vegas is generally low priced.  Most of us never left the hotel.    Some of us started at 7:00am and went until Midnight.  The board came together and worked cooperatively and effectively on the many issues.    I was incredibly proud that various members from the Northwest came and participated, paying their own way.  What a great region we have!

Bev Price appointed six advisory teams to look at the six proposed changes.  Five of the teams were made up entirely of trustees who were given the opportunity to work on those issues that most interested them.  The regional presidents worked on the Pricing Structure team.  These teams prepared reports during the time from the Convention until the Fall Board Meeting.

The Adult Clubs Team looked at the feasibility of including clubs that want to pursue sexual activities in AANR.  The outcome from this meeting was that AANR will not be including ‘X’ rated clubs.  It was recommended that an ad hoc committee  revisit core values and devise methods that will differentiate us from those clubs.    For example, swingers have taken over the meaning of a lifestyle club.  We should be mindful to not describe ourselves as part of the nudist lifestyle.

The use of the Carver model of governance for non-profit organizations had been proposed.  The team identified that AANR currently uses a constituency model, but not to its best advantage. It was decided to learn more about how to be more effective using the constituency model, rather than changing how AANR is governed.  An ad hoc committee is working to identify a trainer to help AANR improve

The Name Change Team advised that it was too early in the process to change our name.  We need a clearer idea of what we hope to accomplish.  However, it was noted that when it is time to change the name, we should be aware that AANR encompasses more than just  ‘America’.  Yes, we are all part of North America, but citizens of other countries equate the word American with US.

Creating a Trade Association,  that could be where the ‘X’ clubs could participate had been suggested.  The Trade Association Team identified club benefits that could be moved to a Nudist Trade Association if something like TANR was resuscitated.   No recommendation for creating a separate Trade Association was made..

Selling the Kissimmee building which houses the headquarters of AANR had been recommended.  The Facility Team recommends selling the building.   The staff will do the necessary research to determine how best to proceed.

Simplifying the member rates had been proposed.  The Pricing Structure Team analyzed the various rates and made several suggestions about how the rates could become less complex.  The biggest difference in rates across the country is that regional dues are not standardized for several of the membership classes.  Regions will not cede the power to set their membership rates.  This committee was comprised of the regional presidents.  Any proposal to act on simplifying the rates must be led by the board.

Additionally, the board decided to not proceed with an updated Park Guide without more investigation about cost and printing techniques.  The Life Membership fund is now capped and the excess is added to the Capital Improvements Fund.

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What is going to happen:    On February 11, 2015, the Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Health, Environment & Safety Foundation Institute (http://beachesfoundation.org) is holding the first one-day Naturist Unity Summit at Haulover Beach Park.  The name of the summit is United Naturist/Nudist International Trade/Travel Educational Events (U.N.I.T.E) ( http://beachesfoundation.org/unite/)

This summit is an opportunity for those from all of the naturist/nudist organizations to come together and work on our common goals.  Two in particular were highlighted:  media driven marketing events and nude-friendly legislation.  Both are great goals.  I am very lucky because it is several days after the AANR Mid-Winter Board Meeting.  So, I get to stay and then travel to Miami to participate.    The summit is capped at 100 people, but if you are interested, you could contact the organization and see if there is room.  I know this is late notice, but it has been reported on in the Northwest Nude News.

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The Northwest Nude News is a weekly email newsletter controlled by AANR-NW (your name and email will NOT be shared).  Each week it has the schedule for the following two weeks and a couple of articles of nudist interest.    I encourage you to sign up for this newsletter if you don’t already get it.  http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016 . And we’re always looking for articles and opinion pieces, so send your ideas to nudenews@aanr-nw.org

Please contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

I want to thank all of you for honoring me with reelection as President for the next 2 years.  I will strive to do my best to serve the needs of our region.  Over the last two years, I have particularly worked on transparency – working to communicate what is going on.  If I fail in that, or anything, please be sure to call me on it.  My email is president@aanr-nw.org.

One of the ways to get information about what is happening in your region is to subscribe to the eNews.  This newsletter is published about once a week.  The subscription list is controlled by us.  It is not shared.  You can sign up at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016 .

At the AANR Education Foundation Meeting at Convention, Margie Cantlon from Sun Meadow was elected to the board.  Go Margie!

And we found out about a way for you  to get Amazon to donate to the Ed Fund at no cost to yourself.  When you shop at amazon.com, you can donate to the AANR Education Foundation and it won’t cost you anything.  Amazon’s smile program allows you to select a charity and .5 % of the purchase price for most Amazon items will be donated to your cause.  Search for and select AANR Education Foundation and from then on, you go to smile.amazon.com to do your shopping.

