President’s Report – Linda Weber – Convention – 08/13/26
Members
Thank you to the 3,472 members who took the time to vote in our most recent election. Your vote was your voice in who you wanted to see lead the organization. We are also welcoming a new Vice-President and several new Trustees to the Board who will be making decisions on behalf of their Regions.
Members reside at the very top of the AANR organizational chart. Their needs are an integral consideration on what we plan and the goals we set for the next two years. We are here because of you and without the support of our members; the organization would cease to exist.
Leaders, we are here to serve the members as well as educate those who are not familiar with wholesome nude recreation.
As I go into my second term as AANR President, I remain dedicated to serving our members, clubs, and affiliated businesses, while educating those who try to legislate our philosophy to fit their narrative and reduce our nude privileges.
Membership
I am including a slide of our membership going back to 2000 in a separate file. As you can see, 26 years ago, we had double the membership. In only two years of the 25 full membership years have we temporarily stopped the loss. A mid-year verified report of membership through June 30, 2026 shows our membership at 25,548, which represents a gain of 647 members for 2026 which I am pleased to report.
This is a stark reminder that what we have been doing has not been what is effective and encourages membership in AANR. The organization needs to evolve to meet the changing needs of the members as well as society. In response to this, I listened to the members and I have three overarching goals for my administration – Mentorship, Communication, and Transparency.
Mentorship
As a volunteer organization, it is incumbent upon Leadership to ensure that we recognize and mentor individuals who have a dedication to AANR and nude recreation to fill positions within our Regional Boards and AANR. This year, in our AANR elections, we had several open positions in which two or more qualified members stepped up to be considered. This will ensure we are able to conduct business with full Boards and Committee Chair positions.
Communication
One of the issues I heard from many members was the lack of communication coming from both AANR and our Regions. Our members and potential members want to hear what AANR is doing for them however, we need to be strategic and utilize all methods to reach our members. Our younger members rely on social media, whereas older people lean toward email communication. Some of the newer Committees I created were in response to these issues.
I am currently working on a method that solicits feedback from our members. Without this input, we tend to make decisions in a vacuum. Successful companies proactively ask their customers what is working and what isn’t as a barometer to how well the organization represents the membership.
I will continue to encourage our Regional Presidents and Trustees to hold monthly calls to discuss issues and problem-solve along with sharing best practices. We have two meetings a year, but our business is year-round so we need to be able to communicate and strategize as issues and opportunities arise.
Transparency
Hand-in-hand with Communication is Transparency. We make decisions and our members would like to understand the reasoning that went behind the decision. I am working to make what we do for our members, clubs, participating businesses, and the public at large; available through social media as well as on our website. When I hear the question “What does AANR do for me?” it lets me know we haven’t gotten our message out and that we have work to do to achieve this.
GAT
Tim’s report provides more information but I wanted to touch on the fact that we are in a period where nudity is the focus of attention, and not all of it is positive.
GAT has reviewed 2000+ bills as of July and we still have some “hot spots” in some of the Regions that are being actively worked on or closely monitored.
I created the Penny (and Nickel in Canada) Challenge to capitalize on the fact that the penny is no longer being minted in the US and to raise awareness of our GAT program. The work we do is vital to protecting our nudist privileges and freedoms but it comes at a cost. Fighting legislation is expensive and we sometimes need to employ a lobbyist.
The “Turn Your Small Change into Real Change” promotion encourages Regions to collect pennies to not only raise money for GAT but to raise awareness of what we do legislatively. I have uplifted the GAT program for the last two years, and with the mounting number of bills, we need to get this information out to not only our members but to the nudist public at large. Legislation is an issue that not only members should support but our clubs, resorts, participating businesses and the nudist community at large, regardless of AANR affiliation. The promotion runs through November 2026 and there will be prizes for the Region who brings in the most pennies (or nickels) and one for the total number of money raised. Please encourage your Regions as well as our affiliates, to participate in this cause. I was pleased to see a jar with the flyer on it at the 2026 MidWinter meeting at Suwannee Valley Resort, as well as a rolling advertisement on their video feed. AANR-NW, at their recent Convention also had a jar for change as well as a table that educated attendees on the importance of GAT. Lake Bronson provided a jar in their rec room.
As we look to the future with new Leadership in place within the Regions and the AANR Board and Trustees, I am excited for what we will accomplish together as we continue to grow and evolve to ensure that AANR remains the leading voice for nudism for generations to come.
