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Board of Directors
| Position | Name | Pic | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Paul Storey |  |
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| Vice-President | Mynga Futrell |  |
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| Secretary | Nancy Gilbert | |
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| Treasurer | Ken Nahigian |  |
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| Board Members At Large | Don Knutson | |
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| Kevin Schultz |  |
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| Debora Smith | |
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| Vacancy | |
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| Vacancy | |
| Name | Bio and Goals |
|---|---|
| Paul Storey | No candidate statement submitted. |
| Mynga Futrell | This organization is dear to my heart, and across recent years, I have served AOF’s board in so many capacities (president, newsletter editor, organizing roles in Darwin Days and Freethought Days), you’d think I should be all worn out by now. But, I’m not - not yet, anyway! AOF is an indispensable resource for freethinkers in the Sacramento area, and I’m game to do my part to keep it chugging along on its worthwhile mission, promoting civic acceptance for atheists. We need to expand membership and grow in vibrancy in order to confront the all-too-many challenges to legitimacy. |
| Nancy Gilbert | I accept the opportunity to be a Board candidate. If so honored by your vote, I would like to see us focus on 1) encouraging our mutual sociality, 2) Enlarging our membership, which would help with #1 & 3, and 3) work on refuting that pervasive perception that a moral sense and ethical behavior is somehow dependent on religion or a god-belief. This is a too widely believed assumption, which I think has no basis in fact. There is ample evidence that humans have at least some genetically programmed sense of justice (unfortunately, not uniformly coded!), and that early childhood inculcation and modeling is extremely important. I know of no study supporting god-belief as needed for ethical behavior, good moral sense or a sense of justice. I feel we should loudly proclaim this whenever possible; it goes to the basis of our political and sometimes social exclusions. |
| Ken Nahigian | Ken Nahigian, incumbent board member, is almost but not quite an AOF founder. Early AOF members found him living in a makeshift hut, hoarding aluminum cans and shaving dime edges for the silver. He joined our group in December 1993 and has served as treasurer since 1995. After a long-checkered history of religious belief, Ken became a freethinker in his mid-20’s. Motto: "I started with nothing, and still have most of it left." His personal vision as AOF treasurer is to pinch pennies, sell bumper stickers, and keep us solvent. |
| Don Knutson | Ever since I joined AOF in the mid-'90's, I have taken a considerable interest in the organization by serving on the Board during most of that intervening time span and I have served the last two years as your President. In many ways, I consider our struggle to be one of civil rights for people who wish to explicitly enjoy life free of deities and superstition. Maintaining the healthy state of our organization with our continued growth is an important element in our achieving a society where those of a naturalistic persuasion would not meet discrimination. Also, rebuilding the separation barrier between church & state in our country any way we can will continue to be my priority. I would appreciate your vote. |
| Kevin Schultz | I’m committed to helping this organization achieve tangible, realistic goals here in our community and want to put that commitment to use in 2008 at our board retreat, which will plan long-term strategy for the next few years. I’ve served since 2001 on the board and hope to continue AOF’s service to our membership in 2008. |
| Debora Smith | I’ve been a freethinker all my life, although I haven't given it much consideration until recently. I felt outed as an atheist in 2004, when the Bee ombudsman did a column about a letter I’d written (re: use of the phrase "self-described atheist") identifying me by name and profession. I’d like to explore ways to make AOF’s existence known to students on campuses around Sacramento, and to make it appealing to them to participate. |
AOF members elect board members to a one-year term each November. Newly elected board members in turn elect officers at the first board meeting. Board members must be members in good standing and support the goals of the organization.
If interested in running, please use this site's Contact Form (submit to General Information) to submit nominations (self-nomination encouraged). We look forward to working with you.