Our annual membership meeting will be held February 9, 2006, at Distinctive Catering. I look forward to having an enjoyable evening. The Board of Directors encourages all members to attend and bring a guest. We would be delighted to see a number of new faces at the social. Many thanks to Flo Wineriter and Rolf Kay for supplying the wine again, and to Rolf for making the arrangements with Distinctive Catering. Thanks also to Sarah Smith for arranging the entertainment, a bluegrass group called the "Blue Sage Trio."

As usual, we will be conducting some chapter business. We will announce the results of the board member elections and vote on a by-law change. Watch your mail for your ballots and be sure to return them.

The Board has voted to send a donation of $300 to the library at the Salt Lake Valley Juvenile Detention Center, in the name of deceased Board member Mike Huston, who passed away on December 25, 2005.We would also like to encourage Humanist of Utah members to make a personal donation. The library is mostly the result of the efforts of Mike, and is nationally recognized.

Board member Bob Mayhew has been corresponding with Vern Bullough, a distinguished humanist, columnist and senior editor of the magazine Free Inquiry, in an attempt to arrange for him to be the guest speaker for our March General Meeting. Vern, who is originally from Utah, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus, founder of the Center for Sex Research at California State University, Northridge. He is the author, co-author, or editor of over 50 books, many of which deal with sex and gender issues. He has served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and has earned numerous awards for his writing and research, including the Kinsey Award. He has written more than 150 articles and is a popular lecturer in the U.S. and abroad.

Unfortunately, Vern's busy travel schedule makes it impossible for him to be here for the General Meeting. However, he will be here during the time our discussion group meets on March 2, 2006 and has agreed to speak to us. This will be a great opportunity to hear from Vern and to engage in an interesting questions and answers session. Tentatively, he will be speaking about "Competing Groups" in humanism and free thought areas. I urge you all to come and enjoy what should be an enlightening evening.

Next month I plan to write a few things about State Senator Chris Buttars, who's recent and ongoing antics on Capitol Hill have provided so much amusement and irritation. Over the next several weeks, he will no doubt show how little he knows about…well, just about anything as far as I can tell, especially biology, evolution, and homosexuality.

--Robert Lane
President, HoU