Great Plains Chapter

Join us at the 2nd Annual Darwine Day Party on February 11th, 2012!

In celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday, the Great Plains Chapter is sponsoring an evening of fun, food, wine, and science in honor of Mr. Charles Darwin on Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 6:30-8:30pm at The Candle Club. The Candle Club is a private club located at 6135 E 13th St. N (behind the Dillons store at 13th & Woodlawn) in Wichita, KS 67208.

Dr. Alan Maccrone, an evolutionary biologist at Friends University, will be the Keynote Speaker. Please see Dr. Maccarone's biography below. The event is open to all in the Wichita area community. There will be a cash bar for beverages, and a birthday cake and cupcakes as well as hors d'oeuvres will be provided!

We will be having a unique, one of a kind auction of many fun and interesting items for those in attendance to bid on and win at the end of the evening with the proceeds going to our senior essay scholarship fund for area high school seniors. Among the items to be auctioned off are a $50 gift certificate to Watermark Books, a $50 gift certificate to Meade's Corner, a $50 gift certificate to Riverside Perk, an official Ford racing jacket, many Darwin-themed items such as a tie, necklaces and a stained-glass art piece, as well as a framed copy of the original "Pledge of Allegiance" without "Under God" and the much sought-after "Clean Dollar Bill" without "In God We Trust" printed on either side!

The cost for entrance to the party is $10 per person at the door. If you plan to attend you must RSVP by sending an email to the Board Treasurer with the number in your party attending to: martha_pint@hotmail.com.

If you do not RSVP, we may not be able to accommodate everyone due to space limitations, so RSVP as early as possible if you plan to attend. Official 2nd Annual Darwine Day Party shirts will be available for purchase at $10/shirt as well.

Brief biographical sketch of Dr. Alan Maccarone

Dr. Alan Maccarone was born in Brooklyn, New York but moved frequently because his father was a career Army officer. He has achieved a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the State University of New York; a Master of Science in Psychology from Memorial University of Newfoundland; and a Ph. D in Zoology from Rutgers University, New Jersey. His areas of specialization are Animal Behavior and Avian Biology. Dr. Maccarone arrived at Friends University in 1990 and has twice been promoted in rank, currently a Full Professor. He was appointed to tenure in 2000. He has directed the undergraduate program in Zoo Science for 13 years and the graduate program in Environmental Studies for 17 years. His program offers courses in Ecology, Vertebrate Zoology, Field Biology, Ornithology, Animal Behavior, and Evolution. Dr. Maccarone has published about 40 research articles in learned journals and has given twice that number of oral presentations, mostly at professional conferences and to the general public in events such as our Darwin Day event. Dr. Maccarone says, "Teaching Evolution at a Christian college in the Midwest has been one of my greatest challenges."

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PAST EVENTS

Thank you to all of those who joined us at Great Plains AU's 3rd Annual Meeting!

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Rob Boston

Rob Boston speaks for the Great Plains Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

A crowd of over 150 people attended the Third Annual Meeting of the

Great Plains Chapter of AU at College Hill United Methodist Church. President Vickie Stangl presided over the meeting that included the election of the 2011-2013 AU board. Stangl then reviewed with the audience the board’s accomplishments over the past year and noted how important it was to join AU and demonstrate to elected leaders that Americans want their elected officials to respect the U.S. Constitution and uphold the separation of church and state.

AU board member Michael Alldaffer introduced keynote speaker Ron Boston to the audience. With lawyer like precision, Boston quickly and methodically defended his topic “The Christian Nation Myth”, explaining how the founders had opportunity and power to certainly create a Christian nation in 1787 and yet did exactly the opposite. With documentation and historical examples, Boston laid out the clear evidence of our secular government but also ending his presentation with the ominous observation that when the Religious Right talks about a Christian nation they mean a very specific kind of Christianity that would reject other Christian faiths and dismiss the founder’s vision of a nation committed to freedom of conscience of all.

