September 18th Meeting / NEXT MEETING October 2nd

Friends,

Last Saturday's meeting was absolutely great. We were able to cover lots of ground, and also got to see a few new faces.

Here is what we covered:

1) Debrief of MSU Initiative / Future Initiatives: This so far hasn't brought any new people to the movement. I have not received any new emails from people who were at MSU that day. In the future, we are going to set up a tent (come rain, shine, sleet or snow), possibly with a TV set up showing a Zeitgeist related video. We will get lots of attention if we are serving hot chocolate and/or coffee. From here we can pass out DVDs and flyers. Another great approach would be to take emails from people who pass by. It's better to go to them, then wait for them to come to us. A day to do this again is yet to be determined.

2) Recognized Student Organizations: Still waiting on this subject. This one is a priority, though. If you attend MSU or know someone who attends MSU, we need to have their support so that we can get established in MSU. But MSU isn't our only focus, this applies to any college or school. We had an individual attend the meeting last week who is going to set up at Adrian College and start a chapter in the area. I have also received an email from an individual from the S.E. Chapter who is trying to get momentum started at Wayne State. If you know anyone at Wayne State, please let me know and I will give you his email.

3) New Website: This is beginning to come to fruition. We are using a chapter template for the Mid-Michigan website. While it isn't finished yet, you can see it for yourself at www.zeitmm.com. We have someone working on this now, but if you or someone you know has Web Design experience, we can use all the help we can get. The new site will have lots of functionality, such as member registration/login, a forum for members to post topics and communicate, any tools that we use, such as flyers, pamphlets, DVD torrents, will be available for download.

4) Creating Awareness / New Media: There have lots of ideas of things we can make to help spread awareness. Some ideas we have going at this time are: Bus Benches (renting a space of a bus bench, creating an ad, basically), Magnets (possibly something to put on your car), Bumper Stickers, Key Chains, Buttons, Business Cards, T-Shirts. We have an individual who has been making DVDs for us and has about 250 ready to go. I think it would be great if we could put CD labels on them so that they look more presentable. If you have creative skills and would like to help make some of these things, please do so. And also if you have any original ideas or creations, please either email me at zeitmidmich@gmail.com or come to a future meeting and show off your creations.

5) Contact Peter Joseph: We are still in the beginning stages of the chapter and even the movement itself. Our number one goal right now is creating awareness. I'm going to send Peter an email asking for any suggestion he may have to make this chapter more effective.

We have a lot to do. But nothing is going to happen if no one is putting forth the initiative to make it happen, so if you are on the mailing list or seeing the website for the first time, GET INVOLVED. If you don't know what to do, send me an email, tell me what your expertise is and I'll find something for you to do.

The next meeting will be Saturday October 2nd. Again, the meeting will take place at the MSU Union Main Lounge. The Union is right off from Abbot Road on Grand River on MSU Campus. There are usually football games going on during these days so finding a parking spot can be tricky on campus. There is a parking garage located a few blocks East of Abbot Road, Bailey Road I believe. There is a Blockbuster on the same block. Anyways this parking garage has no tollbooth so you can park for free here. The meeting will start at 1 PM. If you are lost or have any questions, give me a call at 517-304-3104 and leave a message. I'm a little weary answering numbers I don't know, but if you leave a message I will call you back.

Peace,

Casey Brockway