AANR East Strategic Plan

An organizational strategy serves AANR-East like the North Star serves explorers. When the nudist community comes to a turning point, the organizational strategy, like the North Star, gives a sense of direction.  Without a clearly articulated organizational strategy, AANR-East lacks direction, movement, a way of orderly transition, and cohesiveness.

An organizational strategy initiates movement.  Unlike objective mission statements, an organizational strategy involves passion, a deep emotional commitment to new possibilities.   A compelling vision within an organizational strategy will challenge current practices of the nudist community and its organizations and will draw that community and those organizations toward a new future.

A new way of seeing the future gives courage to experiment with new ways of thinking, new forms, new structures, and practices.  An organizational strategy, like a magnet, will draw AANR-East and its associated clubs and members into a new future.

An organizational strategy is an essential management tool.  It provides decision-makers and other leaders with a conceptual foundation on which the entire organization and all its parts and activities can be constructed.  An organizational strategy has seven parts:

1. a description of the current situation facing the organization,
2. a guiding vision that describes the future the organization desires,
3. a mission statement that tells what business the organization is in,
4. a statement of strategic intent that captures the gist of the guiding vision and mission and guides decision-making and action.
5. the key areas in which results must be achieved and the goals that define them,
6. target populations to be reached, influenced, served,
7. the core beliefs and values that will characterize the organization.

In the pages that follow, each of these seven parts will be described.

This organizational strategy is based on the work of the AANR-East Board of Directors at its meeting in Empire Haven on August 17, 2011.  The ideas, thoughts, and hopes expressed on that important strategic work day have been carefully and critically organized into this document.  It has been further developed by the newly-appointed AANR-East strategic planning team in its meeting on September 5-6, 2012 in Whispering Pines Resort.

When the directors of AANR-East were asked to describe the current situation confronting them, they identified the following forces.  Some of these forces are from the external environment and some are internal to the structures of AANR-East itself.  The following list, while incomplete, demonstrates many of the forces (both positive and negative) that are impacting AANR-East.

Our Organizational Strengths

1. We have an organization primed to guide social nudity into a new future.
2. We in AANR-East are developing a new organizational strategy to direct and focus our efforts.
3. We have enthusiastic leaders.
4. The nudist movement in the United   States is broadly dispersed and active.
5. Young nudist groups are coming into being.
6. We have many healthy and lively nudist clubs in our region, and large numbers of associate members whose energies we are learning to tap.

Our Organizational Weaknesses

1. AANR-East has adopted a “vendor” orientation rather than a “movement” orientation.
2. AANR-East is facing a financial crunch.
3. Membership in AANR and its clubs is decreasing.
4. AANR membership is aging.
5. AANR-East members lack knowledge about the importance of the nudist movement.
6. AANR-East and the larger nudist movement are not telling their story effectively.
7. AANR-East is not up-to-date in the uses of new communications technology.
8. Some of the clubs in AANR-East suffer from untrained and unskilled leadership.
9. AANR-East’s working relationships and alliances with other social nudist groups (including AANR as a whole) are not clearly understood.

Opportunities which our Strengths and Weaknesses Provide

1. The most promising opportunity is to reorient AANR-East from its current “vendor” orientation to a “movement” orientation.  Such a reorientation will provide a far stronger motivation for people to identify themselves with the nudist movement and affiliate with the organizations that promote, advocate, and support it.
2. The wider culture suffers from stereotypical images of the “perfect” body and this leads to body rejection rather than body acceptance.  This gives us the opportunity to educate the public in healthier attitudes toward the human body.
3. Our members lack understanding and grounding in the nudist movement, its history and achievements.  This lack of understanding affords us the opportunity to provide resources and an educational foundation that will enable our members to be proud of their nudist practices and beliefs and be more proficient at interpreting the values of social nudity to non-nudists.
4. We have an opportunity to provide support for new young nudist groups.
5. We have an opportunity to provide training and collaboration for all our clubs in the Eastern Region of AANR.
6. We have an opportunity to educate the larger culture about the difference between social nudity and sex.  Social nudity is not sex.

Threats from the External Environment

1. Society is suspicious of and has many misunderstandings of social nudity.
2. Politicians and some law enforcement personnel impose policies and practices that make it unsafe for many people to be nudists or to be open about their nudist life.
3. Some young people see the value of social nudity, but many others do not.
4. The national and world economies are struggling and this affects every organization.
5. The current political environment is puritanical and repressive.
6. Attempts by swingers groups to infiltrate the nudist movement are a threat to the clubs, members, and the organization as a whole.

