Awesome, thank you.

We are live.

Sorry to get you out of your comfort zone.

I need it.

We ready?

All right.

I am Drew France, the chair of the Human Rights Commission, and I call this meeting to order.

This is the September 26th regular meeting of the Human Rights Commission of the City of Tulsa, and we do have a quorum.

We have some new members.

There are gonna be new commissioners that are in the audience.

I'm gonna wait until the comments, the open period at the end to have them introduce themselves, but we'll have some new commissioners joining us.

Glad the two of them were able to make it with us today.

The first item of business is to consider the prior meetings minutes for approval.

We were provided a copy of the August 26 regular meeting minutes for advanced review.

Is there any discussion andor corrections to those minutes?

Hearing none, or is there a motion to approve the minutes?

A motion.

There's a motion to have a second.

All right.

All those in favor of approving the August 26 regular meeting minutes say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay.

The meeting minutes are approved.

All right.

Next on the agenda is the chair and vice chair report.

Uh it has been a busy month since we last met.

We've had lots uh today.

We have lots of committee reports, so I'm gonna try and be brief and let uh several of you talk about your various committees and what's been happening.

Uh so just a few things I want to call out.

Um, I do want to recognize Commissioner Eller Murray, who is featured on the front page of the Tulsa World in an article entitled Lemonade Project is empowering youth citywide Labor Day weekend event.

Her 30 plus year old uh nonprofit helps organize uh lemonade stands through which hundreds of local youth uh lead fundraising efforts, they build leadership skills and they benefit local charities like Tulsa Changemakers.

Uh the project has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since inception while empowering youth volunteers to be entrepreneurs.

I know there was a thriving stand in my neighborhood.

It was a great way to meet your neighbors uh and support youth and support good causes.

So just thank you for this incredible brain child that started many years ago that is uh still uh helping it today.

Any comments on that event?

No, it was just amazing to see these kids from ages you know five to you know 20 and then adults just come together and I mean they self-organize.

It is pretty fascinating to watch, and it's very inspiring.

So awesome.

Yeah, and and shout out to uh one of our soon-to-be commissioners in the audience uh just for her support as well.

Wonderful.

Yeah.

Uh well, if you didn't catch it, it's every Labor Day, is that the first time?

Some set high profile opportunities and then several neighborhoods also had pop-ups as well as my neighborhood.

So very cool.

Thank you.

Uh last month uh humanitarian of the year selection committee had just identified the honoree for 2026, and that person has since since accepted and confirmed their availability for the award ceremony, which will be on December 10 at 6 p.m.

I'm gonna save that announcement later.

Uh we'll let uh KC make that announcement, uh, but just wanted you to know that is uh some of the progress we've made since last meeting.

Uh additionally, during the last month, I attended for the first time a fair housing committee meeting to stay connected to that specific area of focus, and I appreciate all the commissioners like Casey that are doing a lot of work in between meetings to advance that important work.

Uh I still have four Title V commissions left to visit and hope to get that done before year end.

Uh at the invitation of Councillor Dutton, I attended a city council meeting.

It must have been in August, at which there were guests from the Tulsa Council for the Blind.

They presented on issues facing uh their community.

It really was perfect timing because the day before we had just re-established an accessibility and inclusion committee, so I was able to share that with them.

I was able to listen uh and let them know that we are kind of re-establishing a platform in which uh there'll be a focus on concerns of Tulsans with disabilities.

And if Commissioner Meadows uh next time he is present, uh I know he's prepared to update us on the process of recruiting members for that committee and launching uh that cadence of meetings.

I also want to recognize Commissioner Rogers, our vice chair, and I think again, most of these comments are going to be in committee.

I'm sorry, gonna be the committee updates, but Commissioner Rogers, uh, welcome back.

Anything you want to say?