#pride

Camrose Pride

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Date: Monday, January 10, 2021

Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Place: Online

Attendees: Nikki, Jessica, Candy, Teri, Raymond, Gus, Charissa

Regrets: Justin, Alex, Stephen,

  1. Call to order/Introductions/Check in
    1. Called to order by Nikki at 1836
  2. Financial Report
    1. bank fee only
    2. $2,285.53 – report attached
  1. Old Business

3.1 Conversion Therapy Ban

3.1.1 Federal Criminal Code Passed

3.1.2 Discussion

  • May make things harder for municipalities to support own ban as it is now federal criminal code – they won’t see the value or need
  • Law needs to be analyzed as to what it really means
  • Will need more backing to gather real support
  • Attitude is that if there’s a problem take it to court
  • Regrouping needed around our approach
  • Still need formal municipal support
  • We should not stop moving it forward – would be ideal to find a council member champion
  • Public knowledge around federal vs provincial vs municipal laws to support the federal movement
  • We should review the law to see what is missing, what is strong and what could be clarified.
  • Making people aware that this does happen here and what it is
  • Support individual knowledge and awareness – beyond municipal
  • Urgency of getting it done has eased – we have more time, decreased pressure
  • Because we’ve initiated this we need to have a public presence to provide a person centered approach

            3.1.2 – Data

  • Gathering data is still critical
  • Community members need to know that it does happen here and where it’s happening and how
  • Understanding Conversion Therapy practices
  • Opportunity to gather real good data
  • Education of ourselves as to why it needs to be on a provincial and municipal level so we can educate others/families/community
  • Personal story collection is critical to show the critical impact
  • Connect back with Dr. Wells, No Conversion Canada
  • Charissa has access to U of A data
  • Qualitative research could start with conversations
  • Data has to be stored in a safe place

Action:

  • Nikki will contact Dr. Wells about research – methodology, ethics, best practices and movement forward.

3.2 Revised ACTION plan (refer to agenda for detailed action items)

  • Crowdsource funding plan from AB government and the gov’t will match an amount of the donations
  • Can we do it under No Conversion Canada umbrella
  • CIP grant available – matching dollars
  • We have to be careful with government funding due to loopholes
  • City of Camrose may have funding available – community grant and arts and culture grant
  • CDSS – possible source, limited amounts
  • May want to include youth development piece as well
  • Need a youth rep on the board

Action:

  • Candy to explore local grants- to support research and events for Pride month
  • Jess to explore other sources of funding
  • Charissa explore how many QSA’s are in the school division
  • Touch base before next meeting
  • Anyone who can chat with council , go ahead 🙂 
  • Step 3 of action plan
    • Gather data on occurrence and impact of Conversion ‘Therapy’ Practices in Camrose and area; contact other communities who have passed their by-law and inquire around where/how they gathered data on this
    • Self education in our group about the federal ban
  • Question
    • What is our mission statement around this? How do we get people to be accountable for their actions? Christian church lack of responsibility and accountability.
    • Some discomfort in the group regarding certain organizations
    • Abusers will ignore it
    • Goal – advocating for our right to exist
    • Goal – knowing what is a Conversion practice and sharing that knowledge
  1. New Business

4.1 AGM – due first quarter, March 14 meeting.

  • Follow AGM with strategic planning session – update and refocus existing strategic plan

4.2 Spring/Summer Events – Monthly review to see what we are doing in June 2022

4.3 School Update

 – Students don’t see it as a big deal, and want to continue with clubs and extracurricular activities.

– The current group needs more support and safety then the past groups (previous was more involved in advocacy)

– Division is supporting their capacity through QSA at some schools in the division.

– New division Inclusion and Diversity Coordinator is heading up QSA groups and supporting trans students

  • Hays Lakes has an active QSA
  • Conference reinforced the legalities around QSA – schools have to support development
  • Most parents DO support safe space for students in the school
  • Alt View is able to support rural development of QSA
  1. Standing Items

5.1 Monthly Meetings – next meeting Feb 14 – reschedule? – moved to Feb 7, 2022

5.2 ExpressOUTSIDE – TBD, COVID dependent

5.3 Friends and Family Support Group – Running online, first Wednesday of every month – contact Andrea Dyck for info: adyck@brsd.ab.ca

  1. Adjournment and check out

Adjourned by Nikki – 1944

Camrose Pride

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Date: Monday, October 18, 2021  
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm    Place: ONLINE ZOOM
Attendees: Nikki F, Ray M, Charissa S, Jessica D, Christina R, Stephen CM, Candy M, Gus B
Guest: Carol B

Agenda ItemMinutes
Call to OrderMeeting called to order at 1834 by Chair: Nikki F
Financials Provided by Treasurer Candy M:   $3.75 for bank fees Last month account increased by $50 through community donation One expense in for $50 for Nikki   $2200 and change
Carol B – Presenting on Sahakarini opportunity for CPCWhat is Sahakarini ? non government organization in Camrose An east Indian word that means cooperation or working across
founded in 1979 – original members were missionaries
Mission – to help the poorest of the poor in developing countries to do their best in life History: Once a year does fund raisers – historical – one way they auction off a pair of sandals from the founders, year for a year and add to the history of the shoes – i.e. you take the sandals with you as you travel
Water filtration in Kenya
Projects in central America
Supports about 3-4 projects per year
One main event – a dinner with the sandal auction   Proposal: This year – opened up to groups to use for once a week to increase awareness and passion for their cause. Keep sandals in Camrose and per week a groups can have the sandals and show the travels through Camrose. (52 weeks).
Link between CPC – and Sahakarini are to cross boundaries and supporting people
Carol would like to connect the groups and support each other in the community, have some mutual dialogue. Maybe in the future the two groups can connect and support alignment and cooperation.
Proposal for CPC to have sandals in June to support Pride month
Carol has already made the donation on behalf of CPC  

