In the true
spirit of Christmas, perhaps there is no better way to celebrate than to look
back on the past year with gratitude, despite the challenges we all faced this
year. We could not have accomplished what we did without the support of our
members who show through their support and volunteerism that their AANR
membership truly matters.
Below you
will find an excerpt from AANR President John Kinman's President's Podium
column that sums up 2009 while looking forward to a new year.
"I hope
that nudist historians will recognize 2009 as a year when significant things
happened which will shape the future for nude recreation. I'll cite a few examples.
The World
Record Skinny-Dip in July was a great success for several reasons. It brought club members together to be part
of something that was greater than their own club. Many clubs reported gains in membership from
people who reacted to the greatest nudist publicity event ever and found that
nudity was comfortable for them. The
event was not limited to AANR clubs but included beach groups from Florida to Hawaii to Vancouver, Canada. Our official numbers were well below the
number of actual participants because many people were unwilling to sign
release forms. I'm told that for 2010
the rules will be relaxed a bit, and I think that the count will be much
greater.
Unfortunately,
we lost a major club from AANR affiliation after our board suspended their
charter over perceived violations of our principles and standards. The club owner chose to terminate the
contract rather than to negotiate changes in practices. My article in the October Bulletin which also
appeared on our Web site received a record
number of responses. The overwhelming
majority supported AANR's stance. My
sense is that our members want to maintain a family-friendly environment in
AANR clubs.
Also,
unfortunately, the California Supreme Court decided that the parks department had the right to ban nudity at San
Onofre Beach despite the long-standing Cahill Policy. I don't see this as an
anti-nudity decision by the court but a decision based on specific legal
issues. While the agreements were moving
forward, your AANR volunteers were meeting with senior parks officials to
ensure that nudity would not be banned at other traditional locations. We have received positive assurance from
officials and, in a couple of cases, requests from the public to ban nudity at
other locations have been refused by parks officials. California parks officials have offered to
partner with AANR to make improvements at another nude beach.
Beyond California, your
government affairs team has had successful negotiations with parks officials in
other states to recognize our rights to enjoy public lands. In fact, we have been successful in having
new lands designated as clothing-optional.
At the federal level, the Bureau of Land Management has recognized nude
recreation as a legitimate user of public lands.
2009 has
been a great challenge to all organizations as we dealt with the greatest
recession since the 1930s. We lost some
members, primarily in clubs, as our members had to make tough economic
decisions. But, some good things
happened. Mailers to expired members
designed by our marketing team brought in renewals far in excess of the cost of
the program.
2009 gave
us some great challenges. A club
choosing a different marketing direction, a threat to close a nude beach, and a
terrible economy combined to try to derail us.
But, we responded in a way that has galvanized our membership.
AANR will move forward stronger thanks to the
challenges that faced us."
