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The Association For Rational Thought News

Practicing The Art Of Clear Thinking In All Walks Of Life

Vol. 1, No. 6
March 1992

The Association for Rational Thought is a new organization committed to encouraging clear thinking in all walks of life. ART encourages the investigation of paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims from a responsible, scientific viewpoint and the distribution of the results of such investigations to the public. You are cordially invited to become a charter member of ART.

Come to the March 21 Meeting at the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant!

Robert Baker on Kentucky Ghosts

On Saturday, March 21, at 10:00 AM, ART will meet at its new meeting place, the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant on Gilbert Avenue (Driving instructions elsewhere in this issue). Robert Baker, University of Kentucky professor emeritus of psychology and chair of the Kentucky Association of Science Teachers and Skeptics will speak on "Not All Kentucky Spirits are in Bottles." Prof. Baker, champion ghostbuster and well-known speaker, will discuss ghost theory, famous Kentucky ghosts. Executive Council Meeting following lunch.

February Meeting: A Non-Roundtable

ART met on Saturday, February 15, at the Greenwich Tavern. During the business meeting the possibility of incorporating ART was discussed. No actions were taken. The business meeting was followed by a round table led by Bill Giles and Joe Gastright, who spoke on effective communication with non- skeptics. Unfortunately, effective communication among the members present was buried under the speakers' onslaught, which came to an end too late to permit any discussion. We apologize, and will do our utmost to make sure that future round tables are actually round, and include the opinions and contributions of all present. Future meetings begin with a well-organized business meeting no longer than 30 minutes, and will include ample time for discussion.

Help Wanted! Jobs Galore!

Promote rational thought in the tri-state and have fun working with fellow skeptics by volunteering for an Association for Rational Thought office or committee for the year beginning in April. Our proposed by-laws call for the following slots to be filled:

Officers

(All officers serve on the Executive Council.)

President
prepares agendas for and presides over membership and executive council meetings, supports other officers in accomplishing their tasks, promotes organizational development.
Vice-President
assists the president, serves as acting president in the absence of the president.
Secretary
Keeps minutes of membership and executive council meetings, prepares annual report for distribution at the annual meeting in April of each year.
Treasurer
collects dues, maintains financial records, makes disbursements, prepares annual financial report for distribution at the annual meeting in April.
Membership Secretary
chairs membership committee, maintains existing members, enrolls new members, maintains list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of current members.
Investigations Officer
chairs investigations committee and oversees all official investigatory projects.
Publicity Coordinator
chairs publicity committee, informs media of upcoming meetings, distributes to the media information in keeping with ART's purposes.
Newsletter Editor
publishes the monthly newsletter, maintains mailing lists, coordinates the exchange of newsletters with other chapters, makes the newsletters of other chapters available to members.
Meeting Organizer
chairs program committee, arranges membership meetings.
Media Resources Coordinator
chairs the scientific and technical consulting committee, maintains a pool of experts who will be available to respond to inquiries from the media about pseudoscientific or paranormal incidents.

Committee Members

Each of the standing committees listed below requires at least three members:

Program Committee
plans and arranges membership meetings, prepares calendar of membership meetings.
Publicity Committee
maintains a mailing list, notifies members of meetings, provides publicity to media.
Scientific and Technical Consulting Committee
organizes and maintains a pool of scientists and technicians to implement ART's educational and scientific purposes.
Investigations Committee
supervises investigations conducted by ART.
Membership Committee
works toward maintaining and increasing ART's membership.

ART has at present one ad hoc committee, the Telephone Tree Committee, which requires about three members and a chair. In addition, the newsletter editor could use help with writing articles, maintaining mailing lists, and preparing issues for mailing.

Calendar

Change in meeting place: ART's new meeting place is the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant, 2440 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati (Driving instructions elsewhere in this issue). Come to the meeting and stay for an informal and inexpensive lunch afterwards.

Change in monthly meeting day: The day for the regular monthly meeting has been changed from the second Saturday of the month to the third Saturday of the month.

Membership Drive Volunteers!

If you have not already made your membership drive calls, please do so before the March meeting. Bring your completed contact sheets to Joe Gastright at the March meeting. Joe Gastright will collate all the contact sheets and report on the outcome of the membership drive at the April meeting. We greatly appreciate your efforts.

Current Officers (Term of Office Ends April, 1992)

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