CONVERSATION: Idea – Fireside stories in our sandals with the sandals.  
Website: sahakarini.org  
Conversion Therapy Ban By-law – Pledge & Election Update  Revisit ACTION PLAN
COMPLETED: Step One – first draft of Letter to the City of Camrose – an invitation to join us/champion the process to pass the bylaw against Conversion “Therapy”/Torture. COMPLETED: Step Two – Create Pledge and sent to those running for Municipal Election in City of Camrose:
5 candidates returned signed pledges.
4-5 candidates contacted CPC wishing to meet and discuss the pledge but as request was very clear, meetings were deferred until after election. Some misunderstood that a federal ban was already through – corrected and educated on process or legislation. _______________________________________________________ Step Three: Begin canvasing other supports within Camrose:
Create a new Pledge for agencies and businesses, psychologists and therapists, parents, family members, affirming churches/pastors, school boards, Augustana, organizations, Camrose Library, shelters, individuals citizens etc., to sign in support of the bylaw. This will provide more support, awareness and active support for change.
Ask for permission to have names of signees visible so we can create more support and encouragement of others
Give a snapshot of info to give to people about the Conversion Therapy Ban by-law        

Ministries: Affirming ministry – first approach and have them take to ministerial meeting and have leaders of the faith take to their people. Some legwork with religious groups already done on national level. Some delay since COVID in 2019 – United Church still gives the impression of support but how are they navigating congregational services?
Each faith group will have to approach individually since they are all so diverse and different – same faiths do not necessarily practice the same between congregations (i.e. Lutheran).
CPC is not alone – use our resources, affirming churches, No Conversion Canada, Pam Rocker etc….  

Survivors: Be aware of the constant attitude and subtle ways that people have been controlled, abused and oppressed as we move forwards.
Create a call out to any survivors in our area who may want to come forward – providing supports is critical
Please ensure CPC members are taking care of themselves  

ACTION: All members start identifying humans and groups to approach and have some conversations Nikki and Candy will develop the next community pledge for Conversion Therapy Ban  

Step Four: Contact Council members:
Who got elected – then see who we have that was supportive
Have to have in community support not just outside but can use the great work done by No Conversion Canada to assist in this process Develop a multi-level support to make this a fabric of Camrose society and a deeper understanding of what this means

New council is encouraging – new minds and new ideas, timing could be advantageous.  

Step Five: Take by-law proposal to Council
Looking Forward – Fall & Winter EventsPaused, COVID 4th wave  
Regular MeetingsRegular monthly Board Meeting
Monday, Nov. 8th, 2021 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: online zoom

Solstice Fire at Gus’ to be discussed  

EspressOUTSIDE TBD – Paused – Covid 4th wave  

Friends and Family Support Group
Running online, first Wednesday of every month – contact Andrea Dyck for info: adyck@brsd.ab.ca  
AdjournmentNikki Featherstone adjourned meeting at 1936

May 10, 2021

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Camrose Pride Community
Date: Monday, May 10, 2021  
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm    Place: ONLINE ZOOM

Attendance:
Executive Leadership:
Nikki F (she/her) – Chair
Candy (she/her) – Treasurer
Stephen (he/him) – Member-at-Large
Regrets:
Robyn Gray (she/her) – Secretary
Sam – Youth Council Rep
Jana (she/her) – Member-at-Large
Members:
Andrew
Ray
Teri
Marsha
Guests:
Wyatt

  1. Call to Order – Confirm quorum – Introductions
  2. We have quorum
  3. Financials – Candy
  4. No change since last month. 1,765.53 in bank account (net change -$3.75 from last month, bank fee) plus $550 petty cash. Financial sheets are attached
  5. Invitation for CPC member to speak on a Panel w/ MLA Janis Irwin
    1. Camrose NDP is going to be running a panel for Pride month focused on rural LGBTQ+ issues and pride, and they would really love to have a representative from Camrose Pride Community on the panel to help bring those issues to light.
    1. will be on Saturday, June 12, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
    1. panel is going to be pretty broad, so the panellist would be welcome to talk about whichever aspects of rural LGBTQ+ issues they would like to spotlight (i.e., healthcare, education, housing, employment, etc.
    1. Contact person – Wyatt T. (wyatt.tanton@gmail.com)
      – practice panel Sunday before. If anyone is interested, please contact Wyatt this week so that it can be put on their events page. Looking at a $10.00 ticket for the event (two hours). Looking for one individual to represent CPC. Online, open to any individual to come. Will have questions focusing on PoC, trans issues, etc.
    1. Would like a focus on supports for youth and GSA’s within topics of the conversation.
    1. We will send an email to our membership to find who is interested in the event.

