Occupy Central Vermont

Minutes from Working Group meet up in Montpelier

Note: small group present, rather than break out into separate working groups, we chose to form a single group discussion

Present: Sue, Margaret, Marie, John, Dell, Diane, Christian, Mark, Cheyenne, Colin, Yeshua

Note: Open agenda / stack taken

Margaret’s informal proposal

• for the last Saturday of June (6/30) – to meet @ her house in W. Topsham, 3-5pm, with a pot luck dinner afterwards
• Ask Facilitation Working Group for help organizing: get word out & coordinate rides
• proposed topic for discussion – what is a movement?

Education & Empowerment – open to topics for July’s Teach-in

some options..

• Kate’s Thesis (notes missed topic, sorry..)
• movie screening, suggestions: Made in Dagenham, Margin Call, Inside Job

Direct Action Working Group – Today’s Action @ Citizen’s Bank

• 11am on Saturday @ Citizen’s on Main St in Montpelier – very few customers
• we went to the Farmer’s market instead, handed out a lot of fliers and engaged people for discussion – far more fruitful
• Our current plan to proceed:
• Friday, 4-5pm @ Citizen’s Bank – see if foot traffic is higher / makes more sense?
• Saturday, 11am-12pm @ Farmer’s Market – every Saturday for now on – mic-check / speak-outs / poetry jam / engage people

Next Week is the Village Building Convergence – Occupiers will join forces with Transition Towners for 2 days of workshops and fun!

Next Pop-up Occupation – where & when?

Plainfield – issue: Biomass Plant @ Goddard

oh, by the way… while we’re on this topic..

• planned & announced without consultation with neighbors
• there is an Act 250 meeting coming up, has been postponed and not yet rescheduled
• we seem to be in support of the community, but maybe we should research the history of this issue some more and possibly write a statement of support for the neighbors & greater Plainfield community, to be submitted to Act 250
• any takers? – Yeshua offered to write up first draft
• John may also have some information on contacts, will share with Yeshua

Barre – Occupy Barre is meeting this coming Tuesday 6/19 @ 5pm in front of City Hall – discuss here first

Marshfield – Issue: poverty – Food Shelf need is on the rise (like 5x a few years ago..)

possible workshops / talks:

• Food Shelf Experience – Marshfield Coordinator
• Food Sovereignty – Yeshua
• Time Banking / Gift Economies – maybe Marie w/ others?

where in Marshfield is an open question, options aren’t the best
Decisions will be futher solidified after meeting up with Occupy Barre - we need representatives to go to their meeting!

OCVT Parade Presences:

• July 3rd in Montpelier @6pm
• July 4th in Cabot (morning)
• ENCOURAGE INVOLVEMENT!