Minutes of the February 2014 meeting

Meeting minutes for Wednesday, 19 February 2014

In attendance: Barbara, Bob, Gina, Nancy, Jeff, Colin, Marsha, (Struan*)
(* Struan got a flat tire only a mile from our meeting and didn't actually make it. But we decided that since he drove all the way out from Swarthmore, he should get at least some credit for attendance!)

Announcements

• April is moving to Florida soon! She hopes to attend one more meeting (March) with us before moving. We will miss her!
• We briefly discussed how much of our funds we want to donate to AIUSA. Our bank account looks healthy, and our expenses have historically been pretty low. But now that we're using group funds (rather than personal funds) to pay for our postage, printing, and supplies costs, our expenses have increased. Also there is the possibility that we'll want to reserve funds to pay for participation in a community event or pay for ad space somewhere. We decided to table this discussion until Tilo is able to join us for a meeting and discuss our finances in detail.
• Barb presented details of the Philadelphia Area Amnesty International USA Conference (for which she is one of the organizers)
• Saturday, 15 March, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ethical Society (1906 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia PA). 
• Title: "Bringing Human Rights Home: A Forum on LGBTQ Rights and Death Penalty Abolition"
• Featured speakers: Shawn Gaylord (advocacy counsel for Human Rights First), Tim Keller (district director of Rep. Brian Sims, the first openly gay state legislator elected in PA and sponsor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage), a yet-to-be-determined death row exoneree
• Registration (free) is through this web page
• Free pizza and beverages will be provided for lunch

Actions and Updates 

• No letters or updates on our two case files (Siti Zainab Binti Rupa and Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand)
• (Bob) Letter on behalf of two Iranian hunger strikers
• (Barb) Letter on behalf of an activist who runs a website for LGBTQ youth in Russia

New Business

• Barb practiced the presentation she will give to the Rotary Club in Frazer on 5 March. 

Upcoming Events

• Barbara to speak about AIUSA to the Rotary Club in Frazer (5 March, 7–8:30 a.m.)
• Meetings on 19 March and 16 April.