Motion (Candy): Camrose Pride Community to support this event and agree to canvas for an appropriate participant. Seconded by Nikki. Motion Passes Unanimously

  1. Andrew V. – 3 part talk for Camrose Healthcare providers on 2SLGBTQ+ issues – looking for feedback from CPC on any experiences we wish to ensure are covered.
  2. Can use Camrose Pride Community as a community resource.
  3. Please reach out if you have nay topics that would like to be covered
    1. Wyatt: Body dysmorphia and COVID, inability to be active like before and COVID recovery
    1. QSA: will give some thought too and respond
  1. Conversion ‘Therapy’ Ban By-law
    1. – ACTION PLAN – create our Action Plan to carry this out
      1. first draft of letter to be written as step one, to be presented to City of Camrose Council during Pride Month. (mid June)
  2. We have a few weeks to come together to make a draft letter for a councillor to present (or a community member to present).
  3. What should the action plan look like?
    1. Step 1: Communications plans:
      1. Internally, Why we want to do this? What do we need to do?
      1. Who brought forth bylaws to the other previous communities?
      1. Reach out to Pam Rocker.
      1. Reach out to the counsellor members individually to see who may be returning or leaving come October.
      1. Wyatt: Agnus Hellen, Max Lindstrand and ? will be running again. Election candidates: Lucas Bannock, Wyatt Tranton, Stacey Wall. There’s an info session June 13th for candidates. Thinks most candidates would support this – you can also be involved and run!
    1. Step 2 How: the letter itself on what we think the bylaws could and should look like
    1. Step 3: Discussion on putting out an announcement in June: Wyatt thinks Camrose NDP would support and could be a topic of conversation in Panel. Needs to be submitted a month before – would hopefully be discussed in July.

Motion (Candy): Camrose Pride Community to send a Public Service Announcement in June 1 about intention to submit a draft bylaw banning conversion therapy to City Council. Seconded by Stephen. Motion Passes Unanimously

Action: Candy to put together a background document to supplement the application. Nikki to reach out to Pam and other counsellors and candidates.

  1. June – Pride Month – Check in on ACTION plan
    1. Queer Scavenger Hunt idea-
      1. Nikki will create lists of items to find – in progress
      1. Are we able to source prizes for this, or do we think with COVID, that may not be wise? How else can we create a prize for this?
      1. Don’t feel good asking businesses for prizes.
      1. many small prizes vs one big prize

Motion (Nikki): Camrose Pride Community to use $150.00 for prizes from small, locally-owned businesses to be selected by participant draw.  Seconded by Candy. Motion Passes Unanimously

  • Colouring Pages – Candy
    • Candy will gather colouring pages for the community to colour and enter into a draw for prizes.
    • Online Queer Trivia – Stephen
      • Questions posted online; answers given out later
      • Stephen to create list of trivia questions, with help from other members and Board – Update?
        • Working on this currently.
    • Moments of Pride – reshare last year’s videos, invite new ones from community to create archive of local queer & allied voices. – will be completed in June
    • Letter to City of Camrose to request the flag be raised June 1st – Will this be included in the letter sent out to rural communities?
    • Candy – drafting letters to all villages and towns within the counties of Camrose, Beaver, and Flagstaff, requesting they raise a pride flag for June
      • Draft Letter has been shared with the Board – all in favour of sending it out?
      • Stephen found emails for Flagstaff county municipalities; we need volunteers to gather the other 2 counties’ emails, as these need to go out ASAP.

Action (Nikki): to talk to Gus about the process of requesting the Pride Flag to be raised. Nikki to contact Camrose County. Candy to contact Beaver and Flagstaff.

  1. Youth Council – Update on ACTION plan
    1. Candy to connect with Sam and ask to begin talking with our community youth around anything they would like to present during June for youth – Update?
    1. She had mentioned activities to QSA, but currently challenging right now with COVID. We are open to support them in their ideas. Doesn’t have to be a month long thing, can also be in July or later as COVID allows. Are zoomed-out.
    1. Nikki – connected with Andrea Dyck around any resources she may direct us to for supporting the Youth Council – Update: Andrea has stated that her team would love to support the Youth Council of CPC, which would mean the Mental Health Capacity Building Team through BRSD. She said to just let her know when we have particulars and she is happy to schedule a meeting to talk through what would be helpful and what they might be able to do.
  2. Letter to UCP on Curriculum – Update?
  3. Hasn’t been sent yet. Went to some of the parent sessions to gather more information. Started drafting it, feel we need to send something. In progress, waiting other input from experts.
  4. Rotary Meeting – Update?
  5. Have set a date, we get about 10 minutes of the meeting
  6. Upcoming regular meetings
    1. Regular meeting for planning and connection
      1. 1.    Monday, June 14, 2021 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm (Every second Monday)
      1. 2.    Location: online zoom (likely)
      1. EspressOUTSIDE
        1. May 31st – Physically distanced walk around Mirror Lake – meet at Jubilee Park 7pm
        1. TENTATIVE – weather and Covid restrictions dependant. Announcement will be put on the FB page
      1. Friends and family meeting
        1. Final meeting before summer break (until Oct) – June 2nd, 6:30pm
        1. Please contact Andrea Dyck for details (adyck@brsd.ab.ca)
  1. Sharing circle

PRIDE MONTH!

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Special Events 0 Comment

Camrose Pride Community
invites you to share

Moments of Pride

Yearly Pride Events commemorate the pivotal 1969 Stonewall Inn Riots, often seen as the spark for LGBTQIA2+ rights movements in North America. The fight for our communities’ rights continues to this day, and the sacrifices of those that came before us allow us to live our lives with Moments of Pride.

While we are not able to gather to celebrate our identities and our histories in person, Camrose Pride Community would like to invite you to share Moments of Pride in your life. Moments of Pride is a month long community driven event that sees LGBTQIA2+ peoples and our allies share our pride through the power of art.

What is Pride? What is your story?

We would like to ask our community for video submissions showcasing Moments of Pride, be they stories, poems, paintings, drag tutorials, dances, sports showcases, gardening suggestions, musical numbers or absolutely anything that showcases one’s pride to be an LGBTQIA2+ person or ally.

