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Please be advised, I have today signed a contract with the Embassy Suites on the River (www.embassysuitesdesmoines.com) in Des Moines, Iowa, to serve as the host hotel for the American Atheists National Convention for 21-24 April 2011.
More to come, of course, but we will be issuing a news release on this fairly soon, stressing a number of reasons for choosing this city, the most important of which is rapidly growing strength and diverse dynamic leaders for Atheism in this politically crucial and interesting state. A number of state and local Atheist and freethought or humanist organizations in Iowa have expressed strong support for American Atheists holding the convention in Des Moines, and nationally known Iowa Atheists like Hector Avalos have also eagerly supported the idea.
We will have a great convention in 2011–with your help. Please keep me posted, as I will you.
Regards to all,
Ed B.
ED BUCKNER, President
American Atheists
www.atheists.org
ebuckner@atheists.org
908-499-9200 cell
770-803-5353 tel/fax, GA office
Representatives of most of the local secular groups in Iowa met last night in Des Moines with Ed Buckner, president of American Atheists. While Ed stated he is still in negotiations with two Des Moines hotels, it’s a 95-98% certainty that the convention will be in Des Moines. We’ve even beat out Las Vegas, HA! We will likely know within the next couple days if the certainty reaches 100%, but definitely soon.
The convention will likely bring around 300-400 people to Des Moines, and maybe more depending on which speakers they can get to confirm. The AA convention is always Easter weekend, so it would be late April 2011.
Mr. Buckner looked forward to collaborating with all the local groups, using the local groups to help promote the convention, but also looked forward to helping out the local groups as much as possible to increase the awareness of the secular community around the state. He was encouraged by the fact that we had about 30 people there last night to meet with him, which bodes well for Iowa.
It’s obvious this will be a big boost for both the Iowa Secularists, and all the local groups. We can play active roles in promotion of the AA convention, as well as our own groups by manning booths at the convention, or coordinating with all the local groups to fill out the necessary volunteer spots that will be needed.
Exciting times are ahead and the IS looks forward to participating in this collaboration!
Scott Fedler
Chair, Iowa Secularists
Ed Buckner, president of the American Atheists, wrote me stating the AA will most likely be holding their 2011 convention in Des Moines!!!
AA is in the final stages of negotiating a contract with a hotel to host and things look VERY favorable. So favorable, in fact, that Ed Buckner is coming to Des Moines at the end of July and wants to meet with YOU, and any other atheist, humanist, secularist, freethinker, etc. who is available.
The meeting is likely going to be Monday, July 26th at 7:00pm at the Embassy Suites on the River at 101 E. Locust, Des Moines. If you’re available, he wants YOU there to tell him how this will impact the secular community in Iowa and, most importantly, how YOU can help.
The Iowa Secularists stand ready to help bring the AA convention to Des Moines in 2011 and looks forward to be an integral part of the planning and execution of the convention as much as possible. As with any news of this size, any individual help and input you could provide to Mr. Buckner on Monday, July 26th would be just awesome.
If you plan on attending, please contact Mr. Buckner directly to RSVP so he can plan accordingly. His contact information is:
Ed Buckner
President (retiring soon)
American Atheists
www.atheists.org
ebuckner@atheists.org
908-499-9200 (cell)
770-803-5353 (office/fax)
More details to come as AA negotiations proceed and the exact meeting room on July 26th is known. Score one for Iowa!
Scott Fedler
Chair, Iowa Secularists
The dinner deadline has passed to reserve an entree, however extra food has been ordered so there is still room for YOU! There is still time to register!
The conference will be held Saturday, July 17, 2010 in Des Moines at the Ramada Tropics Resort and Conference Center, conveniently located at the intersection of I-80 and Merle Hay Road.
The meeting will consist of the following:
10:00-11:30: Business Meeting of the IS Associate and Contributing members
11:30-1:00: Lunch (on your own)
1:00-1:15: Introduction and Welcome
1:15-2:15: Secular parenting panel discussion
2:15-3:15: Discussion: “Countering intolerance with tolerance: what works?” facilitated by Athan Petridis, IS Board member and Professor of Physics at Drake University.
3:30-4:30: Critical Bible Discussion: “Biblical Prophecies”, led by Randy Henderson, President of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.
4:30-5:30: Hemant Mehta, “How campus/local secular groups are getting their message to the masses“.
5:30-6:30: Cocktails
6:30-7:30: Catered Dinner provided by the Ramada
7:30-9:00: Keynote address by Hemant Mehta “The Need for Critical Thinking in Public School Education“.
The day will conclude with a catered dinner and a keynote address by the Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta! Hemant Mehta is the Chair of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) Board of Directors.
Registration for the conference is $50 per couple, $30 for an individual, and because of the student focus by Mr. Mehta, the IS has added a registration level of $20 for students (student status will be verified).
Please be sure to register by July 2, 2010! You may also mail in your registration to the Iowa Secularists at P.O. Box 883, Iowa City, IA 52244. Online registration is available here.
The deadline to be included in the dinner count for the IS conference is July 2, 2010. Be sure to register by then!
The conference will be held Saturday, July 17, 2010 in Des Moines at the Ramada Tropics Resort and Conference Center, conveniently located at the intersection of I-80 and Merle Hay Road.
The morning will consist of a meeting of the voting members of IS (Associate and Contributing members) and will include respective reports from the officers of the organization, as well as a potential vote to fill an open seat on the Board. This meeting will last from 10:00-12:00 that morning.
1:00-1:15: Introduction and Welcome
1:15-2:15: Secular parenting panel discussion
2:15-3:15: Discussion: “Countering intolerance with tolerance: what works?” facilitated by Athan Petridis, IS Board member and Professor of Physics at Drake University.
3:30-4:30: Critical Bible Discussion: “Biblical Prophecies”, led by Randy Henderson, President of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.
4:30-5:30: Hemant Mehta, “How campus/local secular groups are getting their message to the masses“.
5:30-6:30: Cocktails
6:30-7:30: Catered Dinner provided by the Ramada
7:30-9:00: Keynote address by Hemant Mehta “The Need for Critical Thinking in Public School Education“.
The day will conclude with a catered dinner and a keynote address by the Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta! Hemant Mehta is the Chair of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) Board of Directors.
Registration for the conference is $50 per couple, $30 for an individual, and because of the student focus by Mr. Mehta, the IS has added a registration level of $20 for students (student status will be verified).
Please be sure to register by July 2, 2010! You may also mail in your registration to the Iowa Secularists at P.O. Box 883, Iowa City, IA 52244. Online registration is available here.
