Attending: Rowland Brohawn, Jean B. Fry, Norman G. Kurland, Dawn K. Brohawn, Harriet Epstein, Michael D. Greaney and Kemp Harshman (via telephone).

Materials Distributed: Core Values, Code of Ethics, Agenda, minutes of 06/21/06, Third Quarter TreasureríƒÙs Report, Newsletter editor job description, Spanish Translation proposal, Fr. Miller obituary, Tim Trewyn letter to the editor on CSOP/íƒ˙electric power solutions,íƒ˘ Chinese village ownership article.

Meeting was called to order at 10:30 am by Harriet Epstein, Rotating Chairman. The Opening Prayer was offered by Dawn K. Brohawn, followed by a participatory reading of the Core Values and Code of Ethics.

Pre-meeting discussion: Harriet Epstein commented that she liked Norm KurlandíƒÙs simple description of Binary Economics. We need to communicate Binary Economics in a way so that children can understand it. How can we overcome the inertia of old conflict-oriented paradigms and help the world shift to our new win-win paradigm? The íƒ˙Just Third Wayíƒ˘ ideas are the base upon which the fulcrum of servant leadership and power of can move the world.

Approval of prior meetings minutes and TreasureríƒÙs Report. Norman G. Kurland moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Dawn K. Brohawn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Rowland Brohawn will put the minutes on the web (estimated time: within a week).

Rowland Brohawn moved to accept the Third Quarter TreasureríƒÙs Report. Norman Kurland seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

The question was raised about whether to move the inventory of Curing World Poverty (approximately 1,200 copies) from St. Louis to CESJ. We will decide that after CESJíƒÙs remodeling is finished.

Wireless cable revenues. Since we started getting regular payments, we have received approximately $20,000 in the current year. Kemp Harshman stated that he was taking care of the response to Clearwater and certain requirement notices sent by the FCC.

Anticipated Expenditures. Projected office equipment expenditures: weíƒÙve spent about $5,000 already (new phone system and 3 new computers) and expect to spend approximately $3,000 more (file cabinets, office furniture, software upgrades). We need to budget for a web technician (a íƒ˙web masteríƒ˘) and a newsletter editor.

Reinvestment of cash proceeds (matured HH Bonds and wireless cable revenues). We should move any íƒ˙idle cashíƒ˘ to the Wachovia special non-profit account or into mutual funds. Dawn K. Brohawn moved that the CESJ account be changed to the special interest-bearing account for non-profits (currently earning 4.5% interest with $15 minimum monthly service charge), and that we put $3,000 into Vanguard and close the money market into the interest-bearing account. Rowland Brohawn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Michael Greaney also mentioned that we need to have the Arlington PhilharmonicíƒÙs 501(c)(3) application submitted by September 30^th. CESJ is carrying APAíƒÙs revenues in its restricted account, and if we go over $100,000 we may have to file a Form 990, requiring an independent audit.

Other Discussion: We need to prepare a special financial report covering the annual celebration. Michael D. Greaney will develop a three-letter code to account for all products (books) sold.

¨›

Decision/Follow-up Items

Joe Recinos Spanish Translation Proposal (Selection of 10 Prime Mover íƒ˙marketing targetsíƒ˘). Joe Recinos will be translating CESJíƒÙs materials into Spanish. He has located a bilingual associate in Guatemala to check his translations. When finished, we will put the Spanish language materials into a separate section on the web site. $400 has been paid to Joe to begin Phases 1 and 2 of the translation project. Rowland will add a button on the home page íƒ˙ArtàÇculos en Espaà±olíƒ˘ with a link to a listing of Spanish translations by title and subject.

CESJ Response to the Treasury DepartmentíƒÙs Attack on the ESOP. The ESOP Association, National Center for Employee Ownership and the Ohio Employee Ownership Center have been sending out alerts about the Treasury DepartmentíƒÙs moves to eliminate the ESOP. Norman Kurland pointed out that the main attacks from Treasury are coming from U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard Posner (a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, and frequent contributing writer to the Wall Street Journal). The second is from the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury who said that ESOPs are full of subsidies, doníƒÙt hold up to their promise, and offer participants no security through diversification. These issues were actually addressed in 1974 and by the Tax Reform Act of 1986. We need to find some way to communicate to the powers-that-be KelsoíƒÙs íƒ˙poor maníƒÙs prudence ruleíƒ˘: íƒ˙Put all your eggs in one basket íƒ∂ and watch that basket very carefully.íƒ˘ (This has been variously attributed to Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie, among others.)

