Greetings!
It's the end of the year, and it's cold and dark... but I'll bet you already knew that. We're coming up on the first anniversary for our group, which I think will be a pretty interesting milestone, but more about that next month.
The elements were working against us a little this month. We had plans to go out and spend some time using the Three Colleges Observatory in Alamance County, but the weather turned bad for the weekend we had planned. Of all the times we could have got a flippin' ice storm! Ah well... perhaps at our January meeting, we can sit down and try to plan out a second attempt. There are plenty of opportunities for evening visits to the observatory over the next couple of months, and the Winter skies are my favorite for stargazing. We'll talk.
The Winter Solstice dinner went off pretty well, I thought. We had well over a dozen folks show up to chat and get to know each other at the Golden Corral. I think we would have had a larger crowd if it hadn't been for several last-minute cancellations due to the flu. I'm making a note to send everyone reminders next October to get flu shots, though with the way things are going this year, perhaps more will get their shots next year anyway.
Due to our efforts to get our name into the local papers, we have started to get the attention of folks all around the Piedmont area. After every letter we get in the paper, I receive e-mails from at least one or two folks who are curious about our group. My list of people who have asked to join is now topping 30. Let's keep up the good work, folks!
When we first met last February, the folks at the meeting pooled our money, a couple of bucks each, to pay the fee to get us a web site and domain name. Well, I've just heard that the year of service is getting close to expiring, and we need $15 to keep the site up and running. Thanks to the generosity of those who attend our meetings, we have the money on hand to pay the fee. Ain't that cool?
As you all know, we have been meeting on the second Sunday of each month at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro. The rent for the room we meet in is $25 per month, and it's a pretty nice room. Though, if we keep getting new members, we may end up outgrowing that room. Please don't forget that we ask everyone to kick in a couple of dollars each at these meetings to meet our limited financial needs -- specifically, room rent, web site coverage and postage.
Our agreement with the Church is a month-to-month thing. I have scheduled meetings through to June of this year. But if members want to look into changing our venue, please feel free to mention your ideas at a meeting. It's just an option I wanted everyone to be aware of.
I'm looking forward to our next meeting at the Church on Sunday, January 11 at 4:00 PM. If you feel like bringing a little something to snack on as we meet, please feel free. So far, our meetings have been very warm, friendly and delicious. See you then!
