Dear Fellow/Sister NYHIST-L subscribers: I invite those among you with interests intersecting the history of correctional services in New York to consider witnessing the New York Correction History Society startup announced in the notice below if the meeting time (5:30 PM), date (Tuesday, July 13th) and place (the historic "Tombs") make attendance possible for you. Give me a call, an e-mail, or a fax if you want to attend. Attendance does not obligate you to become a member. Besides, there are no dues as yet. We promise that those who enter the jail for this occasion will be free to leave without posting bail. Thomas McCarthy 212 266 1016 212 266 1597 fax [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK CORRECTION HISTORY SOCIETY c/o 60 Hudson St. Room 608, New York, NY 10013 The New York Correction History Society (NYCHS) will hold its formal organizational meeting 5:30 PM, Tuesday, July 13, 1999, in the visit house of the Manhattan Detention Complex (aka The Tombs), 125 White St. off Centre St. The agenda provides for adoption of resolutions to enable the society to emerge as an official entity. One resolution submits for election as society officers a slate of nominees that includes professors in criminal justice studies at public and private universities and current and former commissioners and other top officials, as well as rank and file officers and civilian employees, of city and state agencies of correction, probation, juvenile justice and criminal justice services coordination. Another resolution authorizes the society's officers to begin work on specific activities. These include setting up shared interest groups for members; establishing a web site, newsletter and journal; arranging tours for members to sites of interest; soliciting, collecting, storing and cataloging historical materials, and placement of historical markers. The key enabling resolution -- taken from the "Now therefore, it is resolved" portion of the Preamble of the Proposed Constitution and Bylaws -- reads, in part: "THAT a not-for-profit society be established for the pursuit, preservation and promotion of correctional history throughout the City and State of New York; thereby fostering a sense of professional tradition, heritage and kinship among men and women currently and formerly in New York correction service; enriching the store of knowledge about their contribution to the commonweal, both past and present, and increasing public appreciation of it; and THAT the society shall seek to achieve these goals by widely disseminating this history, by serving as a repository and resource for those studying and researching it, by facilitating exchange of information among them, and by creating opportunities for their shared activity . . ." The draft NYCHS Constitution and Bylaws declares that for its purposes the term "Correction" shall be understood as referring to detention of accused persons, youth and adult, before and during proceedings to resolve charges, incarceration resulting from determinations in such proceedings, alternatives to detention and incarceration (including probation and parole), and rehabilitation efforts during and after detention, incarceration, probation and parole. In keeping with that broad inclusive approach, the draft Constitution also provides that individual NYCHS membership shall be open --- at all correctional agencies throughout the City and State to current and former employees, their families' interested members, the officers and employees of their agencies' recognized unions, current and former officials and employees of their agencies' oversight boards or commissions, current and former employees of their agencies' contract service providers, their agencies' recognized volunteers, and members of their agencies' community and youth outreach programs. -- at accredited colleges, universities and technical institutes, to professors and instructors in correctional subjects, and students pursuing correctional studies. -- to judges who monitor or have monitored correctional agencies, those judges' staffs and others assisting in those monitorings; members and staffs of legislative committees whose mandate specifically includes correctional issues; journalists who regularly cover correction-related news; officials and full-time employees of community-based organizations engaged in post-release rehabilitative and support programs for former inmates of correctional agencies that enter into working relationships with the society. In New York, historical societies incorporate under the State Education Law. The organizational meeting, its agenda resolutions and the draft constitution/bylaws have been designed to follow the letter and spirit of the State Regents’ "Chartering Historical Societies, Museums and Related Agencies in New York State." NYCHS needs formal adoption of enabling resolutions in order to petition the Regents for a Provisional Charter, the first step in a process leading to what is called an Absolute Charter. We hope your schedule will permit you to participate in person along with colleagues you may invite to accompany you. Feel free to copy this notice for their information. ###