US Servas 60th Anniversary National Conference - A Recap

Took place on October 9-11, 2009 At the DeKoven Center, Racine, WI

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A recap of the conference:

One Person, One World:  You Can be a Source of Peace. 
US Servas National Conference, Racine, Wisconsin
October 8-10, 2009

The US Servas National Conference was an exhilarating experience for the 50 or so people who attended.  It was held at the DeKoven Center, a beautiful former college campus on the shore of Lake Michigan.  We were fortunate to be able to meet in such a beautiful setting.

Rita Golden-Gelman, author of Tales of a Female Nomad, started the conference off on the right foot with her enthralling stories of being a person with no permanent address who spends most of her time traveling around the world.  Many of her adventures included Servas stories, and she continues to be a big booster of Servas, both here and abroad.

Saturday morning started with the Annual Membership Meeting.  President Nancy Mitchell shared some of our successes of the past year and also some of the challenges.  Gary Sealey, the President of Servas International, reminded us that October 9, the day of our meeting, was Servas Day and that other Servas organizations were celebrating right along with us.  Nancy also re-visited the committee structure of Servas, reminding everyone that committees are not limited to board members.  Anyone who wants to play a more active role is welcome to join the Communications Committee, Technology Committee, Finance Committee, or Youth Initiatives Committee.  Carole Bersani, Jenni Francomb and Bob Mitchell were elected to the nominations committee for 2010.  Rita Golden Gelman also took a few minutes to tell us about her newest adventure, Let’s Get Global, a national initiative to encourage all young people to find a way to go abroad for a “gap year” between high school and college. 

The afternoon was spent engaged in sampling activities from a peace education training course that Servas may adopt and share with other groups in the future.  Stephanie Downs Hughes shared “Just Views” a group that meets for regular discussions of issues related to peace and war and Ann Frisch told the group about her work with the Non Violent Peaceforce.   The group used the information they learned during the day to begin thinking of projects they could develop, both in their own communities and globally.  Mary Jane Mikuriya, the US Servas Peace and Justice Secretary, led a discussion of ways we can practice peace through our volunteer efforts. 

Stephanie Downs-Hughes told us about the Diversity Dinners that are happening in the Chicago area, and then we tried out the concept at dinner.  Each table was given a discussion topic and everyone had the opportunity to share his or her views. 

On Saturday evening we relaxed and sang along as Dangerous Folk gave a hit performance that answered the following questions for us:  What do you do with a hammer, Where are the answers?, Will the circle be unbroken? and Who's land is this anyhow?

Sunday morning, everyone was up bright and early for a final session where people presented the projects they would personally begin working on in their own communities.  Roz Greene and Heather Mason invited everyone to attend the 2010 conference in Port Townsend, Washington and at least 50 inspired and renewed Servas members went out into the world to make peace. 

Next conference will be held in Washington State

The Seattle area Servas group has been eager to hold the Tri-National conference in Port Townsend, WA. We're hoping to invite various guest speakers.