2004 Convention Registration Mini-Form
Hotel
Contact the Marriott Newark Liberty Airport Hotel at 973-623-0006 or call Marriott
Reservations at 800- 228-9290 or their website
using discount code naanaaa before
July 26 to guarantee availablility at the special Convention rates:
$89 Single/Double, $109 Triple, and $119 Quad (plus taxes).
Convention Rates
All Events Package
_____Members at $255,
____Non-members at $275
Non-Meal Package
_____Members at $120,
____Non-members at $140
Workshops Only
_____Members and non-members at $65
Extras
NYC Sightseeing Tour (August 4, 11 AM)
_____Members and non-members at $35
Convention Tote Bag
_____Members and non-members at $15
TOTAL ________________
Name(s) and Mailing Address
______________________
______________________
______________________
_______________________
Non-member rates for All Events and Non-Meal Packages include a one-year NAAFA membership! Send form and payment to NAAFA, P.O. Box 188620, Sacramento, CA 95818 (must be received before July 31).
Endomorph
by Mary Ray Worley
Huge and fat
homely and gross
ugly and pitiful
loathsome and
grotesque
morphs to
round and soft
comely and plush
ample and plentiful
buxom and Junoesque
Has morphology ever met
such a metamorph?
Caterpillar, eat
your heart out.
Copyright 2003, Mary Ray Worley. All rights reserved. This poem may not be reproduced in print or electronically without prior written permission of the author.
http://www.naafa.org
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Greetings!
This is the third newsletter of the year, a pace of one every two months. The more rapid pace as compared with previous years is due to our focusing on the e-mail version of the newsletter. I'm quite happy with the new system, and wish to thank Jennifer Portnick for setting it up.
Now, on with the newsletter!
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What's Happening with NAAFA? |
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A Report from the Board of Directors
NAAFA has been navigating through a major transition as of late, as we have closed the office in Sacramento and are now functioning as an all-volunteer organization. We, the Board of Directors, feel it is important to keep you all informed about how the transition is going and how we are managing to make our way through the transitional rapids, as it were.
We have a great crew of board members, many of whom are new to the Board and who bring a multitude of talents and skills to our work for NAAFA:
Co-Chair: Carole Cullum (San Francisco, California), carole_cullum@naafa.org
Co-Chair: Kara Brewer Allen (Leicester, North Carolina), kara_brewerallen@naafa.org
Treasurer/Finance Chair: Frances White (Oakland, California), frances_white@naafa.org
Recording/Corresponding Secretary: Laura Wills (Oakland, California), laura_wills@naafa.org
Public Relations Director: Mary Ray Worley (Madison, Wisconsin), maryrayworley@naafa.org
Chapter/Allies Chair: Carla Denhartog (Burlington, Vermont), carladenhartog@naafa.org
Activism Chair: Marilyn Wann (San Francisco, California), marilyn_wann@naafa.org
We have established protocols for our online board meetings so that we can meet effectively and frequently without incurring prohibitive costs. We have also established an excellent system of communicating between meetings and keeping records of those communications as well as of our board meetings. In fact, we have met nine times since the beginning of the year, an average of about twice a month.
So what have we been up to? To begin with, we have revised NAAFA's constitution and bylaws to reflect our new status as an all-volunteer organization (both documents are now posted on NAAFA's Web site). We have chosen officers from among board members and key volunteers to ensure effective leaders in all vital areas, to help steer the organization toward our goals in accordance with our mission: "to provide advocacy, education, and support for people all sizes of large."
In response to a proposal from a fabulous group of dedicated NAAFA members, the Board has also published a new policy against feederism, "defined as the promotion of intentional weight gain for the sexual pleasure of oneself or another person." As the policy states, "While NAAFA asserts that consenting adults have a right to make their own choices in their private lives, NAAFA also feels a responsibility to its members and the public to encourage people of all sizes to engage in behaviors and make choices that are healthy and self-affirming."
