Joan Lund, Annual Program Fund Chair expressed her appreciation for those Florida congregations who in paying their Fair Share dues to the UUA enabled the Florida District to receive over $22,000 back in grants. 89.9% of our congregations were Fair Share. (90% would have had returned $4000 more to the Florida District.) A budgetary adjustment proposal, necessitated by this unanticipated falling short by a percentage point, will be presented by the DE and considered at the next meeting in January. · A baseline monitoring report from the District Executive was received. This report clarifies the assumptions and interpretations of the DE vis-à-vis the Executive Limitations policies of the Florida District.

Each congregation's "link" reported on achievements, activities and concerns of the congregations with whom they connect each quarter.

Several congregations are undertaking capital campaigns and strategic planning, an encouraging sign of growth. Many of you reached out to Islamic communities for education and connection.

Two ordinations have taken place or been planned.. Rev. Ann Marie Alderman, currently the Director of Religious Education at UUC Jacksonville and a long standing member of the Buckman Bridge Fellowship and Rev. Jack Ford, currently serving the UU Fellowship in Valdosta, GA and also a long-time member of the Buckman Bridge Fellowship now serve within our district as ordained ministers.

Noted was the unanimous approval of the transfer of the Fellowship of Bay County from the Florida District to the Mid-South District, and the approval of a change of focus for the Annual Assembly in March. The transfer to Mid-South allows the Bay County members to connect with congregations with whom they have more in common geographically and numerically. The transfer was initiated at their request, approved by Mid-South last spring, and will be on the agenda of the upcoming UUA Board of Trustees meeting. The change of theme for the Annual Assembly was made in response to the events of September 11.

An Environmental Policy Resolution from the UU Fellowship in Corvallis, WA was deemed worthy of the support of the Florida District for consideration of the General Assembly in June. "It's something we've needed for a long time. It seems amazing that the UUA doesn't already have an environmental policy," was the comment of one of the board's members.

A proposal to create separate Trustee positions to represent the Mid-South and the Florida Districts was unanimously approved. The issue as presented by the Mid-South District is one of justice (righting a relationship), one district, one trustee/vote. Each of our districts on its own has enough congregations to surpass the next smallest district in number of congregations represented. The Florida District Board of Directors also believes it will save wear and tear on each district's Trustee, provide better opportunities to connect with congregations within the district and for the trustee to participate in district functions. Currently the 75 congregations in both districts are being served by a shared Trustee (who is doing a great job in spite of the distances and numbers, as did Margaret Sanders for the past six years). The proposal from Mid-South and the Florida District will next go to the UUA Board of Trustees to be considered as a possible by-law amendment at General Assembly.

The Board of Directors discussed and modified two Ends with refinements. (A refinement is a greater degree of specificity for an End.) The first modification addresses the desire and need for resources to have adequately trained leaders within our district. The second addresses the commitment of the board to growth and extension, specifying that there will be a viable Unitarian Universalist Fellowship within commuting distance of every individual within the Florida district.