[Imc-midwest-regional] regional gathering

[Stephen P Konieczka]

Hi everyone!  I’m Steve from Chicago.  (Zach from the UC-IMC mentioned me
in his 12 June e-mail.)  I’m really interested in getting a regional
gathering together,as Zach said.  Exploring the posiblitie was to be one
of my top priorities after Quebec (where I met some, if not all, of the
UC-IMCers at the gym Friday morning) but due to several factors I’ve had
very little time for the IMC as late and the gathering fell off my rader.
Things are slowing down now and I’ll help with the inquiry of locals and
if necessary the planning of the event in anyway I can.  (For anyone
who’s interested I’ve been compiling a database of local contacts at the
regional level and am happy to contact them.)

Aside from the following comment I think the ideas that UC’s news group
put out on 10 June are great.  I disagree with the suggestion that such a
meeting of IMC’s should be combined with a membership meeting.  This is
based wholly on what I understand a “membership meeting” to be in the
sense of how Chicago does things.  Here our general meetings are
bi-weekly and our agendas bulky.  Our meetings are open to new vols., but
we encourage them to attend an “information forum” instead of a meeting
because they will get a better sense of what we do at one of these than a
general meeting where we debate the ways to keep informed of discussions
at the global level, site layout, ect.  A regional gathering could not be
any type of formal decision making forum.  It should serve as a place to
come together as individuals, generate ideas (which may or may not need
local membership consent to act upon) and have a good time.  UC surely
has much to discuss at a membership meeting that doesn’t necessitate the
inclusion of Madison, Ohio Valley or any other Midwest local in the
discussion.  Again, perhaps my perception of a “membership meeting” in UC
is wrong and therefore within that context it is the proper place for
this type of regional gathering.  More info on UC's rational behind the
merging of the two meetings would be helpful.

I also disagree with Mike’s 10 June idea that a gathering this summer
should be for “small, Midwestern city” IMCs.  Aside from all of the
locals—“big, small, veteran, newby” and perhaps other non-Midwestern
locals—having ideas that can help us build strong new locals (perhaps by
constructing a development plan for new IMCs) and creating a more
connected network here in the Midwest, the idea of a regional gathering
is long over due.  In Ill. alone we have two strong IMCs and two more
organizing as I type.  There’s also might in Madison, the Twin Cites,
Cinn., Ohio Valley and Cleveland.  I’ve heard rumors about St. Louis
starting up and Milwaukee is organizing.  And there’s people like Mike in
Terre Haute, IN who want get an IMC started but that we, in a broad
sense, are unaware of.  The Midwestern United States is one of the most
highly concentrated IMC areas in the world.  Pooling these recourses—all
of them great and small—as soon as possible can only help us.  And
besides that I want to meet you!