Welcome!

If you have just heard about us through our recent Montana press coverage, welcome to our website.

The Missoula Area Secular Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to foster a community of non-theistic individuals and to promote and organize educational programs focusing on secular ethics, science, history and critical thinking for our members, their children and the public at large.

If you would like to join us, keep an eye on this website for announcements on upcoming events, and/or join or burgeoning Facebook group, or follow us on Twitter. We meet up regularly for a variety of educational discussions and lectures.

Membership dues are $20/year, which allows you to vote for our board of directors and on any issues the board puts to the members for a vote. Most of our events, however, do not require you to be a dues paying member to attend. All you need to do is show up.

We also happily accept donations of any size. All donations are tax deductible and fund our educational and outreach programs. To become a paying member or make a donation, simply use the "Donate" button on the right, or bring a check to an event.

Annual Election Update

Our annual board of directors election on Sunday went well. Our two board members who's terms were expiring (Milo and Gina) were both reelected without opposition to new three year terms. Gina will continue serving as our highly capable Treasurer, and Milo will continue as our Member at Large. Next October Russ and Jon's terms will be expiring.

The Board of Directors met later, and created a non-board position of "Outreach Coordinator" and appointed Martha to the position. Martha will be investigating opportunities for M.A.S.S. to do charitable work within the Missoula Area and coordinating those activities.

Brunch Meeting and Annual Elections

It's time once again for our Monthly "Sunday M.A.S.S." Brunch Meeting and boy do we have an important one this time.

Our 501(c)3 application has finally been approved by the IRS. We're the real deal, now! We'll have some info on that at the brunch as well as where we go from here.

Also, two of our Board of Director's terms are expiring (Gina and Milo), and we'll be either re-electing them or voting in replacements for one or both. Whomever gets elected will be starting a 3 year term.

If you would like to vote, you must be present at brunch and up to date on your $20 annual membership dues. Those not up on their dues, or simply not interested in becoming a paid member at this time, are still welcome to attend brunch, observe the process, and participate in the rest of the discussions. You just can't vote for any directors. Anyone not yet a member who would like to become one may do so immediately before the elections. Just give Gina your dues and she'll give you a receipt and add you to the list. If you are a member but aren't sure when your membership expires, Gina will have your info and will be able to renew you if necessary. Also, remember that your dues are tax deductible.

Everything kicks off Sunday, October 3rd, at 10am at the Stone of Accord Meeting Room, 4951 N. Reserve. This might be a good one to arrive early for. Also, remember that we can seat up to 32 people in the meeting room (yes, really), so don't leave if it looks crowded. If for some reason we really do fill up the room and you would like to vote, just make sure Jon knows you're in the restaurant and he'll make sure you get included in the process, somehow. If you're not sure where the meeting room is, just ask the hostess when you come in the door and she'll get you to the right place.

Lastly, I'll also be accepting during brunch any contributions anyone would like to make towards a Missoula Downtown Association gift card I'll be purchasing for our attorney, without whom the 501(c)3 approval would never have happened, and who did it all for free. Unlike donations to M.A.S.S., contributions toward the gift card are not tax deductible and should be made separately.

Feel free to RSVP to the event on Facebook (not required).

"I Voted" photo (c) Kate Sumbler.

Now Accepting Online Donations

The Missoula Area Secular Society is now able to accept online donations.

We are still awaiting our final 501(c)(3) approval from the IRS, but our attorney (who specializes in this sort of thing) is confidant that everything will go through fine, just at the agonizing pace of bureaucracy.

If you intend to deduct your donation from your taxes, you should check with your accountant first. According to our attorney, the IRS usually allows deductions made in good faith to pending non-profits who have filed their paperwork, such as us. Never-the-less, check with your accountant.

If you'd like to make a donation, simply click the link below. If you don't have a paypal account you can click the "continue" link in the lower left corner of the donation form to continue to securely enter your credit card information (they intentionally make it hard to find, so look close).

You will also be given the opportunity to include a note with your donation. If you'd like to request that your donation be applied toward a specific purpose, please indicate so in the note and we'll do our best to accommodate your request.

Voting Membership Dues

The M.A.S.S. Board of Directors have voted to establish membership dues of $20/year. It should be noted however, that most of our events will continue to be free and open to the public. The $20 buys you a warm fuzzy feeling and a the right to vote for directors at each October's annual meeting and on any other issues that directors put to the members for a vote.

Funds raised from membership dues and donations will be applied toward furthering our mission "to foster a community of non-theistic individuals by providing opportunities for socializing, networking, and friendship." This will initially consist primarily of getting the word out about us to more potential members in the form of advertising (think local Billboards and Bus Ads, or whatever we can manage).

However, if given the choice of having either your money or your smiling face at our events, we choose your face without hesitation.

If you've previously donated to M.A.S.S., your donation has been applied to the membership dues for this year with our heart felt thanks.

Anybody wishing to donate or become a voting member may do so by bringing a check made out to "Missoula Area Secular Society" to any of our events. If Gina, our Treasurer, is not available then you can give the check to any of our other directors to pass on to her. Soon we'll have a donate button available on the website as well and should eventually have a post office box that checks can be mailed to.

