International Day of Peace 2012, OCU Giant Pinwheel Garden
http://www.sef.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/PeaceDay91.jpg

MEETING OF International Day of Peace Committee: June 17, 2013

Committee members in attendance:  Dee Freeland, Steve McLinn, Bill Bryant, Elizabeth Muller, Carmen Clay and Joan Korenblit

 

I.        The committee members in attendance wish to emphasize PEACE and UNITY more so than in past years.  A request will be made that each performing group e-mail a short statement of what their performance means to them. We’d like to request that a member or the director of each group share the comments with the audience.  This will make the program more organic. 

 

II.     Requests for suggestions of Masters of Ceremonies led to the suggestion that we select one or two people who will simply keep program flowing.  But the groups will actually introduce themselves.  UPDATE: Carmen is working on getting a former Miss OSU, Aly Akers,  who has an anti-bullying nonprofit: PAST http://www.preventandstoptormenting.org/.  If she agrees, she will model the introductions as she twirls for peace.  Aly Akers is a former state, regional, national, and world champion baton twirler. She was the feature twirler at OSU in 2012, where she is a Business/Pre-Law major and is also Miss OSU. Aly competed in the 2012 Miss Oklahoma Pageant in June. Her platform for Miss Oklahoma is P.A.S.T. – Prevent and Stop Tormenting, which is an anti-bullying campaign. She speaks to schools throughout the state on behalf of P.A.S.T. Aly spoke to the Upper Chapel and spent a few minutes with a few members of the Casady YAC during B-block.  YAC is thankful to have had Aly share her story of service with us:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PAST-Prevent-And-Stop-Tormenting/162854593764584  Update from Aly via Facebook:  Thank you Carmen for inviting me to this wonderful event. I will be available and would love to be the MC for The International Day of Peace Multicultural Festival. Thank you again for asking me and I look forward to seeing you soon! 

 

III.           We will be inviting more drummers to join our drumming circle.  Suggestion was that drumming circle begin at 4:00 and program begin at 5:00.

 

IV.        Drumming circle will begin outside and the procession will gradually move inside.  Elizabeth will lead dances of universal peace, perhaps as a flow from the drumming circle.

 

V.           Mikel will create SAVE THE DATE flyer to be sent to all our lists. 

 

VI.        Carmen is planning to have Pinwheel making classes inspired by a lesson/video on peace.  UPDATE: Classes will be at Casady School Wing and Carmen will take requests to provide classes where requested in August and before 9/11 when she will start 11 Days of Unity at Casady School.  Pinwheels for OCU's labyrinth should be delivered and planted directly at the OCU campus.  We need to contact Reverend Long for a possible storage location. Carmen also contacted OCU Film screenings professor, Harbour Winn, ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pza4Xctn3E0;  hwinn@okcu.edu. )

 

VII.             Elizabeth will be planning the Peace Labyrinth for placement of pinwheels. Update: Carmen contacted Hallie Sawyers, LMT, APP, NCBTMB TLS Education Outreach Chair of the Labyrinth Society:  hsawyers@comcast.net and received the following reply What a wonderful labyrinth project you are undertaking! The Labyrinth Society has a Special Projects Program available for members through which funding can be requested for labyrinth-centered projects. Here’s the link to the Special Projects page of our website. And here’s the link to the membership page of our website. If Elizabeth is a member of this society, we could apply for a grant for the labyrinth??

 

VIII.         We all agree that we need more members for the International Day of Peace committee with an emphasis on university students. Update: Carmen sent a mass e-mail to Casady IDP friends and partner organizations providing Jeremy Gilley's Peace Poem contest information and other resources and calling for interested parties to join the planning team for IDP at Casady and OCU.  Carmen contacted OCU professors Dann May and Rev. Jennifer Long.  No response as of 6/24/2013.

 

IX.        A big question is – “How can we get more audience members to attend?”  Updated another big question sent via e-mail by Joan was who will be the leader of OCU IDP 2013?

 

A huge question is – “Do we have the commitment to continue this celebration in spite of the fact that our committee is getting smaller and our audience is mostly performers and their families?” Steve gave the answer, yes!