tridd forums

Minutes - East Texas PFLAG
February 9, 2009

Meeting was called to order by Lou Anne Smoot at 7:15 pm with 12 in attendance. (Our president, Brad Masterson, was unable to attend.)

Janet read the PFLAG Vision.

Introductions were made from all those in attendance.

Lou Anne read the minutes from the January meeting. Troy moved and Gerry seconded to accept the minutes. Motion passed.

Lou Anne gave the Treasury Report. Balance in the account is $2050.83, $1105 of that has been collected on behalf of Project TAG in ticket money for the Valentines Dance. Expenditures included $100 donation to PATH, $250 deposit for the Valentines Dance, and $25 fee for the Secretary of State for official paperwork.

Paperwork filed with the Secretary of State applying for our Incorporation Status has been returned. Our Certificate of Formation was denied for two reasons. First, the name was unavailable as it was too similar to "East Texas Partners GP LLC." The second reason is that only one name can be listed on line item “1” (our name) and it was listed “East Texas Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, dba East Texas PFLAG. We have therefore refiled using only “East Texas PFLAG.” Lou Anne first called the Secretary of State's office to make certain the name "East Texas PFLAG" is available, and it is. Hopefully, there will be no more problems.

Troy discussed Equality Texas is sponsoring Lobby Day at the State Capital held on Monday March 2, 2009. This will give us an opportunity to meet with our elected officials and to make a difference in Texas by getting engaged in the movement for equality. We will leave on Sunday and attend a social event that night. Monday will be a full one with a training session and the meetings with the officials, returning to Tyler that evening.

Lou Anne shared three new pamphlets we ordered from our national office. Two are guides on being Straight Allies. The third is titled “Be Yourself” Questions & Answers for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth.

Lou Anne shared a thank you letter that was received from PATH for our donation along with the current issue of their newsletter. Our name should appear on the donor list in the next issue.
Lou Anne shared a recent article and poll in the Tyler newspaper discussing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. She also reported that her response to the poll was published and she included East Texas PFLAG with her signature in order to help make our organization more visible.

Next month, we will have Katie Stewart as our guest speaker. She is the president of New Orleans PFLAG and is also serving as our Regional Director for the Southern Region of PFLAG.

Troy has worked on our Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) to be broadcast on local radio stations in order to get the word out about East Texas PFLAG. Some details still need to be worked out.

Short discussion ensued on the Lifetime Network showing of “Prayers For Bobby.”

Adopt A Highway application in on hold for the moment.

Election of new officers, other than President, were tabled awaiting the presence of our president, Brad Masterson.

Our program was given by Nathan Juenke. His presentation was on the topics of anxiety, depression, and stress with emphasis on how those issues relate to the gay community. Research on these topics, symptoms, and current treatments were shown. He also led a demonstration on relaxation techniques to relieve stress and anxiety.

With no further business, Gerry moved and Troy seconded that we adjourn for the evening. Motion passed and we were adjourned at 8:40 pm.