06/07/2026
PLOWSHARE BOARD MEETING-MAY 2026
Date: 5/12/26
Present: Gary Sandman, Mike Bentley, Roxana Navab, Manuel Dotson, Sherman Bamford, Souha Khawam, Ruthi Blackman.
1. Board
a. Form 102-Cost for Form 102, a Virginia state document about charitable donations to non-profit organizations, is $100 the first year and $30 thereafter. Director will file the form.
b. Southwest Virginia Coalition for Palestine-Director reported that discussion about the relationship between SWVC4P is on-going. He attended a recent SWVC4P meeting.
c. Voting Rights Decision-Board discussed the recent Federal Supreme Court and Virginia Supreme Court decisions about voting rights. Mike will write a Plowshare board statement about voting rights to be shared with others.
2. Infrastructure Committees
a. Finance Committee
1. Balance-Plowshare has $10,900 in our checking and saving accounts, with all bills paid.
2. Stewardship-Any suggestions about increasing revenue or savings costs was welcomed.
b. Outreach Committee
1. Social Media-550 people are now on the email list; 192 are on the Facebook group; 878 are on the page; and 219 people are on Instagram. We have many visitors to our website.
2. Festivals and Parades-We tabled at Earth Day on April 18 and at the Ride for Palestine and Pride in the Park on April 26. Several people signed up for our email and mail lists. The Daisy Arts Parade has a carnival. We may try to participate next year.
3. Newsletter-Another newsletter will come out in June.
4. Next Meeting-Committee meeting is scheduled for May 19 at 8 PM, through Zoom.
c. Volunteers Committee
1. Recruits-We invited the board to suggest people we might approach for service on the board and on the Lobbying Committee. People are free to approach us without being asked, of course.
2. Resignation from Board-Volunteers Committee suggested that a board member resign from the board as they have not been able to attend many meetings or, until recently, undertake any projects. Board member, via an email to the board, stated that they planned to leave their job in three months and would be able to attend meetings and be active with projects at that time. Plowshare board agreed to wait three months.
3. Action Committees & Coordinators
a. Vigil Committee-About 10 people attended the April vigil.
b. Program Committee
1. Teen Peace Jam-TPJ occurred on May 16 at the Unitarian-Unitarian Church. Everything went well, especially the workshops. Ten teens attended. The Teen Organizers, of whom there were six, were really excited and suggested ideas for the next Jam and expressed interest in coming onto the Plowshare board.
2. Ride/Walk4Palestine-RW4P happened on April 26 in Wasena Park. About 50 people showed up. Plowshare was a co-sponsor.
3. Environmental Concerns Panel-A Plowshare panel about environmental concerns will be offered on July 18 from 2 to 4 PM at Williams Memorial Baptist Church. It will be a panel with Mike Bentley, Bob Egbert and Dan Crawford. Manuel said he would contribute $100 toward the rental cost.
4. Voices from the Holy Land Salon-Film will be Enduring Palestine: Erasure & Cultural Resistance; salon will be on May 17 at 2 PM.
5. Next Meeting-Committee meeting is scheduled for May 19 at 8 PM, through Zoom.
c. Carpooling Coordinator-N/A.
d. Lobbying Committee
1. Meetings-Mike attended the Fairfax Grassroots meeting and spoke about Palestine and environmental concerns.
2. Tom Perriello-Manuel is working to arrange a Meeting for us with Tom Perriello, who is running for Congress against Representative Cline.
e. Public Information Committee
1. Action Alert-Action Alert #97 was sent out.
2. Democracy Now!-The committee has emailed NPR about their poor coverage on Palestine.
f. Palestine Committee
1. Social Media-Mike has posted material about Palestinians and the Gaza War on our social media.
2. BDS List-Gary posted a list of companies that Plowshare supporters can consider boycotting on our social media. He made copies to hand out when we table. The list comes from the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
3. Southwest Virginia Coalition for Palestine-We are, of course, looking at bringing SWVAC4P into Plowshare, so they might merge into the Palestine Committee.
g. Pax Christi Coordinator-No report.
4. Other-N/A.
5. Next Meeting-Next board meeting is June 9 at 8 PM, through Zoom.