These videos will be posted on the Camrose Pride Community Facebook page every Friday in June to share our experiences, our journeys, our triumphs, and our Moments of Pride with the world.

If you are interested in taking part, please create a 3-5 minute video exploring the theme of Moments of Pride and share it via Google Drive or published YouTube link with camrosepridecommunity@gmail.com. Please include a short description of the video to be included with the video. Please also attach a signed Photo-Video-Audio Release Form, allowing us permission to post the video. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Camrose Pride Community through Instagram, Facebook, or email.

Guidelines

Submissions must be received by CPC the Sunday before our weekly Facebook event held Friday, June 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th. If the deadline has passed, your submission will be highlighted the week after.

No submissions will be accepted beyond Sunday, June 21st.

Submissions must be copyright compliant, avoiding the use of copyrighted music/IP or securing permission from the IP rights’ holder beforehand.

Submissions must adhere to Facebook’s Community Standards.

Photo-Audio-Video Release Form must be signed and included with submission.

Submissions should include a short description of the contents for accessibility purposes.

Please enable auto-generated closed captioning with your video if possible on YouTube (How to Enable Automatic Captioning on YouTube). If shared via Google Drive, CPC will enable CC on Facebook.

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Feb. 10, 2020

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Camrose Pride Community
Date: Monday, Feb.10, 2020    
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm   
Place: Augustana Library, Room A
Attendance: Gus B., Zach S., Amielle C., Nikki F., Candy M., Stephen C.
Regrets: Lucas H., Robyn G.

  1. Introductions
  2. Financial Report / Bank Account
    1. Financials were emailed to Lucas and Nikki and Lucas has shared to Google Drive as CPS Balance Sheet.
    2. Candy has created a balance sheet – which is what she will work off every meeting; there will be a ledger for each individual item purchased. 
    3. We have the main account and the petty cash account. 
    4. Candy has now paid Lucas for fall family activities and has paid Nikki for Pride hockey tape. 
    5. CPC will have outstanding/upcoming commitments (such as Pride Week, Pride in the Park, etc.) 
    6. Pride in the Park 2019 made: $281.15 (costs were covered with donations and gift cards from the grocery stores).
    7. We now have a standard form to be presented at each meeting that everyone can understand. 
    8. Candy’s work will contribute to the corporate knowledge and access to information and continuity of CPC, as outlined as a goal of CPC. She and the rest of the CPC will work to create financial policies and procedures for the future so whoever is in the Treasurer’s place knows what’s what and what the procedures are.
    9. Status will change the way we bank (non-profit; two people per cheque).
    10. Nikki will send Candy a copy of incorporation to take the bank to update our bank account.
    11. Candy will write cheque for a down payment for our upcoming event.
  3. Society Status and AGM
    1. Congratulations to all our hard work: we have status!
    2. We need an AGM to change those bylaws that were submitted that now need changing. 
    3. AGM is supposed to be first Monday of February; Nikki suggests that March meeting will be AGM to change bylaws. 
    4. CPC needs to choose when our AGM will be in the future
    5. AGM is actually when we look at our audits, which take about 3-6 months after 
    6. We will be doing unofficial audits, as we mature, and we want to be sure that whoever the treasurer is has time to submit paperwork. 
    7. AGM is to have the most number of community people in attendance; could be attached to an event (maybe Pride in the Park?). 
  4. Strategic Planning 
    1. There was a recap of our Strategic Planning Session
    2. Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values
      1. Vision Statement: Creating safe and inclusive communities for everyone.
      2. Mission Statement: CPC’s mission is to create space for wellness through providing opportunities for education, collaboration, and engagement.
      3. We would like to create feedback form on these to be sent out to the community.
      4. We will spend the next year solidifying our value statements.
      5. Afterwards, we will work on our five year plan. Nikki presented and will make available for members of the exec to read in-depth; she will put in the google drive for people to access. 
      6. We will continue this conversation in March.
      7. Forecast what goals from the strat plan we want to start with first
    3. Our Calendar Year
      1. AGM date
      2. Forecast Event dates
    4. Yearly Events
      1. Pride in the Park
      2. Fall Ball – tentatively
    1. Events
      1. Pride in the Park
      2. Fall Family Dance – tentatively 
        1. Tentatively October 24, 2020
        2. Halloween Masquerade Ball theme
        3. Zach will book the Bailey Theatre for October 24
      3. Fall Ball – Zach’s Drag Show we support
      4. BVJ Parade float
      5. Reading with Royalty
    2. We hope to get an official calendar to set up events for the coming years.
    3. Events need sub-committees to help with organization and cohesion.
  5. Fundraising Opportunities
    1. Queer Paint Nights at Fox and Fable or Brewhouse with Nikki and Zach
    2. Vendors at Pride in the Park to charge for tables
    3. Collaboration
      1. Cat Shelter: adoption event
    4. Booth for Pride Week
      1. selling clothing, binders, tapes, trans inclusive clothing
  6. United Church Meeting
    1. Lucas was unable to attend
    2. Candy met with Colleen and Brian who have a clear mission: strong connections to queer community because of familial relations.
    3. United Church wants to
      1. ensure they are socially aware
      2. create intentionality of perspectives and respect
      3. create safe spaces and related permanent signage
      4. create all-genders/non-gendered washrooms
      5. ‘normalize’ queerness in faith-spaces
      6. create visual awareness of support, especially outside (through rainbows on the bench outside, perhaps) 
      7. create strategies to deal with issues like the BVJ signs
      8. share resources between community groups
      9. use the rainbow more in advertising
      10. continue communication and develop even stronger rapport with queer community groups
    4. United is one of three affirming churches in Camrose, and they’d like that to be promoted. Affirmation is a lengthy process that shows dedication to queer community. This includes training of leaders and bestwos an ‘Affirming Spiritual Organization’ sticker. 
    5. Nikki suggests the creation and inclusion of United in a community diversity committee, which they are open to.
  7. Upcoming Events and Plans
    1. CPC is invited to the Vikings hockey game on Feb. 29th! 
    2. Pride Week Committee Update (Augustana) – Amielle
      1. Schedule of events is available on social media.
      2. Nikki gave Amielle box of pride tape for hockey games.
      3. Lucas will drop off CPC tri-fold for the hockey game on Saturday February 29th.
      4. Are GSAs/QSAs contacted about these events? 
  8. Upcoming Regular Meetings
    1. Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      1. March 9, 2020, Augustana Library, 6:30 pm
    2. EspressOUT
      1. Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 5:30pm to 6:30pm – then moving on to Anthony & James speaking at the Augustana Chapel (begins at 7pm) – tickets are between $5-$15 and are on sale now!
      2. Location: Camrose Coffee
      3. Alternate Location if ever needed: BP’s Lounge
    3. Friends and Family Meeting
      1. Next meeting is March 2nd, 2020
      2. 1st Monday of every month, Irving Room at the Library, 6:30pm-8 (new start time)
  9. Sharing Circle