The crisis of shape

For a membership organization like AANR-East, the significant loss of members is a very serious crisis.  Yet this current crisis of size is only a symptom of deeper and broader changes in the form and place of organized social nudity in North American society.  The crisis of size should therefore be recognized as a signal that AANR-East is facing a more pressing crisis, a crisis of shape.  The fact that the current crisis is interpreted as a crisis of size is an important clue to the crisis of shape: namely, we have come to regard AANR and its regions as being in the social nudity business, and right now sales are down.

The crisis of shape is a philosophical crisis, one of great magnitude and consequence.  It has to do with our presuppositions about social nudity and therefore the shape that organized social nudity should take.  Beneath the ebb and flow of contextual factors lies a substructure of commonly accepted notions about social nudity and its public role that has gone largely undetected.  There is a need for an analysis of the presuppositions that underlie organized social nudity.

What is the present shape of organized social nudity today and what should it be?  The question must be asked honestly.  The roots of social nudity indicate that social nudity is a movement with a political and cultural mission.  Its mission requires strategic and transformational changes in the ways people think, feel, and behave about their bodies.

But is that the way that nudists actually conceive of themselves and live?  In North America, nudists live out of a very different model.  The predominant model is that social nudity is related to geographical places (nudist clubs, resorts, and specific settings) for recreational purposes.    Social nudity is related to a “place we go to” rather than “a movement we are part of”.  Our common language betrays that.  We ask, “Where is your club?”  The word may refer to a particular nudist site, but even when it does not, it tends to refer to an institution as embodied by officers and staff or to a set of programs offered according to a certain schedule of days and events.

In the North American setting, we have come to view nudist clubs (and AANR-East) as “a vendor of nudist services and goods.”  To this notion we attach the language of production, marketing, sales, and consumption.  AANR is the corporate headquarters in charge of everything from research and development to mass media imaging.  This is an economic understanding of social nudity that may be appropriate for established businesses but that is hardly appropriate for a political and cultural movement that exists on the margins of  “polite” society and is committed to bringing about transformational change of that “polite” (and very destructive) society.  A different model is needed.

We are face to face with the most basic question about our identity as nudists.

It is hard to overemphasize the difficulty and complexity of making a shift from the current vendor orientation to a vision-and-mission-driven nudist movement.  As nudists in the early 21^st century, we must grasp the seriousness of the changes we are about.  The organizational strategy, and later, the long- and short-range operational plans will need to address the question of identity (and shape), build on the strengths, address the weaknesses, exploit the opportunities, and confront the threats.  In light of these forces, the question is, “What vision of a desired future will guide AANR-East into the future?”

A guiding vision is a picture of a desired future that an organization hopes to bring into being.  A guiding vision creates a contrast between the actual and the possible.  It defines a free space for the continuous interplay between “what is” and “what is to be.”  This dialogue between what is and what is to be provides a constructive way of change.  A guiding vision provides the substance for subsequent steps in the strategic planning process as (1) the guiding vision is turned into a (2) mission statement, which is turned into (3) a statement of strategic intent, which is turned into (4) positive and meaningful outcomes defined as key result areas and goals.  In turn these will be transformed into (5) long- and short-term objectives, which, in turn, will be turned into (6) time-bound and specific action plans.  Underlying the entire process are the core beliefs and values of the social nudity movement.

OUR   GUIDING VISION

We, the   leaders and members of AANR-East, understand ourselves to be part of a   cultural and political movement promoting and supporting social nudity.  We envision that users of nudist venues   (clubs, beaches, parks, public lands, and other facilities) will understand   themselves to be communities that model healthy ways of living and   associating.  Under the AANR banner, we   continue to live, plan, and work together in ways that challenge many   assumptions of the world around us, including presuppositions about human   sexuality, social life, privacy, transparency, and morality.  Our forerunners have worked and fought for   the privileges nudists enjoy today, although the struggle for our nudist way   of life is far from over.

