Logistics Committee Meeting Notes 9/15/09
PRESENT: Shirley Chalmers (co-chair), Dianne Feeley, Maxine Mickens (co-chair), Stuart Smith (spirituality & faith liaison), Tom Stephens (notes), Sharon Taylor
Church Support for USSF housing and transportation: Several churches will be able to provide space in their church building itself; in parishioners’ homes; and in other properties under church control. A couple dozen pastors are willing to put the word out. Diane Feeley will provide Stuart Smith and the F&S Committee with some written parameters in terms of what we may need for housing, F&S Committee will distribute them o the churches, and the churches will put the word out to their members. Some considerations we discussed in this regard: • Categories of housing: o Family housing for low income people o Solidarity housing from a floor to beds • Pet allergies • Disability access • Hours of departure/return • Hosts will not be expected to provide food, tho of course they are welcome to do so • Number of bathrooms • Availability of showers • We anticipate people paying hosts $10 per night if they can
Transportation: Approximately 15 to 20 church buses seating from about 9 to 15 passengers each may be available, for free. They need to know what routes and times we will need them for, and we need more information about the schedule & agenda to make those decisions. Some issues we discussed: o How many of these church vans are disability accessible, and should be designated specifically and more or less exclusively for that purpose o Vans or buses for tours of Detroit on Wednesday before the fireworks o Transport to the march on Tuesday, and the workshops on Thursday-Saturday o Churches will also put the word about people donating bikes for this event o Airport pickups
Travel Agent Report: Travel agent Maxine Mickelson provided a written 2-page report, strongly recommending that we retain an agency to handle all external travel issues in all modes, hotel reservations, airport transport and the like, offering a 24 hour hotline. This will take a huge load off this committee. She recommends Pleasant Holidays agency, Detroit District Business Manager Ms. Carolyn Pugh. She estimates we will need $2000 to reserve 10 45-50 passenger buses. She needs to review the 2007 USSF agenda for a more thorough understanding of travel and housing needs. She will get that on September 18. She also wants to see the signed hotel contracts. She preliminarily doesn’t think we should sign any more hotel contracts, until we fill the ones we’ve got, the dorms and churches’ solidarity housing, and then if we need more hotel space we can get it. Maxine will be serving as co-chair of this committee.
Security: Tom Stephens will be meeting with special events security expert Norma Palen on September 18, and will report to the September 22 DLOC on that meeting.
Budget: Logistics will need $50-100,000 for everything, and can’t raise funds by itself, because there is too much else to do. This will be reported at the September 22 DLOC.
Logistics Coordinator: We have received many resumes, including severally highly qualified local people, and their resumes will be forwarded to the hiring committee asap. We would welcome 2 employees. Hopefully beginning before the October 24-25 NPC meetings. Shirley Chalmers sent responses to those applicants who didn’t make the first cut.
Logistics Committee Membership: It is becoming a continuing issue that there are not enough people coming to this committee’s meetings. It is a critical committee with tons of work to do, and we need to have more people actively volunteering. This will be reported at the September 22 DLOC.
National Planning Committee Meetings in Atlanta October 24-25: Dianne and Stuart will look into being able to go. Shirley will notify the committee list and ask for other volunteers for this important responsibility. --69.216.124.212 14:29, 18 September 2009 (UTC)