August 12, 2019

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Committee Work, Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Camrose Pride CommunityDate:
Monday, August 12th, 2019
Time 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Place: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room
Attendance: Gus B., Nikki F., Lucas H., Stephen, Pastor John Helps (United Church), Brian Nelson (United Church), Zack, Erika, Candy M. (via phone), Robyn G., Amielle C., Ron
Regrets: Margaret H.

  1. Introductions
  2. Guest – Erika – Community Service Learning (CSL) Student for Fall 2009
    1. Student Advisor
      1. Erika works with classes to pair students with community organizations.  Augustana has a course coming up in Human Sexuality and Intimate Relationships taught by Professor Sean Moore, who has been involved with CPC in the past.
      2. Students work for about 20 hours over the semester in whatever way is most beneficial to the organization they’re working with. It is a mututally beneficial relationship, with the student gaining relevant real world experience.
      3. Erika and Dr. Moore are looking for an organization to work with from October to December.
      4. Students can potentially help with events, work on a resource, etc.
    2. Ideas
      1. The student could research best practices in other communities about reaffirming churches
        1. Pastor John Helps suggested a starting point could be the United Church’s Affirming Ministries Program.
        2. He also suggested that many Anglican churches are affirming.
      2. Candy told us there have been student workers with About Time Productions in the past with success.
    3. Supervisor/Contact
      1. Nikki will be the supervisor/contact of the students.
    4. The students are invited to attend meetings.
  3. Guest – Zack Stevens/Robyn Bank$
    1. Fall Bank$ Ball – Saturday, September 7th, 2019
      1. This will be the second annual Fall Bank$ Ball, which is a counterpoint to pair with Augustana’s So You Think You Can Drag in February. There will be some Edmonton drag queens, as well as Camrose’s Sir Racha
      2. Location: Bailey Theatre
      3. Age:14+/Parental Discretion
      4. Sponsorship?
      5. There will be numbered tickets for door prizes and more!
    2. Volunteer Opportunities (free entry!)
      1. Work the front
        1. Ticket sales, etc.
      2. Security
      3. DJ
        1. Tom Merklinger
      4. Decorating – before and after
      5. There are already 6 confirmed volunteers.
    3. Zack will send poster to Nikki to share especially with Erika at Augustana who will both make call outs for volunteers.
  4. BVJ Parade Debrief (TW: Hate Speech)
    1. Hate Signs/Chalk in front of Library during Reading with Royalty
      1. There were two separate posters that stated Bring Rainbows Back to God and God Hates Gays They were held by two protestors who are confirmed as being the same people who protested the Camrose Public Library’s Reading with Royalty and were subsequently banned from the library.
      2. The protestors are from a cult called Superhuman Divinity Ministry. They appear to be the only members. They post extensively to social media, escalating their hate speech.
      3. Pastor John Helps told us the United Church has been receiving monthly packages pushing an anti-gay and anti-Islamic position for over a year now. The United Church would like to take a more public stance against homophobia and hate speech. They have alerted the police about this issue.
    2. Support
      1. Pastor Deborah of Bethel Lutheran sent in her support.
      2. Colleen (Friends and Family) sent in her support from United.
      3. Open Door has also expressed support, stating the cult has been banned from Open Door.
    3. Options
      1. Ignore
        1. We would refrain from sending energy and from giving press.
      2. Responsive Statement
        1. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
        2. We would like to create a message of love, affirmation, and support. This response would also acknowledge and focus on the support of the wider Camrose community in light of recent events. We want to emphasize that we are very thankful for the community support. We would also like to take this as an opportunity to promote ourselves and speak to what we have been doing in the community. We take this seriously, and the safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us. We can use this conflict as an opportunity to educate and reduce risk. We would like to avoid escalation.
        3. PIE: Public. Intentional. Explicit.
      3. Response Venues
        1. Social Media
        2. Booster
        3. Community Event
    4. Nikki will speak to our police liaison, John, about this soon.
    5. The United Church would like to join in on our response. We can ask other community organizations, churches, libraries, and the police. We would also like to contact the Camrose County.
    6. Robyn Bank$ wonders about having increased security for the Fall Banks Ball. The Camrose Police Service have been proactive in the past about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Nikki will contact our police liaison to ask for extra support during the event.
    7. The United Church has asserted that they could be an affirming space in the presence of next year’s parade as the protestors were located near the church.
  5. Guest – The United Church
    1. Pastor John Helps
      1. The United Church is committed to affirming congregations
    2. Speaker – Pam Rocker (Calgary) – Sunday, November 17th
      1. Fees: $1,000 for the day
        1. ~$300-400 for sermon
        2. ~$300-400 for following workshop
          1. Could/should the workshop has a fee to mitigate costs?
      2. Pam Rocker works with people who have undergone conversion therapy.
      3. Gus will contact Pam Rocker as soon as possible. Nikki will let everyone know once we have confirmation of Pam Rocker and the Fall Family Dance dates.
      4. Ellen from Bethel Lutheran church is hoping to share cost. Gus will contact Bethel Lutheran about donations/sharing cost.
      5. The United Church can host Pam Rocker as a guest pastor. They have expressed that space is often the easiest thing for them to provide to support the community. Their sanctuary holds up to 300 people.
      6. They can potentially rally donations via collection place.
    3. Gus hopes to address which churches are affirming in Camrose