We are also proud to announce NAAFA's new Merit Scholarship Essay Contest, which is open to NAAFA members who are furthering their education at a community/junior college, college, or university during the 2004/2005 school year. We heartily encourage all of you brave NAAFA members who are heading for the halls of academia to apply. The deadline for essays is August 1, 2004, the award will be $500 plus a free NAAFA membership renewal for one year, and the winner will be announced at the national convention in August (more about that later!).
The Board is thrilled with the great look and format of NAAFA's new online newsletter, as well as its informative and inspiring contents. Our hats are off to Bill Weitze, our newsletter editor, as well as to all who have contributed to the newsletter. We encourage all NAAFA members and chapters to contribute articles, poetry, and photos and to let us all know what's happening in the fight against size discrimination in your area. This is an excellent forum that enables us to learn what is happening in other areas of the country, to inspire each other to do and be more to further our cause, and to offer each other our support and encouragement.
Those of you who have received a membership renewal notice will have seen that we've lowered the annual dues so a regular membership is now only $35 per year. Student, seniors, individuals with limited income, and others with special needs may apply for a reduced yearly rate, from $15 to $34 per year on a sliding scale. Joint residents are $15 additional, and children 18 and under are $5. And to reflect our reliance on the Internet, we've created a new level of membership for only $25 per year for those who are comfortable with e- mail communication only. No membership card will be sent at this level.
One of our most difficult projects to date has been getting the NAAFA Web site moved to a new server, which was much harder than any of us anticipated. So we are very pleased that this task has been accomplished and that much of the material on the Web site has been updated. Our intrepid and faithful Technology Chair and Webmaster, Ruth Ginzberg, is working hard to get the site updated and to ensure that it stays that way. Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to Ruth and all the other volunteers who have made this transition possible! We encourage all of you to visit the site frequently and to participate in the discussion forums as well.
By the time you read this, the Fat Fest, a gathering of fat women and their women allies of all sizes, sponsored by NAAFA's Feminist Caucus and the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, will already be a thing of the past. It took place on May 28-31 at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel in Millbrae, California. The Board of Directors is grateful for the enthusiasm and expertise of all the people who contributed their time and energy to make this exciting event a success, as well as a terrific experience for everyone who attended.
The Board is also happy to announce that we are going to have a great national convention in Newark, New Jersey, on August 4-8, 2004, thanks to the talent and hard work of Maryanne Bodolay, our Convention Chair, and her army of fantastic volunteers. The theme of the convention is "Dream Big!" and this year's attractions include speaker Paul Campos, author of the recently released Obesity Myth and new member of NAAFA's Advisory Board; the annual activism event, coordinated by FAT!SO? author and NAAFA board member Marilyn Wann; Sharing Our Words, a community-building event during which we share poetry, music, skits, and short stories or essays about our experiences as fat people; fitness workshops including water aerobics, Pilates, and yoga; two private pool parties; a fashion show featuring gorgeous plus- and super-size fashions on gorgeous plus- and super-size models; a two-day trade show where you can buy all the great clothes you saw at the fashion show; two fabulous dances, and much more. Please help us spread the word about what promises to be one of our best conventions ever and talk up the convention on all the size-friendly electronic bulletin boards, chat rooms, and e-mail lists you participate in. We look forward to seeing you all there!
Finally, the Board is happy to report that NAAFA's financial health is improving, thanks to your valiant efforts and generous contributions. You have our heartfelt thanks for your continued support of NAAFA, and we encourage all of you to keep your NAAFA membership updated and to contribute as much as you can on a regular basis to further the fight against size discrimination and to enable us to continue in our commitment "to provide advocacy, education, and support for people all sizes of large." And of course we welcome not only your financial contributions and your membership, but your time, energy, talents, and expertise as well. Please let us know how you would like to be involved, and thanks again for all that you are doing to make NAAFA a vital force for desperately needed change in our fat-phobic culture.
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NAAFA Merit Scholarship 2004 |
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Award Amount: 500 dollars
Deadline Date: August 1, 2004 (Scholarship winner to announced at the National Convention in Newark, New Jersey.)