There is a growing hostility toward the ESOP from the AFL-CIO. Partly this has been fueled by the Enron and United Airlines fiascos. Many so-called ESOP experts are unable to see the difference between a 401(k) with ESOP features and an ESOP. They doníƒÙt stress real ownership or rights and powers of ownership. None of the major ESOP organizations talk about justice or putting power in the hands of workers. Consequently, unions are also opposed to the ESOP as íƒ˙anti-union.íƒ˘ Being locked into the adversarial model of labor relations, the traditional union would have to be restructured before the people within that milieu could see the ESOP in any other fashion.

Another problem is that the so-called íƒ˙ESOP Communityíƒ˘ rarely refers to the ESOP as a way of getting capital credit to workers to become owners. Leveraged ESOPs are mainly used for acquisitions, but almost never for growth. Because credit flows through the ESOP trust, rather than directly to individual workers, the ESOP is generally controlled by management.

The unions epitomize the íƒ˙opponents on the left.íƒ˘ The íƒ˙opponents on the rightíƒ˘ are trying to make it more difficult for workers to become direct capital owners by forcing them to íƒ˙investíƒ˘ in the Wall Street gambling casino their limited savings in order to become íƒ˙owners.íƒ˘ The íƒ˙opponents in the middleíƒ˘ (i.e., friends of the ESOP who are íƒ˙opponentsíƒ˘ in the sense that, not being part of the solution, they are part of the problem) are concentrating on íƒ˙holding their own.íƒ˘ They doníƒÙt seem to realize that by trying to maintain the status quo they are losing the war, as General Patton pointed out.

Dawn Brohawn commented that, even though it is an imperfect vehicle, the ESOP should not be destroyed. What can CESJ do to help preserve (and eventually, improve) the ESOP, which is still the best means today for getting even quasi-ownership into the hands of ordinary people? Perhaps the crisis mentality so prevalent today will help to open up the minds of people to what weíƒÙre talking about. Dawn said that we will be the poorer if the ESOP disappears with nothing better to replace it. For the most part the ESOP hasníƒÙt been used as intended íƒÓ as a tool for building an ownership culture íƒÓ but it is still the best existing step in the right direction. She also commented that even with Capital Homesteading accounts, there may be the need for additional capital credit vehicles to allow companies who wish to stay employee-owned to do so.

Norm Kurland stressed that we have to go beyond all these arguments through the Capital Homesteading approach to ownership. Capital homesteading deals directly with the issue of power and its structured diffusion to the level of each individual. It is the only feasible proposal today that is geared toward putting capital credit and economic power directly into the hands of ordinary citizens. The ultimate issue is whether power will come from the top down, or from the bottom up.

Norman Kurland commented that CESJ presently lacks the resources and people to mount an effective campaign. We will probably have to limit ourselves to a statement published on our website and discussion forums such as the Kelso Binary Economics discussion group, that the ESOP is the only mechanism that currently makes accessible capital credit to non-owning people. Capital homesteading is the chance to get back to KelsoíƒÙs original vision. It doesníƒÙt take anything away from what is already in place, but can be added to the existing system. This crisis gives us a chance to reconsider the whole idea of employee ownership and universal access to capital credit and ownership.

Joining the Alliance for Human Empowerment. This is an initiative of John Watkins, who invited CESJ to become a member of the Alliance. Norman Kurland said that we should let him use any of CESJíƒÙs writings he likes, with the understanding that CESJ will participate as a resource organization that may not agree with everything on the Alliance web site. Norman Kurland therefore moved that CESJ join the Alliance for Human Empowerment to the extent that the Alliance be permitted free use of CESJ materials with proper attribution by putting a notice on all materials, but that CESJ cannot commit any financial or time resources. Rowland Brohawn seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Norman Kurland further moved that CESJ extend a 30% discount off the cover price on all bulk orders, and give a 30% (net of shipping and handling) commission on all sales he refers directly to CESJ. Dawn K. Brohawn seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Focus Topic: Using the CESJ Newsletter revival to promote our 10-year strategic goal (Capital Homesteading) and 4-pronged communications strategy.

Approval of Newsletter Editor Job Description and Proposed Compensation. Discussion of the compensation or stipend offered will wait until we see whether we can get a volunteer. Harriet promised to make the recommended changes to the job description after discussion. Some initial figures: $100-400 for 4 pages. We have about $6,250 available from wireless cable fees to hire a newsletter editor and web technician.