      1. There are a range of churches in Camrose, some more affirming than others. It is a potentially awkward subject.
      2. CSL student(s) could potentially do some research within the community.
      3. Pastor John Helps will inquire with his church if the United Church can give any donations (by have Pam Rocker as a designated guest pastor). John will contact Nikki afterwards. We’re thinking about 300 or 400 dollars. John will let Nikki know at the end of the week.
    4. Publicity
      1. How can we broadcast LGBT affirmations to the wider community as the United Church?
  6. Fall Family Dance – Tentative Date: Saturday, November 16th
    1. Space
      1. Bailey Theatre is completely booked. What are some alternative spaces? In the future, we will aim to book the Bailey Theatre earlier, as it offers lightning, bartending, and more.
      2. Alternative Spaces
        1. Elks Hall has been a venue in the past
        2. Retro is queer friendly and Carmen is vocal about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. There is a stage and a bar. They have discounted rate with a non-profit. Gus will contact Retro about potentially hosting once we have confirmation on Pam Rocker’s date.
        3. United Church
    2. We will pair the Fall Family Dance with Pam Rocker to make a whole weekend of LGBTQ+ affirmation.
  7. Camp fYrefly Resource Fair Debrief
    1. While it was nice to be there, interest waned as most students were from Edmonton.
    2. It would be nice for future CPC promotion tables to have some sort of ‘swag’.
    3. Swag Options
      1. Buttons: CPL says it is about 2 cents a button. We could borrow a button maker from the library or About Time Productions..
      2. Branded swag from places like Vista Print. It would be less expensive to bundle an order with another organization. Robyn will let us know the next time the library orders swag.
    4. Nikki – Art Therapy Workshop – Coming Out Stories/Staying in Stories
      1. It was a success, but promoted more questions: How do allies come out? Can we have stories of people who have shifted from homophobia to places of love?
  8. Reading with Royalty Debrief
    1. Success! There were about 70 kids, which is an increase from last year. Candy brought ATPs whole camp. Some kids said they had the best day of their life.
    2. Melissa (Sir Racha) unfortunately couldn’t make it, but will come next year.
    3. See above about protests.
    4. The library would love to have people write letters of support for Reading with Royalty! Please send them to the library. Emails are acceptable. Please send emails to rgray@prl.ab.ca.
  9. Haven Art Therapy Update
    1. There is a pilot group in the works
      1. Alberta Society for the Promotion of Sexual Health (ASPSH) Donation
        1. Tracy Burnett for ASPSH contacted Nikki in June. Donated $2,000 to CMHA in partnership with Haven Art Therapy and CPC for pilot group. Once we have a society we can receive donations of a similar ilk.
        2. The pilot gorup Must be run through Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) framework.
        3. Calgary has a queer centered art therapy group that could be something to model ourselves after. While Nikki can do the therapy part, a community member can be involved as well as support.
      2. Date: There is no date as of yet.
      3. Space: There is no space as of yet.
      4. Age: 16+ intergenerational
      5. Attendance: 10-15 people max
  10. Leadership Positions
    1. Melissa has declined our co-chair offer.
    2. Gus nominates Candy Morningway as new treasurer. Seconded by Amielle.
      1. Candy would like to make the caveat that she is involved with 4 other boards,and would like to maintain a positive work life balance. Margaret has been doing it with CDSS. Margaret will continue being our banker until we have received our status. Candy will contact Margaret about learning her new position.
    3. Gus nominates Zach Stevens as co-chair of CPC. Candy seconds this. Gus will contact Zach Stevens about learning his new position.
  11. Society Status
    1. There is still at least a 7 month backlog.
    2. Nikki had us sign documents for society status. These were also signed by our new co-chair.
    3. After we receive status, there will be an annual return/update required. That is where changes are noted.
    4. It is important to be aware that we are becoming a society, not a charitable organization. We cannot give out charitable receipts, among other restrictions. 
  12. Financial Report
    1. We still have about $3,200.
    2. Nikki will send an email to Margaret about the new treasurer. Margaret will teach Candy about her new position.
    3. Amielle suggest a biannual meeting of planning and budgeting to be a Strategic Planning committee. We need a strategic plan.
    4. Strategic Plan/Annual Calendar
      1. Once we have an Annual Calendar we can do project planning around that.
      2. Michael from Altview will support the creation of a Strategic Plan and will come to Camrose to support that once we have society status. 
  13. Community Event Registration – Thursday, September 5th
    1. Amielle and Lucas will be attending
    2. Lucas will bring trifold, and will update the upcoming events area with the Robyn Bank$ Ball.
    3. Lucas will bring table cloth and get rainbow flags from Gus to decorate table.
    4. Lucas will print email sign up list.
    5. Lucas will print little handouts again.
    6. Amielle and Lucas will be in contact about creating some swag with the CPL’s button maker.
  14. Regular Meetings
    1. ExpressOUT
      1. Monday, August 26th, 2019 – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
      2. Theme: Colouring – Please, bring your own colouring pages/books!
      3. Reminder: ExpressOUT is all ages! Social Gathering of all people that are queer and/or allied. Please let people know.
    2. Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      1. Monday, September 9th, 2019 6:00pm – 8:00pm
      2. Where: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room
      3. October and November meeting dates have been rescheduled with the library to work around stats
        1. Tuesdays, October 15th, and Tuesday, November 12th, 2019
    3. Friends and Family Meeting
      1. Monday, October 7th, 2019
      2. Andrea Dyck with the BRSD is very open to working with us to accomplish tasks. Lucas will ensure she is kept in the loop about things that are happening with CPC.
  15. Agend Items for Next Meeting
    1.  Biannual Strategic Planning Meeting
  16. Sharing Circle

