I write this letter as outgoing Board Chairman. A new Board was elected at a special meeting on January 26. The annual meeting on January 12 had only 17 attendees, and 54 were needed to conduct business and elections. The Annual Report was presented; copies are available for viewing. The following reviews some of the discussion.
Finances: There is money in the checkbook ($2,000) to pay the current bills. Our revenues did fall short of our budget needs and expenditures exceeded our income. Membership was at 359 as of January 1. A copy of the financial statement is available on the office door for viewing. The new budget for 2002 will be discussed at the February Board Meeting.
Program Committee: There is a slumping number of attendees and dollars contributed at our support groups. A chart presented in the annual report is included for your review. Several support groups are not meeting the policy standard of three weekly attendees and will probably need to be discontinued in January 2002. A survey has been distributed in membership renewals and at support groups to determine the focus of our offerings. Please take the time to respond. A new monthly support group on Health Issues is starting in March.
Outreach Activities: Significant effort was made to get the word out about The Men's Center last year. Four major newspaper articles appeared. Mailings of MenTalk went to 1,200 local churches, 950 therapists, 700 on the Anger Management Mailing List, and our regular mailing list of 2,000 members and/or interested institution and individuals. Major participation in PRIDE and several other conferences was undertaken. The first men's conference in nine years was held in October (on the theme of Men's Health and Well-Being), and it was advertised in Wellness for three months. The conference had 87 paid attendees and involvement of 131 persons at various stages (see annual report for details). The regular Wednesday presentations were announced weekly by fax and e-mail to over forty local news outlets. We are baffled at figuring out new cost-effective ways to publicize TMC.
TMC is important to the Twin Cities community; and it is important to the Men's movement in the United States. I hope that you all will see and realize this importance. Please VOLUNTEER your time and talents by serving on our committees or on the Board of Directors.
Hoping you see Glory in your life,
John Kuyper,
Outgoing Board Chair
Outgoing MEN TALK Coordinator
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Thank you, National Coalition of Free Men (NCFM) -- Twin Cities Chapter for your recent donation of A Man's Viewpoint by Rob Mazzeo and Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence by Philip W. Cook. These books should be of great help to our members who face issues, like: abusive relationships, divorce, rape, and other problems.
A Man's Viewpoint concerns issues such as domestic violence, child custody, rape, sexual harassment, and other problems which society often views only from a feminine perspective.
Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence speaks about society's misconceptions of who the victims of domestic violence are. Society usually assumes that only women are the victims in domestic violence cases. However, numerous studies have shown men are abused as often as women.
The NCFM also recommends the forwarding books, which are available in the library:
- The Hazards of Being Male by Herb Goldberg, Ph. D.
- Men Freeing Men edited by Francis Baumli, Ph. D.
- Men Healing Shame edited by R. Schenk, Ph. D. & J. Everingham, Ph. D.
- Knights Without Armor by Aaron Kipnis, Ph. D.
- The Myth of Male Power by Warren Farrell, Ph. D. (MenTalk's featured selection for Oct/Nov 2000)
- The NCFM also recommends Who Stole Feminism? by Christina Hoff Sommers, a copy of which the library does not presently own. If a member has a copy to donate, please do so.
The library is available during daytime office hours (M, Tu, Th, and F) from 1:00–4:30 as well as before all support groups. It is also available during support groups nights.
I AM YOUR LIBRARY -- USE ME!
–– Edward McCarroll Librarian
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Dollars & Numbers*
|
|
2001
|
2000
|
1999
|
1998 |
1997 |
| Memberships |
359
|
289
|
167
|
214
|
283
|
| Budget Dollars |
$59,000
|
$39,300
|
$44,358
|
$24,017 |
$25,154 |
| YTD Revenue |
$41,789*
|
$46,576
|
$48,243
|
$31,795 |
$36,715 |
| Support Groups |
$7,387 |
$9,246 |
$11,095 |
$7,612 |
$8,680 |
| Membership |
$8,354 |
$9,409 |
$6,093 |
$6,117 |
$7,120 |
| Anger Mgmt |
$16,340 |
$14,348 |
$7,800 |
$9,795 |
$6,831 |
| Grants |
$0 |
$0 |
$7,500 |
$5,159 |
$5,000 |
| YTD Expenses |
$47,492*
|
$42,644
|
$34,832
|
$32,447 |
$31,681 |
| Bank Balance |
$2,085*
|
$3,220
|
$6,312
|
$6,144 |
$6,796 |
| *As of December 31, 2001 reference point. |
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