National War Tax Resistance
Coordinating Committee Meeting
November 8, 2020 * Online
Present: Lincoln Rice, NWTRCC Coordinator (Milwaukee, WI); Erica Leigh (Seattle, WA); Chrissy Kirchoefer, NWTRCC Outreach Consultant (St. Louis, MO); Peter Smith, Michiana WTR (South Bend, IN); Rick Bickhart, Co-Treasurer (Staunton, VA); Lida Shao, AdComm (New York, NY); Susan Miller (Hesston, KS); Jerry Maynard, AdComm (Houston, TX); Mary Sprunger-Froese (Colorado Springs); Ruth Benn (Brooklyn, NY); Sarah Weber (Topeka, KS); DeCourcy Squire, AdComm (Minneapolis, MN); Cathy Deppe (Los Angeles, CA); Ginny Schneider (Portland ME); Sue Barnhart, AdComm (Eugene, OR); Sam Yerger (Eugene, OR), Anne Barron (San Diego, CA), Joshua Wrolstad, AdComm (Eugene, OR); H.A. Penner (Akron, PA); Kima Garrison, Portland WRL/WTRs (Portland, OR); Robert Randall (Brunswick, GA); Bill Glassmire (Corvallis, OR).
1 – Peter went over the NWTRCC consensus process. (Rick volunteers to be timekeeper.)
2 – Consultant Reports
Coordinator (PDF report) – Lincoln’s Coordinator Report (separate document). Answers to questions: How did COVID change things? Lost meeting prep time with Chicago & Colorado Springs folks before the decision was made to go online.
Outreach Consultant (PDF report) – Chrissy’s Outreach Consultant Report (separate document). Answers to questions: What’s next? Follow feedback from Youth Advisory Counsel and Strategy session yesterday – Instagram particularly, but will be looking to Outreach Committee. Work on making connections with other groups. Should we focus on any group? I’ve been attending meetings for World Beyond War & Code Pink, and meeting with Veterans for Peace & Pax Christi folks to push WTR. What about #DefundThePolice and possible antiracism retreats? Post-election may lead many groups to reassess their direction.
Rick very happy with excellent staff that NWTRCC has.
Youth Advisory Council Report (Lincoln-Chrissy): Discussion about short wtr video idea that came out of YAC. These videos could address fears and highlight positive aspects of WTR. Lida volunteered to help with video. Anne knows a videographer with another group that might get involved.
3 – Objectives (PDF Approved 2021 Objectives)
The following changes to the objectives were proposed:
- Outreach: add f) Create & use memes; g) Develop local pie charts (Cathy D.)
- Lida noted that our objectives have a non-profit feel and we may benefit in the future by having them be more representative of a radical group.
Approved with these two additions.
4 – Finances & Budget (Proposed Budget for 2021 & Approved Budget for 2021 & Finance 2020 Report & Budget 2021 Notes)
Comments:
- Added $1,000 to Website Upgrade expense & $1,000 to Reserve Grant Transfer income.
- Bill G. asked folks to solicit donations from their churches / local peace and justice groups.
Budget Approved with changes indicated in point 1.
5 – Proposals & Endorsement
Proposal 1 – NWTRCC Logo Proposal
No Consensus reached. Those who blocked indicated that a new logo should be approved by the CC. Yergs, Chrissy, Anne, and Rick volunteered to work on another logo proposal for the May meeting.
Proposal 2 – NWTRCC Statement of Purpose Proposal
No Consensus reached. There was general unhappiness with the current language and the proposed language. Many folks indicated the statement needed a total re-write. Ruth, Erica, Cathy, & DeCourcy volunteered to work on another statement proposal for the May meeting.
Endorsement 1 – Standing Endorsement for SOAWatch
Approved quickly.
Endorsement 2 – Standing Endorsement for Witness Against Torture
Approved quickly.
6 – AdComm Nominees
Any nominations for Nov meeting? Lindsey Britt, Jessica Smith, David Gross, Andy Newman, and Neena Das were suggested. Next newsletter will have announcement & deadline.
7 – Future Gathering Locations
Approved proposal that May 2021 meeting will be online. Regarding the November 2021 meeting, we hope that that will be an in-person meeting. Anne stated that San Diego can host if the Church of the Brethren (where the meeting would occur) has re-opened to the public at that time. Jerry also offered this home in Houston. It has plenty of space to meet & is only 10 minutes from the airport. Though there is a grumpy dog and we would need to find additional places for people to sleep.
8 – Evaluation of the Weekend
Sue – great discussion, Rick – online worked better than expected, esp Fri night. Erica-comfy beds (ha), good to see folks. Joshua – great to be online, interested in future defund/abolish police ventures, Sam – encouraged and appreciates community, Jerry – good to see everyone; hopeful; Kima – computer problems. learning curve on computer. Ruth – don’t miss the travel, CO springs presentation was great – a reminder that we don’t “vote” on proposals & we have “consultants,” not “staff”. Cathy – Grateful. AdComm doing great, love the new faces. Mary – great to meet many new folks. Grateful for consultants. Sarah Weber – Strategy meeting-not much to say about topics and stuck in a small group with forced conversation. But great to be with like-mined folks. Ginny – Thanks to consultants & AdComm, Great!!! Otherwise, can’t do travel (even w/o COVID). Needed more time in strategic planning to flesh it out. but great. Robert – thankful to be able to participate. Couldn’t have done in person. Liked breaking out into small groups with increased participation. Yergs – missed some of this conference with conflicting conference. Good to attempt the CC meeting, even with the chaos. Anne – Thanks to organizers. Liked small group discussion. Liked point about non-profit focus of Objectives. Bill – Good conference. Thanks to Lincoln/Chrissy. Pleased to see new people with new ideas. Lincoln – great participation, 45 total folks, thanks to CO Springs. Chrissy – great to see everyone with their ideas.
A special thanks to Rick & Mary who contributed significant time to the original planning of the weekend before it was moved online!