August 12th, 2019

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Committee Work, Meeting Agendas 0 Comment

Camrose Pride Community
Date: Monday, August 12, 2019
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Place: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room

  • Introductions
  • Erika – CSL students for Fall 2019
  • Zack – Fall Bank$ Ball – sponsorship? Volunteers?
  • BVJ Parade debrief
    • Response to hate signs at parade/chalk out front of library – should we do a public response or ignore it?
    • Have received supportive inquiry from the Colleen Nelson at the United Church, they will support us in any way they can and wanted to check in on how we were doing with the parade hate signs
  • Camp fYrefly Resource Fair Debrief
  • Reading with Royalty Debrief
  • Haven Art Therapy Update – Art therapy pilot group in the works – looking to create a peer facilitator position from the community. Details to come
  • UPDATES: Leadership Team Positions
    • At current, the leadership stands as:
      • Lead Chair: Gus
      • Co-Chair – OPEN – any ideas of who to approach? Melissa has declined
      • Secretary: Lucas
      • Treasurer/Banker: Margaret (through CDSS) is transitioning. Candy Morningway has been invited to become Treasurer – response:
      • Member-at-Large: Amielle
      • Member-at-Large: Robyn
    • Nikki remains as support through the AltView foundation.
  • Financial Report
    • Margaret sends regrets.
    • Nikki has requested she email the Financial Report in to be presented tonight.
  • Society Status
    • Update – signatures on document application
  • Upcoming Events and Plans
    • Community Registration Night, Thursday, September 5th evening – Lucas & Amielle will have our table
      • What do we need?
    • Fall Family Dance – Bailey is booked up and hasno room. Do we want to look at another location? A different date/season?
  • Upcoming Regular Meetings
    • Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      • Monday, September 9th, 2019 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Camrose Public Library Irving Room
      • October and November meeting dates have been rescheduled with the Library to work around stats:
        1. Tuesdays, October 15, and November 12, 2019
    • EspressOUT
      • Monday, August 26th, 2019 5:30pm – 7:30pm
        • Location: Camrose Coffee
        • Theme: Tarot night? Colouring Party?
    • Friends and Family Meeting
      • They will not be meeting for June, July, August, and September. They will return to regular meetings in October.
  • Sharing Circle

May 13, 2019 Meeting Minutes

Posted by Nikki Featherstone on in Committee Work, Meeting Minutes 0 Comment

Date: Monday, May 13th, 2019
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Place: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room
Attendees: 6
Nikki F. and Wayne W. send their regrets