We long for   the day:

• when body acceptance is the norm rather than the exception;
• when fear of social nudity by the general public is greatly diminished;
• when all major metropolitan areas within the region have community-accepted areas for clothing-optional social nudity;
• when nudists within the region talk freely about their clothing optional activities with family and friends and are comfortable having their name and images associated with social nudity in the media;
• when mental health and other professionals within the region recognize the value of clothing optional experiences for persons with body acceptance issues;
• when a large segment of the region’s non-nudist population occasionally participate in clothing optional activities;
• when teenagers are more accepting of their bodies and the mystery about the human body is reduced; their romantic relationships focus more on interpersonal relationships and result in more mature and long-lasting relationships and fewer unintended consequences;
• when people who are widely known as nudists serve as political and community leaders within the region;
• when the differences between the social nudity movement and sexually oriented businesses are widely recognized by the region’s communities and their leaders;
• when nudist venues will be places where positive and life-affirming support can be   found, persons aggrieved by repressive social norms can find healing and resources for body acceptance issues,    and where being naked can be experienced as something to be enjoyed for the sheer pleasure and freedom that social nudity brings.

We envision the venues in this region providing settings in which people can experience harmony, respect, and freedom.

Harmony Harmony involves the recognition that movements benefit from clear   examples of what the movement is seeking. Gatherings of nudists in our venues will attempt to manifest the   harmony they proclaim. They will:

• welcome diversity of ideas, open exchange of opinions, and efforts to build   consensus;
• demonstrate a quality of life together that reinforces one another’s sense of self-worth   and importance;
• allow for multiple paths to the same goal of vibrant and harmonious nudist communities.

As a result of our advocacy and example, the practice of both private and social nudity will be   accepted.  Nudists and other persons in our North American context will develop positive attitudes toward their body.  They will see that the human body is decent and that indecency is found only in people’s thoughts and fears.  Nudist venues will be used to develop dynamic communities in which the puritanical rejection of the human body is no longer dominant.  Body acceptance is our dream.

Respect Respect involves holding all people in high esteem.  All AANR-East venues will respect all users. They will:

• provide settings in which there is more regard for persons and less regard for wealth, position, nationality, race, or gender.
• accept persons regardless of their body type because the uniqueness of each person will be far more important than what their bodies look like.
• demonstrate a world in which people can live openly with one another.

We recognize that what is kept deliberately hidden has an unnatural power to obsess us and that many people are terrified of the many manifestations of human sexuality.  Yet we envision and attempt to create a world in which different manifestations of human sexuality are accepted and even valued.

Freedom    Freedom means that all persons are at liberty to make choices.  Gatherings of nudists in our nudist venues will provide a context in which people can:

• be who they are, free from oppressive conformity to artificial cultural norms;
• practice freedom from social trappings and from social status based on accumulation;
• view clothing as often simply superfluous and an encumbrance, though sometimes necessary for comfort and protection, and granting others the freedom to dress or not in the manner that seems best to them.

Our advocacy efforts will:

• contribute   to a larger society in which persons can practice social nudity without fear   of legal or social oppression;
• enable the experience of body freedom and freedom from labels;
• be comfortable in their own skin;
• live openly and transparently;
• recognize that nakedness is separable from sexuality.

We recognize that social nudity challenges inherited social norms about the human body, including erroneous myths, prejudices, and preconceptions that stand in the way of greater interpersonal understanding, self-acceptance, and acceptance of others.  These are reinforced by restrictive laws,   political barriers, conformist opinion, and massive textile advertising efforts.  Our movement actively   challenges these patterns of misconception and restriction.  We are also aware of the sexual innuendos   associated with social nudity and we challenge them by bringing our sexuality out into the open so that the power of sexuality to intimidate is removed.  Nudists can control their own sexuality and so can others.  Through this understanding, nudists lose the fears of their bodies that are associated with sexuality.

We also recognize the importance of collaboration between AANR-East and AANR.  Our vision is that the roles and responsibilities of AANR-East and AANR are clearly understood as they work together to challenge these many misunderstandings of social nudity and promote acceptance of social nudity in the United States and Canada.

The foremost direction-setting question facing leaders of all organizations is, “Who are we, what do we do, where are we headed?”  Developing a thoughtful answer to this question pushes leaders of the nudist movement to consider what AANR-East’s makeup ought to be, what it ought to be doing and providing over the next five to ten years.  Finding the answer to this question continues the process of carving out a meaningful direction for AANR-East to take as it  establishes a strong identity.