The AANR Education Foundation’s objectives are to:

• Seek partnerships with individuals, groups and organizations in support of the creation of art, literature, and scholarship, relating to the nudist world, its practices, and the wholesome nature of the human body.
• Endeavor to develop educated persons and leaders in broad areas of society; and aim to improve people’s lives by developing community support for nudist resorts, clubs, groups and areas.

You are always encouraged to donate to the AANR Education Foundation (http://www.aanr-ef.org/).  But here is a way to get Amazon to do it for you.

Attending the meetings at the AANR Convention in Pennsylvania was like drinking at a firehose.  Bill Schroer, the AANR Executive Director, presented many new ideas.  Advisory teams have been formed to evaluate these proposals and a special Fall Board meeting in Las Vegas will be held mid-November to consider what the next steps are.  As always, you are welcome at this board meeting.  Please contact me if you want more details.

Hidden Springs shone at Convention winning both the Ilsley Boone Newsletter Award for clubs of its size and the Scofield Trophy for the most miles traveled by a non-landed club (50,858).  Mike Parker and me, both members of Hidden Springs,  were awarded the Presidential Meritorious Service Award .  Hidden Springs had 8 members at the convention, which was very impressive representation.

In February, the rule was changed so that a convention could be held in the same region in consecutive years.  And so, the 2016 convention will be held at the Willamettans.  The 2015 convention is at Sun Meadow.

You will have noticed that the format for the AANR  Bulletin has changed.  In addition to this change, Bill has asked that we submit stories or story ideas to the editorial staff.  So write your stories and submit them.  Or at least send you ideas to the AANR office. bulletinads@aanr.com.

This summer has been a sunny one.  But as they say, Winter is coming.  Turn up your thermostats and stay in touch with your nudist friends.

As I have mentioned in past columns, rather than continue to shrink, AANR must grow in order for us to fulfill our mission to

To advocate nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings, while educating and informing society of their value and enjoyment.

One way that AANR and many clubs are working to grow is to attract young people to our organizations.

Two years ago, the AANR membership  approved two new membership tiers.  Young Adult Membership is available to those between the ages of 18 and 28 for $48.00 per year, at a savings of $10 per year.  Student Memberships are available to students between the ages of 18-25 that enrolled in an institution of higher learning for $25.50 per year.  Perhaps for some young people, this will make membership more affordable.   At the least, it sends the message that we welcome young people.

In the last two years, there have been two Nudist  Youth Leadership Summits.  These summits bring together young adult nudists.  Sponsoring organizations include AANR, TNS, and Clothes Free International.  The first one held in November, 2013 was at White Tail resort with 9 participants.  Last year’s summit was held at Cypress Cove, September 27-29 and it had grown to 50 participants.  This year’s summit will be September 19-21 at Laguna del Sol, in California.  The purpose of these summits is to give opportunities for young people to get together and to help them develop into the leadership that Nudism will need going forward.

Some clubs have special young adult memberships.  Or special rates for young adults.

The question is often poised “What can we do to attract young people to our clubs?”    And from talking to young nudists, I believe that the answer is that we can’t attract them.  Other young people can attract them.  Young people want to hang out with their friends.   Let’s open our clubs to groups of young people that like to be naked.  Then they can see how great the park is and invite more of their friends.  And so on.  And so on.  I don’t have the answers, but know that we have to ask the questions about how to bring new life to our organizations.

We must be prepared for change.   We must be prepared to grow.

Enjoy the sun!  Have a great rest of the summer.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Northwest Nude News.  You can join at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016.  We won’t spam you and we will guard your privacy.

Spring has Sprung.  Check out the myriad of upcoming activities.  If you don’t yet subscribe to the Northwest Nude eNews, you can join at http://www.aanr-nw.org/?page_id=588016.  We won’t spam you and we will guard your privacy.

In this issue of the bulletin, you are receiving information about the upcoming AANR election.   Please vote.  Excellent candidates are running for office.  It is up to you to decide who will lead our organization.

AANR membership has dropped over the last decade.  This is very concerning.  Our mission is to

To advocate nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings, while educating and informing society of their value and enjoyment.

It may seem that social nudism is no longer threatened.  However, as they say, it ain’t necessarily so.  Last year, Spokane Valley, in eastern Washington, banned public nudity.  They didn’t mean to affect nudists, but they did.  Oregon passed legislation so that if you were declared a sex offender for skinny dipping in another state, you would be registered as a sex offender in Oregon.  Facebook bans nude art such as Spencer Tunick, but allows body painted bikinis.  We have much work to do.  And it is important.