Where will the job description be listed? The board decided that we would first try and put it up on various volunteer service message boards and publications. Michael Greaney also suggested sending to individuals we know personally who might be interested.

Development of an editorial board. Until we see whether anything else is needed or preferable, the CESJ Core Group will function as an editorial board.

How can the newsletter attract and activate CESJ volunteers and members? Simply by íƒ˙showing the flagíƒ˘ a newsletter should help keep CESJ in the (semi) public eye and get new people interested and older members reinvigorated.

What would be the standard features of the newsletter that would help promote our 10-year strategic goal of Capital Homesteading for every citizen? This is covered in the previous minutes.

How can each of us, as part of CESJíƒÙs core, contribute to the development of the newsletter. Harriet said she will incorporate the discussion into the job description. Everyone else can help by coming up with prospects for the editorship.

News Items and Project Updates

CESJ web site update. No changes. Rowland recommended that we develop a list of desired features to be added to the website to present to web technician candidates. Examples: Donation button linked to CESJ Paypal account; on-line form for entering contact information into CESJ database. We need someone with basic programming skills to be able to make basic adjustments. We also need to start adding features to help popularize our ideas, including a history of Capital Homesteading. Perhaps add entries into Wikipedia (with the caveat that you have to monitor these or others may sabotage). Kemp will contact John Willingham in La Plata, Maryland as one possible web technician prospect.

Bangladesh project. No change, still trying to secure financing.

Arlington Philharmonic project. The Philharmonic recently held two very successful performances of StravinskyíƒÙs íƒ˙The SoldieríƒÙs Taleíƒ˘, including a standing room only performance at Arlington Central Library. This work involved the collaboration with actors from an area high school. This bodes well for the PhilharmonicíƒÙs community outreach mission. Dawn is working to get the group to develop a business plan and a succession plan when the music director is ready to retire. They need to rebuild their board and locate an executive director and an assistant. They also might want to consider forming a creditoríƒÙs committee to improve communications between the Trustee and the musicians and to speed things up with the old symphony bankruptcy.

TAN Books project. The latest word was íƒ∂ no word. The judge announced in the last hearing on July 14 that he was giving himself a continuance as he had not finished writing his opinion. The next hearing is set for August 23. The United States Bankruptcy Trustee has come out in favor of íƒ˙ouríƒ˘ plan, and the debtor-in-possession appears to have exhausted all his continuances. It remains to be seen, however, whether the judge will actually hand down a ruling on August 23, which would clear the way for an exemplar Justice-Based ESOP. In a related move, TANíƒÙs General Manager and head of the printing division has changed his position and now agrees that the printing operation and the publishing operation must go their separate ways. He has stated that he believes that the printing operation can, however, be put on a profitable basis as an independent company. He wants to explore the possibility of an employee buyout of the assets and printing customer base, assuming the liability for old equipment that still has a useful life, and naming the new company, íƒ˙TAN Graphics, Inc.íƒ˘ Things still look reasonable and on track.

Dr. RosàÑn/Chesterton Conference in Buenos Aires. Dr. MaràÇa Teresa RosàÑn, who teaches law at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires, plans on attending a conference on G. K. Chesterton to be held in Buenos Aires in October of this year. She plans on making certain that CESJíƒÙs voice is heard, and that recognition is given to the binary economics of Louis Kelso.

Norman Kurland meeting with Dr. Maqsood Jafri. On Friday, July 28, Norman Kurland met with Dr. Maqsood Jafri, who may be able to get Norm to the Pakistani Ambassador and the Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation, of which the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is the head. Syed Meesam Razvi met with the Ambassador, then met at the State Department with Ambassador Henry Crumpton (State Dept. Coordinator for Counter Terrorism), then with Norman Kurland. Syed invited Norman Kurland to New York to speak at his school and meet with the head of a foundation associated with Grand Ayatollah Sistani. They discussed the relations between religion and the State. He agreed with Norman Kurland about the need to separate íƒ˙religioníƒ˘ and State, and CESJíƒÙs emphasis on justice resonated. He also seemed to like the Iraq oil proposal and the Abraham Federation. He said he will call the First Secretary at the Pakistan Embassy to arrange a meeting with the ambassador. Norm gave Maqsood and Syed 3 copies of Capital Homesteading and 2 copies of Curing World Poverty.

The next Executive Committee Meeting will be held on August 16, 2006, Wednesday at noon. The next Quarterly Board Meeting, will be Saturday, October 15, 2006 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm

A motion to adjourn was made by Dawn K. Brohawn and seconded by Rowland Brohawn. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 1:35 pm.