  1. Introductions and Updates
  2. Representative from TD Bank
    1. Unfortunately, the TD Bank group invited did not attend. They were invited because Gus had received a phone call saying that because the Edmonton Pride Centre Parade has been cancelled, the TD Bank would like to donate some funds to rural communities hosting pride events. Camrose is a contender, and may be eligible for up to $25,000. We will push this back to a later date.
  3. Leadership Team Positions Open
    1. The Treasurer position is still open.
      1. Margaret H. will continue being the banker until the Treasurer position is filled. Margaret would like to point out that she is retiring in May of 2020, at which point priorities could change.
      2. Reminder: Margaret H., our banker, will be away from May 27th, 2019 to July 7th, 2019, at which point funds will be out of reach. This is during our Pride BBQ and preparations for our parade float.
    2. Amielle was voted in as Member-at-Large.
    3. Robyn was voted in as second Member-at-Large, until another Leadership Team Member can be found to replace her. Robyn cannot commit to too much moving forward.
    4. We are still looking for a co-chair.
    5. At current, the leadership stands as:
      1. Lead Chair: Gus
      2. Secretary: Lucas
      3. Treasurer/Banker: Margaret (through CDSS)
      4. Member-at-Large: Amielle
      5. Member-at-Large: Robyn
    6. Nikki remains as support through the AltView foundation.
    7. We have voted to post our bylaws on our website in an easily accessible place, as opposed to a dropbox. A downloadable PDF is also needed.
  4. Financial Report
    1. We currently have $2,713.87.
    2. Revenue still includes ~$500 from CDSS every year, which may or may not continue when Margaret retires.
    3. Nikki has received the $500 for the BBQ. She will keep track of receipts and everything. Margaret will do the paperwork to ensure the $500 comes out of our total.
  5. Society Status
    1. The bylaws we currently have attached to our application will remain the bylaws after we gain society status. Changing them will require a process. For now, the online posted bylaws are what we follow.
    2. Gus will update once there is a change to our society status. Until then, we will wait patiently.
  6. Upcoming Events and Plans
    1. BBQ in June – Jubilee Park – Sunday, June 16th, 2019 3:00pm – 8:00pm
      1. Timeline:
        1. 3:00pm: General Gathering
        2. 4:30pm: BBQ
        3. 6:00pm: Candle Vigil
        4. 7:00pm: Healing Fire Ceremony
      2. City permit approved
      3. The cost of the BBQ in the previous years has been as follows:
        1. 2016 – $556
        2. 2017 – $271
        3. 2018 – $281
      4. Please share the news as much as possible, including on Facebook and please share the Facebook event itself.
      5. Amielle and Margaret will be gone at that time.
      6. Posters
        1. Previously, CDSS did posters for free, which is what we have done in the past in an A4 size.
        2. Carol had also gotten posters printed inexpensively at Augustana, including the Cabaret posters. Margaret will double-check the price in our financial records.
        3. We have in the past paid $25 to CentraCam to have them posted. They prefer to receive the posters the week before we would like them posted. If we want them up in the first week of June, they must be given to CentraCam in the last week of May. Margaret is gone after the 27th of May. Nikki, please have the posters sent to Margaret by May 25th at the absolute latest, so that they can be printed by Margaret and taken to CentraCam. Margaret will send an e-mail to Nikki as a reminder as well.
      7. Donations
        1. Sam with Camrose Directory has agreed to donate bottles of water. Thank you Gus for finding that out.
        2. Lucas has agreed to ask for donations from Co-op, Safeway, and Save-On Foods managers. Nikki will make all documents of the Pride Community available to him and other members, in hopes of sharing previous year’s templates of cover letters.
        3. Documents from last year will also include the numbers. What were the numbers from last year? Gus suggested about 100 hamburgers.
        4. If there are no documents from last year about who donated what and in what amount, Margaret may be able to look at expenses in the past.
        5. We are hoping to get donations of condiments, buns, cheese, veggies, hot dogs, burgers, and watermelons.
        6. Rebecca helped significantly in the previous years. She is unable to help this year. Sarah, the host of Camrose Coffee, will be asked by Gus about helping cook the food.
      8. Food
        1. Carol had allowed us to use her deep-freeze previous to save left-over food. Unfortunately, we no longer have that option. Left-overs will be donated to either the Women’s Shelter or the Open Door.
        2. Nikki is contacting AHS about rules around the food service. She will also ask about coolers needed for raw meets and thermometers. What has been done about coolers in the past?
        3. We also need to ensure we have gluten-free burgers, veggie dogs, veggie trays, etc. for people with restricted diets.
        4. The burgers will be available by donation.
      9. While Amielle had raised the notion of creating some sort of visual (like a thermometer) to track donations towards the CPC and had hoped for a specific goal to work towards, without Carol donating a full days work every week towards the CPC, we are going to have difficulty maintaining our previous presence within the city. Our goals this year are mostly to maintain what we have achieved in the past three years and continue having a presence within the community. Currently our events generally pay for themselves, and we are doing okay in terms of money. We will table a discussion about the goals and future of the CPC until we have received society status and we are all more comfortable with our roles.
      10. Nikki F. is still heading the BBQ Subcommittee with AltView.
      11. We still need volunteers to cook.
      12. Who will decorate?
    2. BVJ Pride Parade – Sunday, August 4th, 2019
      1. $500 had been approved from last meeting for petty cash for the parade.
      2. Amielle has not yet asked Tish about using her convertible as she wasn’t sure about having a driver. Gus has agreed to drive the car. Amielle will ask Tish to use it.
      3. Float
        1. While we had floated the idea of creating some large, without knowing if we have money from TD Bank, we have to plan for something more manageable for the time-availability and budget of our team.
        2. Prior floats have included trucks and flatbeds with palm trees that won 1st place in our first year. They also have included just the car and many walkers. That is probably what we will do this year.
        3. Amielle and Margaret will work on official aspects of the parade including insurance when Margaret comes back from France. The deadline is July 14th.
        4. Lucas and Amielle will meet up to discuss matters related to providing drag/dress-up materials for the float. We are thinking perhaps a Tickle Trunk would be a great way to get people involved and feeling comfortable.
      4. Guests
        1. Amielle will ask Robyn Banks and Sir Racha to be our special guests and walk in drag. This will encourage all participants to do drag/dress-up.
        2. The Kodiaks walked with us last year. Amielle will ask if they would like to again. We still have the pride tape from last year to wrap around their hockey sticks.
      5. Decorations
        1. We have many rainbow pompoms from the previous year and other decorations that will be used to decorate the vehicle.
        2. We also have a pride banner that can be carried from last year.
        3. We are thinking of perhaps ordering stickers from Vistaprint.com of the new Pride Loonie, that we can then stick on Chocolate Loonies to give out to people.
  7. Community Registration Night
    1. Thursday, September 5th, evening.
    2. Amielle and Lucas have volunteered to sit with the booth and promote the Pride Community.
  8. Upcoming Regular Meetings
    1. EspressOUT
      1. Monday, May 27th, 2019 5:30pm – 7:30pm
        1. Gus b. Will ask Sarah from Camrose Coffee about hosting us again this month. It will be nice to have it consistently in the same place.
    2. Friends and Family Meeting
      1. They will not be meeting for June, July, August, and September. They will return to regular meetings in October.
    3. Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      1. Monday, June 10th,, 2019 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Camrose Public Library Irving Room.
  9. Sharing Circle
  10. Meeting adjourned: 7:20pm