The Pulse is a monthly newsletter with updates on recent work from Illuman's governing bodies, operations councils, and local chapters. You can also find it on the Council Leaders Corner of the Illuman website (password: councils2022).
Please submit your Council or Chapter's monthly report via this form.
It's a busy time of year right now with Illuman. Here are just a few of the major projects currently being worked on:
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Oracle planning is in full gear as a planning team led by Ned Abenroth works together with representatives of the Reweaving Council to craft and refine a draft schedule.
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Awaken (formerly Soularize) planning is also ramping up as another team led by John Ball begins to solidify their ideas around the theme and potential leaders and speakers for the event.
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The new MemberLeap software is currently being configured and trained on, and should be ready for roll-out to Illuman men by the beginning of April. It will add a host of new integrated features for use both internally and by the whole Illuman community.
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The proposed restructuring of the Board and Wisdom Elder relationship has been discussed thoroughly and widely among Illuman councils, and at a special Illuman Town Hall meeting, the first in a bi-monthly series of Town Halls to be held on a wide range of important Illuman topics.
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The Development & Fundraising Council has been blessed with a fresh crop of new and highly-experienced members who are already kicking off several new initiatives to significantly increase Illuman's income over this coming year.
All of us are contributing to these and other important efforts in our various ways. I continue to be impressed and grateful for the gifts, wisdom, and energy that each of you bring. Keep up the good work!
With Gratitude,
Mike Clawson
Illuman Administrator
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- Chapter Development Council
- Community of Conveners
- Program Council
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- Reweaving Council
- Technology Council
- Wisdom Elders
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Charters, responsibilities, and contacts for each of Illuman's Operations Councils can be found here.
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Chapter Development Council - February 1
Contact: cdc@illuman.org
Members Present: Al Selder, Tim Callen, Seth Burgess, John Ball, Jamey Bontrager-Singer, Terry Frisbie. Guests: Steve Hicken, Brad Pickle
The Chapter Development Council focused on setting its priorities for 2023.
These include:
- Refinement of our Mission
- Communication
- How to act like a chapter if you are not an official chapter of Illuman
- Continuing our Convener Mentoring Program
- Leadership Development
- Risk Management
- Support for Regional Collaboration such as is happening on the East Coast
- Collaboration with the Reweaving Group
- Inviting Conveners or other leaders to experience one of our meetings.
We have welcomed Jamey Bontrager-Singer as a full fledged member of the Chapter Development Council and we are actively in conversation with other men who have interest in our work. The CDC is looking for new members to fill two vacancies. If you are interested, let us know.
Steve Hicken joined the CDC for the Feb 1 council, responding to questions regarding the new restructuring of the Board and Wisdom Elder relationship. He began by proposing that Illuman should, in fact, be conceived of as a 2-legged creature (rather than a 3-legged stool), with the Board/Wisdom Elders (i.e. Illuman National) working together to hold the big vision of transforming men, and Chapters as the other leg to move the on-the-ground work forward. The proposed restructuring changes how Illuman National operates but doesn't really affect how national and chapters relate.
This initial presentation was followed by several comments and responses between CDC members and Steve.
Comment 1: The Board / Wisdom elders need to work to be better partners with chapters/regions. Need to ensure chapter concerns are not ignored.
- Response: Yes, that connection definitely needs to be enhanced.
Comment 2: What is National doing for “chapters”? We are pleased with defined expectations for the board, but there is a lack of men to take on other areas of leadership. How does Illuman US step up to support this? We are seeing this in CDC as well and this keeps the work from getting done.
- Response: Illuman US needs to improve its leadership development process. Also, much of what the CDC has done (such as findings from interviews) has not yet gotten the attention it deserves.
Comment 3: We would like to see continued work on how local areas connect with men. Are there alternatives to how we are organized? Would like to see some work at Oracle on this topic.
- Response: The Reweaving Council is looking at this and there will be something presented at Oracle from them related to these questions.
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Community of Conveners - February 8
Contact: conveners@illuman.org
Attendees broke into small groups to connect and check in for 5 minutes. Men witnessed from the small groups back to the whole group.