This means we need strong and capable leadership to grow AANR and to advocate for social nudism.

In this election, only two of the three officer positions are contested, one of club trustee positions is contested and none of the member trustee positions are contested.  We must have more members willing to step up to be leaders.

I am proud that while the Northwest is one of the smaller regions, we have a great representation on the ballot.  We have two Northwesterners running for club trustee, Michael Parker and Theresa ‘T’ Price.  Kathy Smith is running for our member trustee.  Paul Kuntzman is the only candidate for Secretary/Treasurer.  Sharon McLeod is running for Vice-President.  And T’s mom, Bev, is running for President.

Two recent AANR Presidents have ties to our region, Pat Brown and John Kinman.

But we mustn’t rest on our laurels.  AANR leaders are grown from strong regional leaders.  We NEED you to step up and get involved.  Come to our board meetings and conventions.  Our region has a director from every club.  At meetings, you have the opportunity to meet people from other clubs in the region.  We won’t make you volunteer.  And we do have a lot of fun.  At meetings, there is always entertainment, good food and much camaraderie. These meetings are always listed at aanr-nw.org and publicized in the eNews.  So just show up. If you want more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at president@aanr-nw.org.  The next meeting is our annual convention.  This year it is July 17-20 at Kaniksu.Ranch (http://www.kaniksufamily.com) near Spokane, WA.  Kaniksu is celebrating its Diamond anniversary and the theme is ‘Diamond in the Buff’.

Don’t be shy.  Your ideas, creativity, enthusiasm, skills are needed.  Please get involved.

In this issue’s column, I am responding to the planning committee’s article in the December Bulletin.  Three suggested changes were described in this article.  I agree with two of them, but strongly disagree with the other.

Understanding the qualifications of your representative (trustee) is very valuable.  In the past, candidates had only a small number of words to describe what they would bring to the office.  Having a way for them to speak to the skills and knowledge that they possess in key areas will help voters make an informed decision.  I only wish that candidates running for president, vice-president and secretary/treasurer would also be asked about their skills/knowledge.  Asking trustee candidates to fill out a survey describing their skills and knowledge is a great idea.

Changing how the chairman of the nomination’s committee is selected makes sense.  Selecting a seasoned regional president to serve in this important role will help recruit great people to run AANR.

The last proposal from the planning committee about restructuring the board is a different matter.

Currently on the AANR board, there is a trustee that represents each region.  Additionally, there are trustees that represent each of the club sizes.    Within the last 10 years, this structure was created to have trustees to represent individual members as well as to represent the needs of various size clubs.

Last summer, an original proposal was presented at each of the regional conventions.  In this proposal, the club trustees were eliminated.   At the AANR-NW convention, many concerns were raised.

A new proposal, which was sent to the board on October 9, 2013, was a very different proposal.  In this proposal, there would be 10 trustees.  These trustees would be elected by all of the AANR membership.   There would be a trustee from each region, as well as 3 at large trustees.

With this proposal, the trustee from AANR-NW would be chosen by members in other regions.   So, if there were two candidates from the Northwest, even if a majority of AANR-NW favored one candidate, the other one could be chosen to represent their interests.  This is my major objection to the restructuring proposal.  This also means that clubs will no longer have representation.  For example, the board could be composed of trustees that have no experience with a certain size club.  Different size clubs have different needs.

I am also concerned about the time and effort being put into restructuring.  AANR membership is down.  Lack of membership and lack of membership dollars threatens our ability to continue our mission “To advocate nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings while educating and informing society of their value and enjoyment.”  I would prefer that we spend these efforts on increasing membership.

We must always be willing to change and grow.  When a change is proposed, we should consider it and how it will solve the problems we are facing.  However, change for change sake is time consuming and can lead to unintended consequences.

It’s summer –  and the time when we get to be out in the sun.  We in the Northwest don’t have a very long summer, but let’s make sure that we take advantage of all the fun activities that are planned.

July 13th is the World Record Skinny Dip co-sponsored by AANR and TNS.  The count will take place at 1:00pm PDT.  The majority of our landed clubs will be participating.  Check out http://www.aanr.com/world-record-skinny-dip  for more information.  T-shirts are available to celebrate the event.  If you can, get a t-shirt and wear it often.  Whenever we wear Skinny Dip shirts from past years, strangers ask us about it.  And we get to tell them about social nudism, how fun it is and how many places there are to go here in the Northwest.