Congratulations to the new board members of the Great Plains Chapter of AU and for continuing to keep the wall high for separation of church and state!

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1st Annual Darwine Mixer

The Great Plains Chapter of AU's First Annual Darwine Mixer was attended by nearly 70 guests on February 12th at River City Brewing Company! Our featured speaker, Wichita State University Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Maryliz Jameson, gave an excellent presentation on Charles Darwin's many contributions to science and humanity. We thank her immensely for her time and expertise! Tentative second guest speaker, Wichita State University Professor of History and Philosophy of Science & author of God, The Devil, & Darwin: A Critique of Intelligent Design Theory Dr. Niall Shanks, was unable to attend due to ill health. The appetizer buffet served by River City Brewing Company was excellent (and plentiful!) and the Charles Darwin birthday cake provided by Krista Wassinger looked great and was delicious! Photos from the First Annual Darwine Mixer have been posted in our Image Gallery as well as on the Great Plains AU Facebook page, so please check them out!

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Visit from Dr. Randy Olson and Muffy Moose

Keynote Speaker for the Great Plains Chapter's 2nd Annual Meeting provided a bonus to AU members . Randy Olson came to town with his amazing mother Harriette Olson, better known as "Muffy Moose". In a private reception and fundraiser for AU at the home of Dr. Robert Stangl and Vickie Stangl, Mr. Olson and his famous mother regaled the guests with a wonderful presentation via the wonders of power point to present the story of Olson's mother's life.

Muffy's stories and memories of W.W. II enthralled everyone. Harriette Olson is descended from Chief Justice John Marshall, and her father was General Marshall, under General MacArthur . As a young woman, Muffy was on Corregidor Island before she was evacuated as the Japanese were advancing. She told how her only brother was lost at sea, and what her life was like in the states during and after the war. It was an unforgettable night with Muffy Moose. Everyone felt richer for having the chance to meet andhear Muffy's amazing life story.

December Meet N Greet

The December Meet N Greet held on December 10th at Adrian's Cafe in Wichita was fantastic! We saw several new faces and picked up a few new members as well! The food was absolutely wonderful and a few of us left with doorprizes, including a copy of Thomas Jefferson's "The Jefferson Bible"! We are looking forward to our next big event, so stay tuned!

2ndAnnual Meeting

On September 10th a crowd of over 130 people packed the auditorium at Exploration Place to hear film maker and author, Dr.Randy Olson discuss his new book, "Don't Be Such A Scientist" in how to communicate more effectively the important issues facing the scientific community such as global warming to evolution. The evening was called to order with a brief business meeting to approve new members to the 2010-2011 Great Plains Board and review the accomplishments of the 2009-2010 year. At the conclusion of the business meeting Dr. Olson presented a power point presentation with a lively Q & A following his talk. Many audience members expressed frustration that hard science is always on the defense next to bogus and shallow arguments from organizations and people whose agenda is suspect. Another comment from the audience was the constant amount of misinformation spread in the mainstream media confusing the public about important and critical issues of science such as global warming and evolution. Many audience members believe there is still a real threat to replace hard science with pseudo science in the public schools and the concern about how this would affect our national security and technologies in the years to come if we do not have a strong scientific base in America's schools. When asked about the large turnout and support for the new chapter, president Vickie Sandell Stangl responded: "I'm thrilled about the evening. I think tonight demonstrates how much the local chapter is growing and the number of people not only in Wichita but the surrounding area are interested in speaking out about protecting the separation of church and state. We have so much to do in this community. Unfortunately, violations are taking place so frequently it is difficult to keep up with the groups or individuals who are actively working to demolish the wall protecting everyone's religious liberties and freedom of conscience. I don't think there is a more important or more critical issue facing America today than standing up to those who refuse to support our secular constitution. The Religious Right can try to rewrite history but they can't erase the fact that the founders did not elevate or require religious dogma be included in the constitution. No amount of reinterpreting history can change this fact."