Aug 19, 2000 At China Wok Restaurant in Grand Blanc, MI
In Attendance: Puck, Banshee, Moonowl, Pat, Figment, Oberon, Omega, Taura, Banta, Robert, , and Dauleah (Wyrd Roots)

Quorum was meet. Only group not represented was Moon Mist Rising. Caridwyn- Membership Secretary, and Mari- Pursewarden were unable to attend.

Meeting called to order by First Officer at 8:15pm Quick Introductions were given around the circle.

1) Officers Reports First Officer First Officer gave a brief report on Merry Meet. He asks that all officers contact the board of director from national council holding their same position to introduce yourself and welcome advice. In the absence of the pursewarden, we will need to set up the account for the council around Samhain , and we need to notify Mari. At Merry Meet a problem was discussed in regards to the national pursewarden getting information. They did not have the addresses from all the local councils. Puck as First Officer is responsible for making sure that information gets to national council. Also, that officer reports can be done every month. If there is nothing to report that is ok. We are now an official council, and voted in quickly with no objections. The arrival of Puck and Figment at Merry Meet allowed C.O.G. to meet quorum for the meeting. Because of budget concerns the national dues have been raised to $90 a year, and $10 for Elder/Ministerial credentials. No change for solitaries and associates. Local Council can waive fees for members that may be having finacial difficulty. National First Officer ran the meeting well, and keep time running smoothly. Puck found out that local council officers need to qualify for clergy credentials. In grand council it was decided to say no to cyber covens. The group members need to meet face to face. Puck noticed that only reps went into grand council meetings. That most others went out shopping or attend the lectures. Second Officer Not much to report Recorder Not much to report. Last meetings minutes were taking by Taura so Moonowl could head up the meeting in the absence of first and second officer. There was a problem getting them posted to the e-group, but they did get posted before the meeting. Membership Officer was not present. The back-up Membership Officer is no longer with the active member group he was representing so we need to decide on another backup for Caridwyn., and fill her in about the meeting. Public Information Officer Figment also attended Merry Meet with Puck. At Merry Meet he signed up for the position of National Recorder. Guess what? We will have a representative on the National Council! Congratulations Figment. He will be taking over Rachel's duties when positions change hands at Samhain. Rachel has stepped down to concentrate on a training program endeavor. He was questioned heavily to determine if that his local council duties would not conflict with national council duties, and the response was favorable. Figment has all necessary information on the national board members if we need to get in contact with anyone. He also found out that the C.O.G. website has a members area that has discussion groups, social groups, ritual event positions, an similar. You have to sign up for it. Figment has the password if anyone wants to sign up. He is getting all the PIO information in the mail soon.

2) Next Years Merry Meet The site is planned for next year. Dallas Texas at the Ramada Inn Texas Stadium. It is near the Dallas/Ft Worth International airport. The date will probably be late August- early September. More information at a latter date.

3) Psychic Fair Dauleah from Wyrd Roots briefed us on the psychic fair plans. It will be on October 22nd at Affirmations in Ferndale Michigan. Volunteers for doing readings was requested and a head count of about seven people said they would help out. There will be tables set up for a small amount of vendors and to pass out information.

4) Samhain Ritual Oberon is working on writing the ritual. He will need about nine parts filled. At this time the pole barn is not finished, but its believed it will be up by then. There will be some before ritual activities such as a game put together by Wyrd Roots called Who?s God Is It Anyways? After ritual we would like an open mike time. Maybe set up like a Bardic Circle. There is a webpage announcing it up and running. that also has a link to the C.O.G. website. Planning on an $8 fee for attendees. We are still undecided on charging a higher fee for those not bringing pumpkins. He plans on having a mailing party in mid-September to mail out a flier for it and other events.

5) Local Council Newsletter and Webpage We need to set up a newsletter for the group. Most councils have one that posts the officer reports, meeting minutes, and other information. It can be free for council members and subscription for non-members. We will need a publications officer for the newsletter. All in favor of publishing about four times a year. We will also need a name for the newsletter, Yes folks, its time to play the name game again. Puck suggested that each person will be able to submit three names. We also need to put up a website to be linked to the C.O.G. site. With a consensus vote Omega is our Publication Officer with Oberon as 2nd Publications Officer. Congratulations, and we know you guys can do a great job! They will be in touch with Puck about getting it started.

6) Next Meeting Next meeting will be Sunday November 19th at 1pm.

Meeting adjourned 9:10pm