Humanists of Utah has set forth an ambitious agenda for the next several months. The Board of Directors has agreed to move in some exciting new directions; after hearing of some of our plans, I am sure you will share in our enthusiasm. In an effort to make our chapter more visible (especially to younger persons) and to continue our mission to advocate for humanism in Utah, we are working on hosting a couple of special events, along with our usual fare of regular monthly gatherings. Toward that end, the board created a special committee to plan and implement our first ever "Darwin Day Event", to be titled, "Darwin Day With Humanists of Utah." Most of the details are still in the planning stage (with more details forthcoming), but I am pleased at the progress we have already made and thank our enthusiastic Committee members for their time and many great ideas.

I have already registered our event with www.DarwinDay.org, where our announcement is now posted on their events page. They also have a variety of resources we will make use of. Darwin Day Celebration (DDC) is an organization that coordinates and promotes events on Charles Darwin's birthday, February 12, in an effort to celebrate science and humanity. A Darwin Day celebration "maintains that the knowledge system that informs our modern culture is science and that humanism is the most rational by which to live by." I think you will agree with the DDC that these both deserve to be celebrated. This will be a wonderful way to showcase our chapter and to promote humanism among the community.

The Darwin Day Committee quickly discovered that several volunteers will be needed to help make Darwin Day a success. Please contact me or any Humanists of Utah Board member if you can devote any time to this endeavor. We especially need volunteers on February 12, to do such things as staff literature tables, answer questions from the public, and assist with video/s we plan to show. Any time you can devote is appreciated-even a few hours can make a difference.

We also remain in urgent need of volunteers to assist with refreshments at the General Meetings. I find that with my presidential tasks, I no longer have time to bake and serve the refreshments on a monthly basis. While other Board members have stepped up to assist, they too are pressed for time and have an already heavy workload from their board member duties. We believe that serving refreshments is a pleasant end to the General Meetings, and have found that it really does keep people from making an abrupt exit, thus having time spent to visit among one another, to learn more about the Chapter and (we hope) to even join our organization. Refreshments do not need to be home made, and taking turns is encouraged, so no one person has to take on an entire year. Please get in touch with me if you can help out in this important area.

Finally, remember to mark your calendars for our annual Winter Gathering on Thursday, December 13, at Eliot Hall. More information will be in the December Utah Humanist.

--Robert Lane
President, HoU