NPYM Annual Session Summary 2025

Summary of the Annual Session Planning Committee Report on Annual Session 2025 to the NPYM Coordinating Committee

This article summarizes the interim report from the 2025 Annual Session Planning Committee (ASPC), delivered by Lyn Gordon of Multnomah Meeting, the outgoing Event Planner, at the Coordinating Committee meeting of August 16th. A final report will be forthcoming in November.

This year’s Annual Session returned to the University of Montana campus in Missoula, Montana for a four-day (Wednesday afternoon through Sunday afternoon) gathering. The theme was “Sing Loud!”

ASPC Members for 2025 included: Paul Christiansen, NPYM Clerk; Lyn Gordon, AS Event Planner*; Judy Lackey, Registrar*; Suebear Hebner, Youth Coordinator*;Jonathan Betz-Zall, Recording Clerk and Liaison to the Care Committee; John Gotts, NPYM Webkeeper*/Volunteer Coordinator; Lew Scholl, Hybrid Events Coordinator*; Ted Etter, Golf Cart and and A/V Coordinator; Celia Castle, Worship Group Coordinator; Dorothy Day, NPYM Secretary*; Jonathan Brown, Interest Group Coordinator; Corin Whittemore, NPYM Treasurer; and Suzanne Aboulfadl, Bookstore Manager (* = paid position). Consulting Members/Key Montana Contributors were: Bev Young; Carol Bellin: Judy Visscher, MD; and Jo Ann Kidder. University of Montana Staff who coordinated our time on campus included: Jessica Shaffer and Katie Helms, UM Conferences and Events; Robin Joseph, UM Housing; and Cris Zachariasen, UM Dining & Catering.

Highlights of AS 2025

Pre-AS online plenary session
Ice cream social Wednesday evening.
Participation in “Visibility Brigade” for transgender rights on Thursday afternoon.
Friends in Residence presence and address.
Revival of Simple Meal to benefit RSWR (Friday lunch; $399 raised).
Abundance of interest groups.
Fun field trips and informal time in and around Missoula.
Marathon Community Night.
Approval of supporting Philadelphia Yearly Meeting lawsuit protecting places of worship from immigration enforcement.
Approval of Young Adult Friends Coordinator position.
Approval of $10 per member increase in assessments (now $70/member).
Daily Bulletin photos (this year’s bulletins available here).

Attendance and Preliminary Finances

We were pleased that in person attendance broke the 150 mark this year, boosted by several last-minute registrations. Most attendees stayed on site, with some staying with local Friends (as well as multiple local commuters). We paid out $3,490 in travel assistance, which made attendance easier for more than 30 individuals and families.

Attendance at AS 2025 vs. 2024 & 2023.

Most, but not all income and expenses have been accounted for as of mid-August. Our total income of $60,178 was substantially higher than last year’s $48,825, but still less than our total expenses of $71,175 (last year’s final expense total was $72,296). Our preliminary deficit is $10,997, compared with last year’s $23,471 (which included payment of contract employees, covered this year by the general NPYM budget). Our now customary practice of “pay as led” fell short this year, as chosen registration fees did not cover the suggested registration costs for all attendees, and contributions from Meetings around NPYM did not generate enough income to cover the full costs involved. Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups are encouraged to make an additional corporate contribution to Annual Session for this year, or to budget for an increased contribution for next year.

AS 2025 Exit Survey

Following Annual Session, all Jr. Friends and adult attendees were invited to complete an online “exit survey.” Two versions – one for in person attendees, the second for virtual participants – were disseminated. 64 in person surveys were completed, along with 13 online participants’ surveys (77 total surveys received/136 eligible = 57% response rate). Most rating questions were on a 5-point “Very Satisfied” to “Very Dissatisfied” scale; results (in the form of bar graph charts) were presented to the Coordinating Committee and can be viewed online here. Open-ended questions at the end of each section gave Friends opportunities to make sometimes in-depth comments, too. Most aspects of Annual Session were rated “very” or “somewhat” satisfied by those who responded, and comments provided useful insights into things that went well and things that could be improved. Summaries by topic follow.

Strengths: generally smooth online and in-person registration, simple check-out process; travel assistance appreciated; printed program design and content attractive and useful; travel assistance well-utilized; inclusion of worship group and volunteer job info on the back of nametag; “Judy did a fantastic job!”
Areas for improvement: use larger signs for guiding arriving attendees to registration and parking; emphasize bed-lowering request on registration form; consider “opt-out,” rather than “opt-in” for Simple Meal selection; if single-user restroom identification is an issue again, provide clearer information about how to access them; consider adding a more complete campus map with materials provided on arrival; increase communication re: shared travel options.

Strengths: Quality of food and atmosphere of new dining hall; proximity of dining hall to residence hall; residence hall bathroom design and how well all-gender usage worked out; reminder to bring fans (and provision of loaner fans by Montana Friends) helped with heat in dorm rooms; attractive spaces for interest/worship groups; smaller “footprint,” reliable and fast golf cart service worked well for transit between buildings.
Areas for improvement: Ask that decaf coffee and black tea be provided in dining hall; as noted re: registration, make sure attendees understand why bed-lowering requests need to be made well in advance; pre-arrange seating to more welcoming configurations in worship group/interest group rooms; better control of air conditioning (too cold for some) in plenary room; arrange for more visible location for bookstore.

Strengths: Lew’s skill, effort, professionalism and experience; visibility of screen; microphone sound quality (when used properly).
Areas to improve: placement of speakers (not always visible to online attenders); address some mic feedback issues; if possible, work on transitions between reports and gallery screens.

Strengths: Jr. Friends’ involvement in plenary sessions; having younger and Central Friends in adjacent classrooms; more relaxed scheduling; worship group queries (developed with Friends in Residence) and overall experience; Simple Meal experience; satisfying field trip experiences; energy and fun of Community Night; quality of clerking in plenary sessions (shared among Presiding, Rising, and Jr. Friends).
Areas to improve: Having adequate numbers of paid staff for younger and Central Friends; have a dedicated “Field Trip Coordinator” to better manage communication and planning; offer more hybrid interest groups for online attenders to choose from; tighten up flow of acts for community night.

Location of key activities on campus, proximity and walkability (with golf cart transit as needed).
Food events, including ice cream social, Simple Meal, and general dining hall meals.
Pacing of and clerking of plenary sessions, including advent of pre-AS online plenary and inclusion of meeting for memorials.
Opportunity to joyfully join the Missoula “Visibility Brigade” in a show of support for trans people.
Provision of financial assistance for both travel and attendance.

Larger, more visible signage for registration and parking.
More communication about how to access daily bulletin and other ways of sharing information while on campus.
Earlier identification of staff with key on site roles (Health, First Aid, local Transportation and (potential) Field Trip Coordinators.

Financial bottom line: increased attendance, renewed attention on Abundant Financing (from both individuals and Meetings) needed to balance the budget.

Annual Session Planning Committee welcomes any additional feedback as we wrap up AS 2025 and begin planning for AS 2026, scheduled for mid-July 2026 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Please contact the NPYM Annual Session Event Planner* at [email protected] with questions, comments and suggestions.

*Lyn Gordon is stepping down as Event Planner; hiring of his replacement is underway.