We had a good meeting, as usual, and the weather wasn't too bad for nighttime driving. Some of these women have been steady and reliable members for over 20 years, braving whatever weather Mom Nature throws at us, to get to the meetings. We're all volunteers here, in our love of herbs as our common purpose and in our friendships with each other. No one gets a paycheck for showing up - we just do it. Like in that old Nike commercial.
Our discussion ran, as we were talking 'business' about our upcoming Symposium, to the subject of raising the ticket price. Frankly, we live in an area, mid-Michigan (specifically Genesee County) that has seen the worst of the recession and the heart of our county, Flint, has been in a slow moving economic Hurricane Katrina for the past thirty years. The statistics tell that over thirty years Flint has lost as many percent of residents to the changing of the economy from an industrial base to a information/technical/financial base as NOLA lost to a single weather event.
Only when it happens quickly, people run to your aid.
Flint is the original bootstraps city, only our grit and determination keep us fighting the good fight. There are neighborhoods of wealth nearby, but we are all affected by the plight of our neighbors, and respond in our unique ways, "pressing on, regardless."
We have decided one more time to keep our ticket prices steady, and of course, as a non-profit organization, our profits will be used to help and educate others in our community as is outlined in our bylaws. I must say, I'm proud of our herb women.