A written description of what an organization seeks to do and become is commonly termed its mission.  A mission statement broadly outlines the organization’s future course and serves to communicate what it is, what it does, where it’s headed.

OUR MISSION

AANR-East is a political and cultural membership organization that advocates for body acceptance.  Our mission is to promote and support societal acceptance of social nudity in our region.

The Guiding Vision points the way to the future we desire.  The Mission Statement clarifies what business we’re in.  Strategic Intent clarifies what AANR-East must get after immediately in order to realize the Guiding Vision and fulfill its Mission.  Strategic Intent provides a specific point of view of the future aspired.  It conveys a sense of direction, provides an opportunity to explore new possibilities, and stimulates a sense of discovery.  The most important role of Strategic Intent is (1) to bring more clarity to the Guiding Vision in a form that people can remember, (2) to help leaders and members focus their efforts, and (3) to motivate people by challenging them to make a difference.

OUR STRATEGIC INTENT

“Make social nudity cool!”

The action of determining key result areas involves clarifying the “work” that AANR East exists to do.  A key result area is an area of work to be performed in order to achieve desired results.  A goal defines the key result area.  Goals are broadly-worded statements of intent.   Taken as a whole, an organization’s key result areas and goals convert the Mission Statement into areas of the work to be done in order to fulfill the Guiding Vision and the Mission.   Goals, unlike “objectives” (which will enter the planning process as a subsequent step), are not time-bound or measurable but stated broadly, with each goal defining an area of the organization’s work. The process of defining key result areas and setting challenging but achievable goals helps guard against complacency, internal confusion over what to accomplish, and mediocre organizational performance.

Key result areas and goals specify the results that are desired in pursuing AANR-East’s mission.  They normally extend far beyond the current fiscal year of the organization.  Short-range objectives are performance targets, normally of one year’s duration, that are used by leaders to achieve the desired key results (as defined by the strategic goals).  Ideally, AANR-East’s key result areas and goals should not only address strategic issues but also express the vision and extend the mission.  They should match the organization’s strengths to opportunities, minimize threats to the organization, and eliminate organizational weaknesses.  The mix is important.

In strategic planning it is essential at this step to avoid the “activities trap” where activities are substituted for results.  Busy-ness is not a goal.  Feverish activity is to be avoided.   Rather, emphasis should be placed on the quality of life within each venue in order that the relational life of the venue actually demonstrates an alternative way to be a society.  The focus must always be on results.  “Means” should not be confused with “ends.”  All activities should be evaluated on the extent to which they achieve a desired key result.

KEY RESULT AREAS (KRAs) AND GOALS

The Key   Result Areas and Goals are listed below in two categories: Visionary and   Infrastructure.  Visionary Key Result   Areas and Goals are the “drivers” of the plan.  Infrastructure KRAs and Goals provide the   foundation for the “drivers.”

KRAs                     GOALS

VISIONARY

1.   Re-Orientation: To shift from the current vendor orientation to a movement orientation and a new identity.

The work.  This area of AANR-East’s work involves building and implementing a planned transformation process that will bring about a new identity for   AANR-East as an organized part of a world-wide nudist movement with a political and cultural mission.

Implications.    This shift will change the board of directors’ current internal focus   (providing direct support services to clubs and members) to an external focus   on legislators and other agencies with the goal of creating a more positive   and accepting attitude toward social nudity of those elements that currently   restrict its enjoyment.

1. Advocacy:   To position the Region as a primary promoter and supporter of body acceptance   throughout the wider community so that a high degree of body acceptance becomes the norm rather than the exception.

The work.  This area of AANR East’s work reaches outward to the community to make everyone aware of the wholesomeness of all parts and functions of their bodies.  This healthier attitude will allow people to concentrate on developing self-confidence and more positive personalities by reducing their preoccupation with bodily shame and feelings of physical inadequacies. To achieve these results, AANR East will promote, inform, interpret, lobby for, defend, and extol the practice and benefits of social nudity.  This goal positions the Region as an active force for political and social change.    All work related to advocacy will be organized under this key result area.

Implications.    Members and clubs will need to recognize that they will benefit more from the improved recognition of the wholesomeness of the human body by   legislators, agencies, and the general public than they currently benefit from the direct services AANR-East provides.  The awareness and positive support for the wholesomeness of the human body by legislators, agencies, and the general public will be a huge benefit to everyone.  Venues throughout the Region will need to build plans and become organized for their participation in this long-term advocacy effort.