Applicable Majors: All fields of study
Description:
The NAAFA Merit Scholarship Essay Contest is open to NAAFA members who are furthering their education at a community/junior college, college or university during the 2004/2005 school year. Applicants must write a 700 to 1000 word essay on one of the following topics:
(1) How NAAFA has changed my life and personal education goals
(2) The importance of fat acceptance in the year 2004
(3) Personal Fat Activism
(4) Another fat related topic on approval
Additional information:
In addition to the $500 merit scholarship awarded, the winner will also receive a free membership renewal to NAAFA for one year.
Essays will be judged on relevance, creativity and clarity, as well as grammar, writing mechanics and structure.
Please visit NAAFA.org for additional information.
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NAAFA on the Move! |
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 by Rochelle Rice, MA Ms. Rice is President of In Fitness & In Health, a New York City fitness center for plus-sized women. She may be contacted at 877-943-7749, or through her website at www.rochellerice.com
For the past five years, NAAFA has been successfully increasing the movin' and groovin' in the organization. The Every Body Good Body Festival in Boston, 1999, was NAAFA's unofficial kickoff for introducing more physical movement to the entire organization.
After ten women from my organization, In Fitness & In Health, performed at the festival, Leslie DiMaggio, NAAFA's President at the time, called me in New York and asked if I would like to join the Board of Directors. I was thrilled! Maryanne Bodolay championed my participation and the Board of Directors (Leslie DiMaggio, Kathy Noon and Frances White) welcomed and embraced the idea. We knew in order for this vision to become a reality, we all had to become role models for activity. Going forward, our board meetings always had some type of stretch, yoga and/or breathing exercise. We were on our way!
San Diego, California, 2000 - record numbers of conference participants attended our new yoga class. We organized another movement festival and everyone participated. We had women in scooters doing a routine with boas, country and Latin dancing and beach balls flying through the air! People couldn't help but move!
I was committed to keep the momentum rolling. The responses we received from the conference participants were uplifting and hopeful. People were learning how to move safely to maintain or increase mobility, achieve activities of daily living and increase their quality of life.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, 2001 - Kelly Bliss joined the team and NAAFA was up to nearly two movement opportunities each day. Aqua classes have always been well liked at the conferences. Now other opportunities were becoming more readily available.
Atlanta, Georgia, 2002 - and NAAFA is still expanding movement opportunities. Nia with Marci Getz was introduced. Nia is a beautiful fluid activity that many found to be easy on their joints.
Los Angeles, California, 2003 - by now we had nearly three movement opportunities each day! Mary Ray Worley was teaching walking, Jennifer Portnick had come down from San Francisco, and Pilates was introduced! I will always remember the joy of teaching the Pilates class as people got connected to their breath and abdominal muscles - once again proving it possible at all sizes!
It is an honor to introduce this regular fitness column as the next step in NAAFA's continuing vision for an "active" organization. By continuing to offer numerous types of activities and opportunities at the yearly conferences, we have created the momentum to "keep the ball rolling!" To Maryanne - thank you for your belief in me despite my size. To the board, then and now, thank you for the space to continue to create these projects. To Laura, thank you for introducing me to this next written piece of activity. And to the members of NAAFA - you are the ones who continue to trust and have faith in your physical body.
You are entitled to movement opportunities that fit YOUR body. You should never be faced with discrimination when it comes to leading an active lifestyle. It is your God given right to participate fully in life and I promise to strive to continue to be that voice in the world.
Sandy Schaffer, New York NAAFA Chapter President and certified trainer, will be representing IFIH at the 2004 convention by coordinating all the fitness workshops.
Congratulations on keeping us movin' and groovin' - here's to many more years to come!
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Donate to NAAFA |
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 Wanna help NAAFA? Got a PayPal account? NAAFA is now accepting donations via PayPal. It's the easiest and quickest way to donate to NAAFA.
Donate to NAAFA using PayPal
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