Annual Meeting Minutes

Annual Member Meeting and Board Meeting Minutes

7:00 pm
October 22, 2009
Small Meeting Room at Missoula Public Library

Members Present:

Jon Garvin
Traci Brown
Russell Thayer
Martha Thayer
Milo Coladonato
Gina Simunovich
Jennifer Knell

Jon Garvin opens the meeting by clarifying the difference between “Officers” and “Board of Directors” and how the election of “Board Members” and subsequent election of “Officers” to various positions by elected “Board Members” is to be undertaken based on the Missoula Area Secular Society “Bylaws”.

Nomination of “Members” for “Board of Directors” takes place.

Nominated are:

Jon Garvin
Russell Thayer
Milo Coladonato
Traci Brown
Gina Simunovich

Nominations are seconded.

Staggered length of terms are to be determined by a draw. Strips of paper with the numbers, 1, 2, & 3 are put into a rainbow-colored hat, the numbers representing the length of term for each elected “Board Member”.

Results:

Traci Brown: 3 years
Jon Garvin: 2 years
Russell Thayer: 2 years
Gina Simunovich: 1 year
Milo Coladonato: 1 year
Discussion follows regarding the setting up of a PayPal account at website to facilitate donations and the eventual selling of product. Conclusion is that it will be undertaken.

Discussion follows regarding the proposed cost of membership being too high at $50. No final decision on membership fee is determined.

Discussion follows regarding the setting up of M.A.S.S. knitting group. First meeting is to be held Sunday, November 15.

Discussion follows regarding various donations.

Meeting is adjourned after 25 minutes. “Board Members” move to Old Post to participate in “Board Meeting” over beer and food.

“Board Meeting” begins at approximately 8 pm.

Jon Garvin nominates Gina, Traci, and Russell to continue in current roles on “Board of Directors”. Russell nominates Jon to continue in his current role. Motions are carried. Length of term for “Officers” is one year.

Officers:

Jon Garvin, President
Traci Brown, Vice President
Russell Thayer, Secretary
Gina Simunovich, Treasurer
Milo Coladonato, Member at Large

Meeting adjourned after 5 minutes.

New Board Member!

Our first annual members meeting was a big success. All existing board members were re-elected and we added one more. Our newest board member is Milo Coladonato. Milo is also on the board of directors for Footloose Montana and brings a wealth of experience and fund raising ideas to M.A.S.S. We are extremely excited to have him on board.

The first board meeting after the members meeting was held at the Old Post. At that time the officer positions were voted on, and all the existing officers retained their positions. So, our new directors and officers are...

• Jon Garvin, President
• Traci Brown, Vice-President
• Gina Simunovich, Treasurer
• Russell Thayer, Secretary
• Milo Coladonato, Board Member At Large
  

The official minutes of the meeting will be posted to the blog as soon as Russ sends them to me.

1st Annual M.A.S.S. Members Business Meeting

In July, members of the Missoula Area Secular Society elected their very first board of directors and instructed them to turn M.A.S.S. into a legal non-profit organization.

Since then an attorney has volunteered his expertise, Articles of Incorporation have been drafted and approved, Bylaws have been drafted and approved, both have been filed with the Secretary of State, and the forms for filing with the IRS are being finalized.

Our new bylaws call for an annual meeting of the members in October for the purpose of electing directors. So, on Thursday, October 22nd, we'll (re)elect a new set of 5 directors (one more than we have now), and kick off the staggered 3 year terms for those directors that our bylaws call for. Members must be present at the meeting to make nominations and vote.

We'll be meeting in the "small conference room" at the Missoula Public Library at 7:00pm. Come in the lower level entrance off of Front St. The small meeting room is in the hallway next to the computer room.

We promise to keep things short so we don't take up your entire evening, so please arrive on time (or early) so that we can knock this out and adjourn. An impromptu post meeting social gathering/celebration at a nearby bar or restaurant wouldn't be surprising for those wishing to make a longer evening of it.

Feel free to R.S.V.P. on the Facebook group (not required). Having our Twitter updates sent directly to your cellphone is recommended for last minute updates and changes.

M.A.S.S. 1 Year Anniversary and Board Elected!

On July 10th 2008, four people (Jon Garvin, Dan Bowling, Traci Brown and Jeff Piotrowski) met face to face in the large meeting room downstairs at the Missoula Public Library for the first time as the Missoula Area Secular Society. Their goal was to provide Missoula's "closeted" atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and other free-thinkers with a friendly community and activities at which to meet fellow like minded Missoulians for networking, socializing, and friendship.... or something like that.

Nearly one year later The Society's facebook group has over 120 members and up to 10 or more people are organizing and regularly showing up to multiple activities per month. On July 5th, 2009, during Sunday M.A.S.S. brunch, the next step in The Society's evolutionary path took place. Four people were elected by consent as the Missoula Area Secular Society's very first board of directors.

President: Jon Garvin
Vice President: Traci Brown
Treasurer: Gina Simunovich
Secretary: Russ Thayer

This is the first step towards our getting registered as an official non-profit organization. There are several more steps to go, but now that we have a board those should go pretty smoothly. Thanks to everyone for your support and generosity. Here's to another amazing year for M.A.S.S.