1. Program: To provide a range of services to enable venues and individual nudists to plan for and achieve sustained and long-term re-orientation goals as part of AANR.

The work.  AANR East exists as a resource to serve, strengthen, and support nudist venues and individual nudists within the region. Local autonomous nudist clubs are the structures through which most persons are attracted to social nudity and have their first experience in social nudity.  Membership growth will occur as clubs themselves become more attractive as participants in the social nudity movement and as living examples of the harmonious, respectful, and freedom-loving communities described in the Guiding Vision.  AANR East must therefore provide various ways to help clubs with their re-orientation planning, organizing, marketing, staffing, evaluating, and   managing.  All work related to programming will be organized under this key result area.

Implications.  The new identity will likely involve many of the same components (Membership, Marketing, Media Relations, Government Affairs) but each will have to shift its emphasis and modus   operandi from operating as an individual function to collaborating and   working as a part of a team dedicated to common goals.  A visionary leader or small select group   will be required to establish the goals and create the strategic plans for achieving them. The directors will need to empower nudist venues to work together and with the regional leaders in collaborative ways, including helping the unprepared to become prepared and the unwilling to become willing.   Government Affairs will have to develop positive relationships with many key legislators and agency officials and work behind the scenes with them to support social nudity causes.  

INFRASTRUCTURE

1.   Membership:  To build a strong and engaged   membership that is committed to promoting body acceptance through social nudism.

The work.  AANR East is structured both legally and organizationally as a membership organization.  Without members AANR East will cease to exist.  The current trend of decreasing membership is a major challenge and opportunity for AANR East.  Increasing   membership is therefore a major goal of AANR East.  Every possible step must be taken to set in place different motivational forces—beyond club membership to participation in a much broader political and cultural mission.  AANR East’s work involves (1) research to discover the forces that motivate people to join the social nudity movement, (2) demonstration by the venues themselves that reveal how participation in the vision-guided and mission-led nudist movement meets the deeper needs of persons, (3) designing offerings in terms that clearly make this connection, (4) the use of effective two-way communication processes, (5) and (6) administering those processes.  All work related to building a strong and engaged membership will be organized under this key result area.

Implications.  The membership-enlistment approach will need to change from a vendor   model (“What’s in it for me?”) to a movement model (“How can I participate in this mission to promote something I value?””) This reorientation will require significant changes in how social nudity venues understand the meaning of membership, how membership is viewed as larger than simply belonging to a particular club, what is emphasized in the membership enlistment resources and processes.  A passion for the social nudity cause will become central. While it will be important to continue the emphasis on nude recreation (which has an important payoff), the reorientation to a vision-led, mission-driven movement will require a redefinition of the value that the social nudity movement can bring to persons and organizations.  This redefinition process, and the work that will flow from it, may be the most difficult of all the changes undertaken in the reorientation.

1.   Finance: To increase financial support from sources friendly to social nudity.

The Work.  AANR East requires funds in order to carry out its mission.  The current membership-based funding system is insufficient for the strategic development of AANR East and therefore new sources of funding are required.  This means that a comprehensive financial development system must be created and embedded in the organization.  Specialized skills and compe-tencies are required to achieve this goal.  All work related to increasing financial support will be organized under this key result area.

Implications. A financial development system must be created and staffed.  Such a system will seek foundation,   individual, and government grants to support a variety of new programs in areas of human sexuality, nude living, sex education, body acceptance,   community development, and others. Designated gifts, estate planning, year round fund raising and board   development will be required.

1.   Communication: To enable the flow of important and essential information to, from, and among nudists and facilities as well as with the general public.

The Work.  Organizations function on the basis of information. In order for the strategic plan to be implemented it will be essential for AANR East to develop effective information systems so that essential information flows swiftly and accurately to the persons and groups who require that information to inform decision-making.  All work related to   communication will be organized under this key result area.

Implications.  Media Relations will need to focus media coverage to advocate the changes required by the strategic “PR” but much more will be required.  Media Relations may need a reinterpretation of its mission and funds to support its much broader educational work.

7. Governance:  To develop and manage the strategic plans, policies, processes and structures that will support and administer the region.

