May 2009 Archives

Dine-Outs: Himalayan Restaurant and Village Wok

| No Comments | No TrackBacks

We've had two dine-outs since the last blog entry. The first was at Himalayan Restaurant, attended by about 15 people. For starters, the service was fantastic. We were treated as if we were very important, with our server constantly attending almost solely to our needs. Himalayan Restaurant has ample veg options, so everyone surely found something to their liking. It seemed like most people really liked their food. Finally, quite a few new people were attending because of Meetup.com, so there were lots of new faces. An excellent experience.

Village Wok was nice, but not quite as successful as the previous months dine-out. The 15 or so of us were seated at a pretty crowded table, which was nice in a way because it brought us all close together for conversation and whatnot. But still, it was a little too tight. Village wok has a HUGE menu, so everyone found something. I think most were pretty satisfied with their meals. A good amount of us ate family style, sharing a variety of chinese dishes with one another. The atmosphere at this dine-out, however, was not particularly friendly and energetic. Most people were pretty quiet. This is an issue that should be addressed for future dine-outs.

Greetings from the Writers Group!  I am very excited because Cari Lombardi's awesome letter was published in today's paper!  Please take a moment to view Cari's piece in response to the StarTrib's article about Twins relief pitcher Pat Neshek! http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/45528387.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UHDaaDyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Other announcements: I am also very excited to begin working with Leah Kodner, the new communications intern.  She will be a great asset to both CAA and the writers group.  Rachel K and Brock M are busy working on some amazing articles - stay tuned!!

 

Accounting Update - Get Excited!

picture of Mindy Gudmundson | No Comments | No TrackBacks
There really is not much to say about accounting that is going to knock your socks off, but here are the small updates:

We're currently looking for someone to assist me with accounting duties - we have someone in mind, but if you know of anyone who might be interested, please get in touch with me!

We have a new "deposit slip" that we're including with each deposit that details each check and the amount. This makes it easier for the bank and easier for us to track donations, etc.

There is also a new person who will be doing the thank you letters. The former volunteer had to step down at least temporarily. Gil found someone new and she will be starting soon!

That's about it.

Last CAA Meeting of Spring Semester

| No Comments | No TrackBacks

Hey everyone!

Here's a summary of the last meeting of spring semester...

The cooking class series: Quick and Easy Vegan Cooking went really well, it had a smaller turnout than expected but that seemed to get everyone more engaged so it worked out perfectly. The film panel on Christianity and Animal Issues went really well and had a pretty good turnout, although not as big as we had originally expected. Our next dine-out is at the Village Wok on May 14th and the next cooking class series is Vegan Cooking on a Budget tomorrow May 6th! We talked about planning the first cooking class of fall semester during veg week to help new vegetarians/vegans learn more about veg cooking. Leafletting at the Action Sports World Tour went well and people were friendly, but a lot had left by the time leafletters had gotten there. The spring potluck has been postponed due to a lack of advertising. It might get moved to late June with a bbq or ice-cream theme. The spring camping trip is coming up and Alexandra is just working on the final details. The rsvp deadline is tentatively May 15th.

For Veg Week this fall we still like the sustainability theme, but we thought we need to be careful to use ethical arguments as our main focus. We already have the auditorium reserved and need to plan who we would like to speak. We also liked the idea of a dine-out or potluck, revisiting the chicken sanctuary, and perhaps collaborating with other eco-friendly groups or maybe a cooking clubs if there are ones. It seems like tabling in Coffman isn't always that effective and we might be able to reach more people if we went off campus to maybe grocery stores, malls, or other college campuses in the area where students are not so numb to student group outreach attempts..

Students who volunteer at the TLOV Conference will get in free after one shift, and volunteers from the public will get in free after two shifts. We don't have solid plans yet for the next donor appreciation party but we were thinking of doing it in August. Leafletting and dine-outs will continue throughout the summer and we're attempting to increase restaurant outreach. Sadly, Gil is resigning from CAA July 17th. Thanks for all you have done for animals Gil!

We plan to resume meeting in the fall on Mondays at 4:00. Have an awesome summer everyone :)

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from May 2009 listed from newest to oldest.

April 2009 is the previous archive.

June 2009 is the next archive.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.