Following the Skinny Dip, the next weekend, July 19-21, is the 68^th AANR-NW Convention at Squaw Mt. Ranch in Estacada, Oregon.  Squaw Mountain is celebrating their 80^th anniversary this year.  Music, athletic competitions, games, a wine tasting, a car show, a drum circle, seminars, and much, much more are scheduled.   Use the opportunity to contribute your ideas in governing the region. Have a great time, see old friends and make new friends.  Check out http://www.squawmt.com for more information.

The remaining summer weekends are filled with 5k runs, music festivals, art shows, and other ways to celebrate being nude in the Northwest sun.  Check out the calendar at http://www.aanr-nw.org.

This all sounds like fun.  Bring a friend along.  Let your friends, family, coworkers know about the fun activities and invite to bring them with you,  You may be pleasantly surprised when they are willing to try it out.  Our clubs are being challenged with membership retention and growth.  Just think what it would mean to our organization if everyone introduced just one person to nudism.

So have a great summer.  Don’t forget to use plenty of sunscreen.  I hope to see all of you at the AANR-NW convention at Squaw Mt. Ranch in July.

Spring is coming.  Actually, by the time you read this Nudescene, it is already here.

The wonderful thing about warmer weather is that we get to play outside in our birthday suits without goose bumps.

Warmer weather also means that we are going to our parks for spring cleaning and sprucing up.  And where does the labor for all the cleaning and sprucing come from — volunteers?

From dictionary.com, a volunteer is a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

I propose that as nudists we adopt some volunteer adages.

If you see something that needs to be done, don’t complain about it.  Do something to fix it.   If necessary, ask the person in charge for permission.   But, I bet your help will be much appreciated.

If a fellow volunteer does (or doesn’t do) something that upsets you, take a big breath.   And then approach the issue assuming that the other guy was acting in good faith.  They either thought they were doing what was right; there is something that you don’t know or they don’t know.    Whatever you do, remember how much they are being paid.

In some ways, volunteers are like the three bares.

There is Busy Betty, who takes on way too many jobs.  It is tempting to ask the busiest person to do something, because they will usually get it done.  Betty’s challenge is to learn when to say no.  It will do no one any good if she burns out.

There is NotMe Norm, who is happy to let other people to be the volunteers.  Isn’t the park or beach a place to relax?  Norm’s challenge is to try saying yes.  He will probably enjoy the camaraderie and sense of accomplishment.

The goal is JustRight John who both works and plays in his nudist retreat.

If we could all be JustRight Johns, think about the great times we would all have enjoying life together in our all together.

In other news —

We had a great turnout at the Northwest Gathering on The Big Nude Boat in February.  We should be proud; our meet up had the best turnout.

AANR is partnering with TNS to hold the 2013 World Record Skinny-Dip on July 13, 2013.   This year’s skinny dip will be a little different.  It is not sanctioned by Guiness World Records and so will be easier for the coordinators of the events.

And then, the following week is our regional convention at Squaw Mountain Ranch.  Come, it will be a great time to get together and see one another.

We are having Hand’s Across the Border gatherings with AANR-Western Canada.  In June, there will be a gathering at Sun Meadow.  In August, we will visit our Canadian friends in.

So, let’s go out there and have some fun in our birthday suits!

AANR-NW has a new club.  WIne Country Bares became a provisional club this fall.  Wine Country Bares is a new travel club centered around Yakima and Moses Lake.
You can check out their website at http://www.winecountrybares.org or get information from info@winecountrybares.org.  I know that they will appreciate any support that we can give them.

If you are cruising on the Big Nude Boat, there will be a meet and greet opportunity for those of us in the Northwest.  Look for more details later.

The World Record Skinny Dip is returning on July 13, 2013.  It is being cosponsored by AANR and TNS.  Follow http://www.aanr.com/world-record-skinny-dip for more details.

Two big issues facing AANR today are nudist acceptance and membership.   One is outward facing; how do we get others to accept us.  The other is more inward facing; how to we retain members and add new ones.

One idea I have about increasing acceptance is letting the textiles that we live and work with know we are nudists.  By doing this, we are no longer ‘other’.  It puts a non threatening face on nudism.

Each of us has their own individual comfort level about who knows they participate in social nudism.  I propose that each of us takes a small step out of the clothes closet.   This will be different for each of us.  I am very open about being a nudist.  However, it was a stretch when I agreed to enter a Toastmasters Humorous Speech contest with a speech titled “How to pack for a nude cruise”.  But I did it.  It was well received.  Afterwards, I was asked questions and was able to to talk about the various nudist venues in the area.   Another example of a stretch for me was including on my resume that I wrote the AANRMobile app for Android.

My challenge to you is “Are you willing to take a small step out of your comfort zone?”  Not only will it help nudist acceptance, but it can be very freeing to conquer a personal fear.

