• SIS Tri-fold brochure -- Each SIS is allowed the funds to create a nice tri-fold brochure once every 3 years.  I saw several nice examples of tri-folds done by some of the other SIS’s and decided we should get on the band wagon.  They will be useful for the information table at next year’s meeting, and will also provide a nice summary of who we are and what we do for any other needs we might have.  The following folks have agreed to help with this project sometime this year:  Stephanie Davidson, Scott Matheson, James Durham, and David Holt
• Web Site updates -- After looking over some aspects of the SR-SIS web site, it was clear that a few of our links and pages could use a little freshening.  Stephanie Davidson as agreed to stay on as our web mistress, and the following folks have offered to help with the new content: Pam Brannon, David Holt, Scott Matheson, and Prano Amjadi.
• The 2009 Book Drive will be organized by the able duo of Leslie Campbell & Stacy Etheredge.  Thanks to both of you for allowing us to wrangle you in to this volunteering.
  
• We agreed to sponsor 5 separate program proposals that were submitted to the AMPC on August 15th.  We’re waiting to hear back on each of the proposals, and will let you know soon which of them has been accepted.
• Digital photo archive -- I’d like to begin gathering photos of SR-SIS folks and fun in digital format and putting them together in a single place.  If you’ve got photos you’d be willing to share, send them on.  We’ll figure out the best way to make sure there’s a permanent record of our fun.

The Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues met on Sunday, July 13, 2008, during the annual AALL conference in Portland, Oregon. During the meeting a new tagline was approved as part of the committee’s moniker. The committee name will remain “The Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues,” and the new tagline will be “Embracing the Diversity of Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities.” Whenever possible, the new tagline will be included in publicity to emphasize that the committee welcomes diverse members, including bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual persons who support the goals of our committee.

Jorge Juarez, 2007-2008 Chair, conducted initial collection of suggested taglines through email polling. During the meeting, the following finalist taglines were discussed:

• Open to All
• Representing LGBT Members and Friends
• Open to All – Embracing the Diversity of Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities
• All Welcome – LGBT and Friends

During the meeting discussion, two additional taglines were added to the list for consideration:

• Embracing the Diversity of Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities
• Embracing the Diversity of Affectional Orientations and Gender Identities

Voting led to a run-off between the two additional taglines, with the former receiving 15 votes, the latter receiving 8 votes, and 2 members abstaining. The final vote ended discussion and deliberation that began before the 2007 AALL conference in New Orleans. Keep an eye toward new publicity that includes the tagline and invites support from our diverse membership.

The 2008 winners of the Alan Holoch Memorial Grant were recognized at the meeting, as well: Meg Butler and Lee Van Duzer. This year’s sub-committee included Stephanie Davidson, James Durham, Jim Gernert, and Jorge Juarez. The sub-committee was particularly impressed by the quality of applications for this year’s grant.

Also during the meeting, Ron Wheeler described progress on updating the bibliography website at http://www.lgbtbib.org. This web site hosts a free online updating service for the hardback bibliography published by Hein in 2006, Sexual Orientation and the Law: a Research Bibliography Selectively Annotating Legal Literature Through 2005. Ron Wheeler and Meg Butler are assembling a sub-committee to handle publicity for the hardback bibliography and for the free updating service. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ron Wheeler at wheeler@gsu.edu or Meg Butler at mbutler@nyls.edu.

At the end of the 2008 business meeting, James Durham stepped into the role of Chair of the Standing Committee for 2008-2009. Jason Springman has been elected Incoming Chair for 2009-2010.

Starting in January 2009, two subcommittees of our Standing Committee will begin work on projects. The Webpage Update Sub-Committee will update the collection of links to LGBT legal and organizational sources, located on our webpage that is connected to the SR-SIS webpage. Also, the Membership Sub-Committee will work to encourage new participants in the Standing Committee and its projects. If you are interested in joining one of our sub-committees, please contact James Durham at jdurham@tourolaw.edu. At present, the sub-committees include:

Webpage Update Sub-Committee

• James Durham
• Lee Van Duzer
• David Holt
• Courtney Selby
• Jason Springman

Membership Sub-Committee

• James Durham
• Jorge Juarez
• Courtney Selby

Planning for the annual Standing Committee reception will begin soon. If you are familiar with Washington, D.C., and can suggest appropriate locations for our reception at the 2009 AALL conference, please contact James Durham at jdurham@tourolaw.edu.