The Coordinating Committee met at the Foundation in Chicago on February 28, 1998. The purpose of the meeting was to create the new Coordinating Committee and to define its role in support of Urantia Foundation, the Trustees, the Staff, and the readership. Travis Binion has been appointed Chair and Cathy Jones Vice Chair.
The Role of the Coordinating Committee:
The role of the Coordinating Committee has altered in that it is now a voluntary arm of the Trustees and office staff devoted to assisting the Foundation and IUA in getting work done. Each CC member will head a functional sub-committee—the duties of which have been stated in specific job descriptions. Each CC member will liaise with office staff and will choose their own committee members with the approval of the CC Chair. The CC's job is multi-functional:
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To provide information and advice to the Trustees.
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To relay the pulse and concerns of the readership.
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To conduct research on various issues and make recommendations therefrom.
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To provide clarification to the IUA members and general readership concerning organizations, Foundation policies, and staff functions.
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To assist the readership under the auspices of the various sub-committee functions.
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To provide organizational structure to assist in policy and plan dissemination.
A brief description of the CC subcommittees, and the CC members heading the committees are as follows:
Human Resources, Lee Armstrong: will assist Urantia Foundation in its role as an employer in personnel matters.
Association Development, Cathy Jones: will assist the establishment of local and national associations.
Charter, Jo Anne Nelson: will oversee revisions to the WA charter and bylaws.
International Relations, Trevor Swadling: will work with and assist the National Associations.
Study Group, Suzanne Kelly-Ward: will assist readers to form study groups.
Education, Pat Goodson: will work to encourage the development of study aids and other educational material.
History, Sioux Harvey: will develop material to document a history of the Foundation.
Financial, Bill Page: will help oversee the financial affairs and audits of the Foundation.
Publications, Carolyn Prentice: will help to define the editorial policy for, and monitor the quality of secondary works that will be identified with the Foundation's trademarks.
Legal, Nancy Shaffer: will assist as a consultant in legal training.
Public Relations, Bryan Snowden: will help anticipate and advise on issues that may impact the Foundation's public relations, and develop press releases and answers to frequently asked questions.
Internet, Les Tibbals: will help to develop websites and will also monitor the use of trademarks and text on the Web.
Translations, Hannu Stenroos: will translate all secondary publications into other languages.
Internet School, Michael Zehr: will develop a website as a kind of electronic correspondence school for study of The Urantia Book in conjunction with the Education committee.