Steve Hicken and Ned Abenroth joined us as both Board and Wisdom Elders to discuss the ongoing restructuring of the Board and Wisdom Elders. They gave a history of what has led us here and expressed a wish for broad approval by the men in Illuman. They proposed a new model - two legs (two bare feet on the earth), one leg the Board and Trustees(or Wisdom Elders) and the other the Conveners. They suggested that the three-legged stool was not an accurate model and that the current Board/Elders dynamic led to a sacred/profane dichotomy. The question of "where are the Conveners in this restructuring?" is the wrong question, since the restructuring really only has to do with one of the two legs. We should be asking how can the two legs better work together now?
Several Conveners then shared a rose/bud/thorn (success/beginning/difficulty) from their chapter or region. The council was closed by an update by administrator Mike Clawson concerning the new website and database software, MemberLeap. He also requested that Conveners update chapter information with the administrator.
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Program Council - February 8
Contact: programcouncil@illuman.org
Ned Abenroth reported on planning for Oracle, Illuman's leadership gathering, scheduled for April 13-16 at John Knox Ranch in Fischer, Texas. John Ball reported on planning for AWAKEN 2023, (formerly known as Soularize), scheduled for September 14-17 at Shrine Mont Retreat & Conference Center, in Orkney Springs, Virginia. AWAKEN 2023's theme will be "Reclaiming Our Hidden Wholeness."
Members of the Program Council discussed Illuman's policy around the adoption, promotion, endorsement, and/or recommendation of various kinds of programs and events - from official Illuman US events, to various kinds of Chapter events, to the occasional requests we get to promote outside, non-Illuman events. Mark Funkhouser and Mike Clawson were tasked with assembling a small team of men to develop policies for the Program and Curricula Councils to review and approve.
The meeting ended with a brief discussion of the need to update and add names to the Watering Hole speaker list. We are open to receiving recommendations for consideration.
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Reweaving Council - January 17
Contact: reweaving@illuman.org
At the January meeting, the Reweaving Council (RC) focus groups broke off to advance the possibilities and promises for Illuman that they will bring to Oracle in April. Then they shared their progress to encourage each group.
The RC Steering Committee and Organization/Leadership focus group reports positive planning for Oracle, involving Program Council reps and the Illuman administrator. "It seems as though the RC is pushing on an open door," when it comes to RC reps joining Program Council in shaping Oracle.
Three RC members are stepping up to serve on the RC Steering Committee: Scotty Johnson, Louis Volpi, and Mark Mehlos. They will join Bob Bulanda and Brian Sullivan. This provides a voice from each RC focus group and will greatly facilitate coordination and encouragement in preparing for Oracle.
There are several vacancies on the RC. The original Steering Committee and Illuman administrator are helping with the search to fill the gaps.
RC members were also reminded of the new trustee model proposal and encouraged to provide feedback regarding it on the form sent by Ned.
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Technology Council - February 21
Contact: it@illuman.org
The Technology Council is hard at work implementing the new MemberLeap website and database software. Our contact list of over 7000 men has been uploaded to their system, most of our website has been transferred over to their platform, and we are beginning to learn how to configure and use the new tools. We will be rolling out the new features gradually, but hope to have a public launch where men will be able to sign-up to use the new system and its enhanced community-building features (including message boards and a Member Directory) by the beginning of April.
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Wisdom Elders - February 18
Contact: wisdomelders@illuman.org
Members Present: Terry Frisbie, Steve Hicken, Joe Lonergan, Bob Juarez, Ned Abenroth, Belden Lane
Steve Hicken is stepping down as one of two Illuman representatives to the Global Council. The Illuman nomination process was used to choose his replacement and, after three rounds, a consensus was reached. Bob Juarez will take over Steve's responsibilities on the Global Council. Bob also serves as a Wisdom Elder and on the Illuman en Espanol Leadership Council.
There was discussion around a document of proposed changes to the Illuman Vision Statement, which was presented as an effort to better reflect the current work of Illuman compared to the focus and vision when the existing vision statement was created. This is a working document and we believe other Councils are and will look at our current mission and vision, especially the Reweaving Council. We look forward to collaborating on this important matter with the RC and all of Illuman, probably sometime shortly after Oracle.
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Didn't see an update for your Council?
To ensure your Council is included in the next edition of The Illuman Pulse, please assign a member to write a short summary following your next meeting and submit it via the form below.
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“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Rob Siltanen (shared at an Illuman Board Meeting)
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