The Work.  Governance of the region involves establishing the strategic policies, structuring the organization and the work, enlisting, supervising, and   supporting management in order that the work of AANR-East is properly planned, organized, staffed, coordinated, and controlled.  No organization and no movement functions effectively without creative and strategic governance.  All work related to governance will be organized under this key result area.

Implications.  As the reorientation occurs, changes in the governance structure will be required. Dynamic and visionary leadership will need a more effective interaction-influence network in order to guide AANR-East into new ways of perceiving, thinking, and acting.

8.Alliances: To build strong alliances with other groups that can help achieve our Guiding Vision.

The Work.  The achievement of the Guiding Vision, with its organizational and political aims, requires the active support and participation of other key   groups.  The work will involve identifying and enlisting such groups as AANR, The Naturist Society, Young   Naturists, as well as non-nudist groups (Parks Departments, Land-Management Groups, Recreation/Travel companies and trade associations, Sierra Club, advertising agencies, movie/TV companies, etc.) that might support large parts of our vision.  It will require the identification of common interests, clarifying goals, building commitment to work together, clarifying roles and responsibilities.

Implications.  Alliances must be carefully built, since allies need to be cultivated.  Trusting relationships need to be built and maintained.  Alliances must be based around shared interests so that each ally can see clearly what its payoff will be.  Some alliances will be long-term and others brief and short-term.  Skilled and dedicated leadership will be essential for the achievement of results in this area.

To actualize its guiding vision and fulfill its role and mission, the directors of AANR-East must be intentional about those with whom it must work.  Any distinct group of people or organizations (such as our venues or legislators) that either has an actual or a potential interest in, relationship to, or impact on AANR-East is a “target population”.  Key populations are the people, groups, and organizations who participate in one way or another with the Region’s life and work.  Some key populations are persons or groups who actually take part in AANR-East or one of its facilities.  Some are persons or groups or institutions who are to be changed, helped, taught, or strengthened as a result of their association with some aspect of AANR-East’s work.

To fulfill its mission and achieve its key results, AANR-East requires the active support and involvement of many diverse persons and groups.  Not all of these persons and groups are equally active, since activity ebbs and flows.  Some persons and groups are welcome participants, those who like and identify themselves with the social nudity movement.  Some are sought participants, whose support AANR-East wants but who may currently be indifferent or negative.  Some are unwelcome participants, persons or groups that are negatively inclined toward AANR-East or the social nudity movement and who may even be trying to impose constraints, pressures, or controls on various venues or on the Region itself.

The following target populations were identified by the Board of Directors:

1. Clubs segmented as:

a. Landed Clubs.  These clubs operate as businesses, have full-time staffs, own property,   offer many amenities.   They need public acceptance, credibility and legitimacy, acceptance and tolerance from nearby textile communities, and exposure to government affairs in order to offer a safe haven.  They seek more members, especially younger persons.

b. Small Business Landed Clubs.  These clubs operate as small businesses.  Their owners have few, if any, employees and function with volunteer help from members.  They offer fewer amenities.  They need credibility and legitimacy, acceptance and tolerance from nearby communities, exposure to government affairs, business assistance, money for improvements, help with marketing.  They typically seek more members, especially younger couples, but some are satisfied with their present membership.

c. Cooperative Landed Clubs.  These clubs operate as cooperatives with members running the club.  Amenities vary from considerable to limited.  They need credibility and legitimacy, acceptance and tolerance from nearby communities, exposure to government affairs, more land, more members, improved amenities.   They seek more members, especially younger persons.

d. Non-landed Travel Clubs.  These clubs draw their members from local and nearby areas, rent facilities from other suppliers, travel as a group to visit various nudist facilities, conduct nudist activities in private homes of their members.  They need rental facilities, credibility, meeting places, and legitimacy in order to provide for a positive, harmonious, respectful community.  They have some form of governance structure to plan and organize their travel schedules.

e. Non-landed Social Clubs.  These clubs are largely unstructured, have relatively few members, are quite cohesive, draw members from local areas only, and conduct nudist activities in the private homes of their members.  Their members seek a sense of belonging and legitimacy.  They are not necessarily interested in enlarging their membership.  They value fun times together and tend to be relatively unrelated to AANR-East or to other clubs in the region.

f. Associate Members.  These are individuals or couples who obtain their AANR membership directly through the national organization; although some associate members are also members of a club in the Region.  They want a place to go to enjoy social nudity and are primarily interested in freedom to practice social nudity.  They identify themselves with the social nudity movement.

