Thursday, September 16, 2010
"From Time to Time" ("T2T" for September 16, 2010
Here's my latest "From Time to Time" e-mail which I send to Odyssey Networks' members:
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I like to write to you from “Time to Time” (T2T). Here is update from Odyssey Networks -
National Interfaith Cable Coalition (NICC) Board of Trustees meeting on September 15
Odyssey’s Board of Trustees met yesterday and made history! The first non-Abrahamic faith group members were received into membership along with a number of faith-related organizations and individuals. Here is the list of the 17 new members unanimously approved for Odyssey membership:
· New Faith Groups: Baha’i Faith (www.bahai.us) and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) (http://news.iskcon.org).
· New Faith-Related Organizations - America’s Quilt of Faith(www.americasquiltoffaith.org), College of Saint Elizabeth(www.cse.edu), Fellowship in Prayer (www.fellowshipinprayer.org),
Global Peace Initiative of Women (www.gpiw.org), Life Focus Communications (www.lifefocus.tv), the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (www.ltsg.edu), Mercy Street (www.mercystreet.org), National Board of Mothers (www.nationalboardofmothers.com), North America Association for the Catechumenate (www.catechumenate.org), and Unity Productions Foundation (http://www.upf.tv/).
· New Individuals - Brian Finnerty, Tim Frakes, Ann Hafften, Ralph Singh and Debra Gonsher Vinik.
Added to the nine new members received at the April board meeting, Odyssey has now welcomed 26 new members in 2010, an increase in faith groups and faith related organizations of 33%.
The board also added a number of member representatives to board committees. This is part of our new membership structure, where we have increased the role of members in board committees. Non-board members added to the Member Relations Committee were Robert Black, Ava Martin and Debra Gonsher Vinik. Non-board members added to the New Media Committee were Mike Collins, Jeff Malmad, Elizabeth Sams and Casey Tom.
The board also elected new Salvation Army National Commander Commissioner William Roberts as a board member. Roberts will replace current Army National Commander Commissioner Israel Gaither on our board when Gaither retires on October 31.
Three Dot Dash Global Teen Leaders
Odyssey’s CEO Nick Stuart has been invited to nominate teens ages 13 – 19 from around the world to become 2011 Three Dot Dash Global Teen Leaders. Check out www.threedotdash.org and the specific information on their 2010 Global Team Leaders at http://threedotdash.org/legacy/Summit_NomProcess_HowItWorks.aspx . Unfortunately, Nick just received this information and their application deadline is October 4th! I have the application information. So, check out their website, and if you then have someone in mind, send me an e-mail and I will forward you the application details. Hopefully we will receive this information earlier in future years!
Odyssey Member Gathering in Silver Spring
We now have 87 registrants for our NCC Communication Commission/Odyssey Member Gathering to be held September 27 – 30 at the Hilton Hotel in Silver Spring, Maryland! This will be the largest member gathering in Odyssey’s history. While the reduced price hotel rooms are certainly no longer available, it may still be possible for you to register for all or part of this event (and there are nearby hotels). More details online at http://www.odysseynetworks.org/Members/MemberNews/tabid/394/Default.aspx .
There are so many highlights of our coming Silver Spring gathering. Here are just two:
· Our Monday, September 27, producers’ workshop features these guest presenters: filmmakers Martin Doblmeier (“The Adventists” - http://www.theadventiststhefilm.com/), Martin Ostrow (“Renewal” - http://www.renewalproject.net/film), and Karen Lennon, an expert on user generated content.
· Those interested in applying for a 2011 Odyssey Production Grant will receive grant application information during our Grant Writing Workshop on Wednesday, September 29.
Call on Faith now on all three platforms
With its debut last week for iPhones, Call on Faith, Odyssey’s new app for smartphones, is now available for iPhones, Blackberries and Android products. Sprint is also about to replace their “Faith TV” smart phone channel with Call on Faith. A new widget for easy sign up on these platforms is online at www.callonfaith.com . (Note – to get Call on Faith on your iPhone, search “COF” in the app store).
More September…..
During September we are also marking Recovery From Addiction Month with a PSA you can use – please consider linking it to your website. See http://www.odysseynetworks.org/Causes/RecoveryFromAddiction/tabid/510/Default.aspx . And, September 21st brings “A Million Minutes for Peace” (http://amillionminutesforpeace.org/), but you already knew that!
And
Do check out all of the materials on our website under “Religious Freedom Under Fire” at http://www.odysseynetworks.org/Causes/ReligiousFreedomUnderFire/tabid/511/Default.aspx and our “Faith in Action – Haiti” videos at http://www.odysseynetworks.org/Causes/DisasterRelief/HaitiDisasterRelief/tabid/350/Default.aspx .
Looking forward to seeing many of you in a couple of weeks in Silver Spring!
Eric