I wish I had more ideas on how to grow AANR-NW membership.  I do know that it means retaining current members and attracting new members.   I am asking for your help.  If you have any ideas about membership, please send them to president@aanr-nw.org.  I will compile them and publish them.  And I will present them to your board at the AANR-NW Board Meeting.

As the new president of AANR-NW, I want to send a big thank you for your confidence and for your vote (via your club delagates to the AANR-NW Convention).

One of my goals is to facilitate communications. I plan to send out a monthly update to the eNews to keep those who wish informed.  Communication is two way; so please send your questions, concerns, ideas, suggestions to info@aanr-nw.org or president@aanr-nw.org.

So what’s going on?

Did you know that there is a member’s only section on aanr-nw.org?  The username is AANR-NW and the password is Nud3.  The current username/password can always be found in the Nudescene at the bottom of the calendar.

From that page, you can download our current ruling documents, past Nudescenes and the mintes from the General Assemblies and Board meetings.  There are also lists of past award winners, presidents and convention hosts.  You can also find the forms that you need to nominate people for Hall of Fame, Man and Woman of the Year.

At our general assembly at the Willamettans in July, our new officers were elected.  They are:

President  – Karen Lahey – president@aanr-nw.org

Vice-president – Dave Smith – vice-president@aanr-nw.org

Treasurer – Terri Capshaw – treasurer@aanr-nw.org

Secretary – Jim Lahey – secretary@aanr-nw.org

The 2013 AANR-NW Convention is at Squaw Mountain Ranch.  The theme is “Nude Frontiers”.

Kaniksu was chosen as the site of the 2014 AANR-NW Convention.

The SLUGS (Sun Lovers Under Grey Skies) were awarded both Membership Increase Awards (Percentage 43% and Number Increase 16 new memebers).

Newletter awards were presented to

Landed – The Nude Viewpoint – LARC – Laurie Dennis, Editor

Non-landed – The Well Spring – Hidden Springs – Mike Parker, Editor

Website awards were presented to

Non-landed – Montana Naturists – Bill Bisbee, web master

Landed – tied – LARC & Lake Bronson

George Mickelson was awarded Man of the Year.

From his nomination —

This person has assisted the Northwest region behind the scenes for many years and hasn’t been recognized formally for is contribution.

Particularly, he spent many hours helping with building the library and the annex – installing insulation, putting up he sheetrock and paneling, nailing, sawing, and especially helping with the wiring. There were several times that his expertise made the whole project work correctly.

He has also served on the Nominations committee for several years and taken over when others have not been able to continue. And he has served as NW Director from his club for many, many years.

Brie Capshaw was awarded the AANR-NW Scholarship.

From her award —

I’ve known this year’s scholarship since she was a baby.  She was a member of Bare Backers and is now a member of Sun Meadow.  She’s very active in the nudist lifestyle.

She’s a Junior working on a double major in marketing and human resources management at University of Idaho.  Her hobbies are sewing and miscellaneous crafts.

She is our ad-hoc Youth Committee Chair.

Kathy Smith presented two President’s awards

Mike Parker – He is very involved with GAT and has done a great job on legislation the last two years, he continues to be involved as historian, and he has been a great help to me as president and when I was vice-president.

Karen Lahey – As vice-president, Karen has taken on a lot this year, she already does a lot, and she has helped me immensely taking on tasks that I needed to get done.

There are several travel clubs that are forming or that need reviving.

Two of these clubs are provisional clubs.  This means that they are registered with AANR and are looking to grow into a full fledged club.  Please contact them if you want more information about them.

Northwest Naturist Boating Club meets in the Bellingham Washington area.  They are a clothing optional club of recreational boaters and boating aficionados who enjoy the benefits and freedoms of living and socializing nude and natural.  Their contact information is

360 739-8136

email: info@nwnbc.org

web: www.nwnbc.org

The Rooster-Sauvie Volunteers is also forming.   They are the volunteers at Oregon’s nude beaches on the Columbia River.  Their contact information is

722 NE Prescott Street #2

Portland, OR 97211

971-570-5714

email: zonkersun@yahoo.com

The Wine Country Bares is in the early stages of forming and is not yet a provisional club.  Wine Country Bares is forming in central Washington, with members near Yakima and Moses Lake.  To find out more information, please send email to info@winecountrybares.org.

We no longer have contacts for two of our existing clubs  If you are interested in helping revive Forest Murmurs or The Naturals, please send email to president@aanr-nw.org.  Forest Murmurs has been around for quite a long time.  At one time, it was a landed club in Western Washington and then was a travel club for a long time.   The Naturals is a travel club near Spokane, WA.  It would be great to get them going again.