Some members provide money to support the social nudity movement, others may be in a position to make generous grants to AANR-East and/or its facilities for specific purposes.

2. Other Key Publics segmented as:

a. Legislators.  These are persons who make the laws that either attack, support, or ignore social nudity.  They are motivated in many different ways, sometimes negatively.  They are also largely ignorant of the social nudity movement.  Many are quite open to learning about the social nudity movement and some become supportive of it.  Some become tolerant of it.  They need to be cultivated and educated, and sometimes opposed.

b. Law enforcement and social services personnel.  These are persons who enforce the laws and provide a variety of services to different populations .  Often uninformed about the social nudity movement, they can become a threat to various nudist venues.  Many are open to learning about the social nudity movement.  They need to be cultivated as friends of local facilities and educated about the social nudity movement.

c. Park Service personnel.  These persons are responsible for maintaining and developing local, state, and national parks and facilities.  They are gatekeepers who can allow, encourage, or block nude activities on public lands.  Many are open to learning about the nudist movement.  They need to be cultivated as friends and shown how a positive relationship with nudists can help them achieve their objectives.

d. General public.  The general public is either indifferent to the social nudity movement, ignorant of it, and some are intolerant of it.  Many make false, negative assumptions about nudists.  These need to be corrected.  Although in recent years there has been more tolerance of social nudity, it is not yet broadly accepted.  The general public is in constant need of education and information about social nudity.

3. Other Organizations/Groups whose goals align (or potentially could align) with ours.

a. Groups promoting societal acceptance of social nudity.  This segment includes such groups as AANR as a whole, other AANR regions, The Naturist Society, Young Nudists Organization, and other similar groups.

b. Groups that promote body acceptance.  This segment includes groups that promote or influence body acceptance such as media outlets, schools, recreation facilities, and others.

A key challenge for AANR-East is to build a comprehensive plan to reach out to and inform, help, support, educate each of these key publics.

Thomas J. Watson, Jr., former chair of the board of IBM, has written, “This, then is my thesis: I firmly believe that any organization, in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions.  Next, I believe that the most important single factor in corporate success is faithful adherence to these beliefs.  And finally, I believe that if an organization is to meet the challenges of a changing world, it must be prepared to change everything about itself except those beliefs as it moves through corporate life.

Watson went on to describe IBM’s philosophy:

1. Respect for the individual.  This is a simple concept, but at IBM it occupies a major portion of management time.  We devote more effort to it than anything else.
2. We want to give the best customer service of any company in the world.
3. We believe that an organization should pursue all tasks with the idea that they can be accomplished in a superior fashion.

Almost twenty years after Watson made this statement, his successor as IBM board chair, Frank Cary, said: “We’ve changed our technology, changed our organization, changed our marketing and manufacturing techniques many times, and we expect to go on changing.  But through all this change, those three basic beliefs remain.  We steer our course by those stars.”

In most organizations the statement of core beliefs and values (or commitments) becomes a permanent part of the organization.  They become organized and codified into a philosophy of operations which explains how the organization approaches its work, how its internal affairs are managed, and how it relates to its context including its key customers, clients, and other participants.

An organization’s core beliefs and values, if they are to have meaning, must be adhered to in all situations, including crisis situations.  It is through the day-to-day decisions and actions of key leaders that core beliefs and values are confirmed and strengthened—or become only meaningless words on a piece of paper.

The following core beliefs and values will characterize AANR-East in all its work:

OUR CORE BELIEFS

We believe:

1. That the human body is wholesome and a wonderful work of nature.
2. That social nudity is a way to achieve healthy body acceptance.
3. That seeking a healthy mind in a healthy body is a way of life.
4. That social nudity enhances positive social interactions.
5. That social nudity is independent from sexual innuendos and behavior.

WHAT WE VALUE

We prize, cherish, and consistently act upon the following commitments:

1. Promoting and supporting social   nudity.
2. Promoting and supporting body   acceptance.
3. Cultivating healthy minds in healthy   bodies.
4. Nudity as quite natural, neither   inherently disturbing nor sensational.
5. Including all people who are willing   to conform to our beliefs and values.