General
Assembly officially begins Thursday June 21, however an intense amount of activity
has gone on in the past several months, culminated by a burst of activity in
recent weeks and days to make sure all is in readiness for this historic event
marking the fortieth anniversary of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Pieces of a Puzzle
The General Assembly Planning Committee works about five years in advance to plan each year's event. Their efforts join with many others, representing the committees, staff, districts, congregations, and affiliate organizations who participate in GA every year. Barbara Prairie, the General Assembly Administrator says, "GA is not one event. It is 500 separate events, so putting it together is like putting together pieces of a puzzle."
The number of events makes it a challenge to pull off each year. In addition,
there is the challenge of growing attendance. As of Wednesday evening (June
20), the Planning Committee confirmed there are nearly 4,100 people pre-registered
for GA. That is already a record and does not include the 200-300 people expected
to register on-site. While a challenge in magnitude, this growing registration
is also wonderful -- for it is a barometer of the vibrancy of our movement.
Devoted Volunteers
Much of the work done to make General Assembly a pleasant and welcoming experience
is performed by a cadre of volunteers. Kate Greenfield of Cleveland Heights
Ohio, has served as the 2001 Volunteer GA Coordinator. Applications for GA volunteers
were accepted during the month of March and Greenfield tracked the information
in a database on her home computer. There was such a great response to the call
for help, that some people had to be turned away. 200-plus volunteers will help
with decorating, greeting, child care, the GA newsletter, counting votes, ushering
at events, staffing the volunteer office, the GA office, the registration desk,
the information desk, and coordinating accessibility services. In exchange for
their efforts, volunteers receive a waiver of the GA registration fee, a T-shirt
and a complimentary lunch buffet on Sunday.
Based on the buzz in the volunteer office on Wednesday, people were eager and excited to do their part for GA 2001. Many of the volunteers are from the local area, representing at least 40 of the 49 congregations in the Ohio-Meadville UUA district, and they are particularly committed to showing off their city and providing some good "home hospitality" for out-of-town visitors.
Accessibility Services from A-Z
The team of volunteers working on Accessibility Services for GA have been busy in recent months as they worked under the direction of Accessibility Services Coordinator Doris Matthey, to research and compile a list of accessible restaurants, transportation providers, and area drug stores. They have scoped out routes for wheel chairs and scooters to and from the convention center and the major hotels, and have been in touch on phone and e-mail with those who indicated a special need during registration for GA.
About 50-60 people will take advantage of a variety of accessibility services
provided at no additional cost. These include use of motorized scooters and
wheelchairs, reserved seating, image magnification, American Sign Language interpretation,
hearing assistance devices, and large print General Assembly programs.
"Virtual" Accessibility
Even with all of these accessibility services, there are those who are unable
to attend General Assembly. Some may have physical limitations which prevent
their presence; others are limited by time, money, or conflicting schedules.
This year, the UUA's Office of Electronic Communication continues its effort
to "bring GA to the world." Started as a pilot project in 1997, it has grown
into a complex, hi-tech effort. Deborah Weiner, UUA Director of Electronic Communication,
supported by a board-appointed, volunteer committee on electronic communication,
leads this effort. Jim Austin, UUA Director of Information Technology Services
and a host of volunteers, also contribute to GA as seen on www.uua.org.
These volunteers bring valuable skills in writing, editing, photography, scanning,
video capture, recording, and web design. In addition, they share the commitment
of making this information available to the wider community as quickly as possible.
A few days before GA 2001, an advance team descended upon Cleveland to set up the computers, printers and a makeshift network in a Marriott Hotel conference room. Many volunteers bring their own equipment, including laptop computers, digital cameras, and other "electronic gadgets." This year "we are committed to covering more events, and posting them more quickly than ever before," said Weiner. "Not only will there be coverage by volunteer reporters and photographers, but GA Web staff will record events in audio and video format, converting those recordings to a digital format that is easily accessible on the internet. The bonus," Weiner continued, "has been that people who attend GA have found the web coverage to be a valuable repository to reference events that they attended or to access a session that they were physically unable to attend." The increasing success of multi-media presentations offered on the web has raised peoples' expectations of what is possible. Given the energy in the GA Communication office, the team seems up for the challenge.
General Assembly begins on Thursday, June 21 at 7:00 PM with Opening Ceremonies in the Cleveland Convention Center Public Auditorium, and continues through Monday, June 25 at 11:00 PM.
Reported for the web by Jessie Washington; edited by Deborah Weiner; formatted for the web by Kasey Melski; photos by John Melski.
General Assembly 2001 · Program Grid
