Note from Tim Bolen: Interspersed throughout this article are photos from the 2014 event.
Guest article by Diane Miller JD – Health Freedom Coalition
Whew!! The 2014 US Health Freedom Congress was the best ever and leaders are continuing to strengthen the unified voice of health freedom! Thank you to all those leaders and organizations who participated this year, and greetings to those leaders who could not make it but will be joining us in the future. We here at NHFC are working on drafting an overall summary of the Congress to send out to a large public database like we do each year for our NHFC website. However I wanted to say a special thank you to all of you, and we are looking forward to our future work together.
A special note to all of you: The NHFC Board of Directors has made a decision to host the Congress in 2015 and we are now in the discussion of location and dates and program beginnings. If there are people interested in the design of the next Congress please contact me directly at similars@aol.com.
Today I was reflecting on the history of how the US Health Freedom Congress came to be and I wanted to take this moment to give you a little history on NHFC’s unfolding of this amazing project.
The 2014 Congress was the ninth leadership event that NHFC hosted since 2003. Each year we here at NHFC take a leap of faith and learn so much.
Our first event was in 2003 and was designed to bring state health freedom leaders that were working on legislation together to experience workshops and presentations that would better support them in their political activism work. I had personally traveled to a number of the states to support their health freedom safe harbor bills and we wanted to give them an opportunity to meet each other. We offered workshops in how to get a group started, how to lobby, issues of legal language in bills, fundraising, and federal issues impacting state health freedom issues. The Conference for Health Freedom Advocates 2003 was held at Assisi Heights in Rochester Minnesota and Clinton Ray Miller was the first keynote “Life as a Health Freedom Activist” and Jim Turner, JD, was the closing keynote “Successes and Future Goals of the Health Freedom Movement”. During the two day event presentations were also made by leaders from 14 state groups, including California Health Freedom Coalition, New York Natural Health Project, Georgia Complementary and Alternative Medicine Association, Florida Health Freedom Coalition, Iowa Health Freedom Coalition, Carolina Health Freedom Coalition, Health Freedom Coalition Massachusetts, New Jersey Natural Health Coalition, Arkansas Health Freedom Coalition, Kansas Health Freedom group, Wisconsin Association for Health Freedom, Oklahoma Health Freedom, Minnesota Natural Health Coalition and Legal Reform Project, and Coalition for Natural Health for Rhode Island. It was an invigorating experience and our small organization went back to the drawing board and discussed the importance of collaboration between leaders and how much stronger we can be if we all work together. The Proxmiere bill and the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act had passed and exempted foods from the structure function phrase in the definition of drug, but there was so much more to be done federally and in addition there was so much that could be accomplished by state groups for health freedom.
In 2004 we decided to host another Conference for Health Freedom Advocates, held at the Carondelet Center in St. Paul, MN. with many similar workshops but in addition Jim Turner, JD did a presentation on Codex and Michael Diamond JD, and author presented on “Nonviolence – A Constitutional Approach to Demanding Health Freedom”. Stories from the People – Health Laws Affect Our Lives featured families impacted by violations of health freedoms. Keynotes were Dr. Norm Shealy, MD, “Timeless Aging – Secret of the Fountain”, and Former Congressman Berkley Bedell, “Bringing Alternative Medicine to the American People”. The Florida team shared the “Florida Governor’s Proclamation in support of Complementary and Alternative Health Care and Unregulated Practices.” Many state leaders attended.
In 2005 our circle of political activist leader friends was continually growing and we decided to venture forth and invite the key leaders in the movement to make presentation throughout the weekend and in addition, we began the first circle round calling it the “World Health Freedom Assembly – Solidarity Summit. In order to do this we moved to a larger venue and financially were challenged to find ways to pay for this event. Presentations were made by myself, Jim Turner, Dr. Rob Verkerk and David Hinde, Kevin Miller, Scott Tips, Suzanne Harris, Trueman Tuck, James Gormley, Tim Bolen, Burton Goldberg, Marge Roberts, Jerri Johnson, Larry Hanus, John Melnychuck and Clinton Miller, and panels including Tim Bolen, Clinton Miller, Michelle Morgan, Wendell Whitman, Joan Vandergriff, Louisiana Health Freedom Coalition north Carolina Health Freedom and Texas Health Freedom. Kevin Miller’s film documentary was featured “We Become Silent” and Keynotes were Former Massachusetts legislator Daniel Haley who reminded us of the need to get “pitchfork angry”, and Dr. Carolyn Dean MD who produced the earth-shattering book “Death by Modern Medicine”. On the Sunday before everyone parted, we held the World Health Freedom Assembly Solidarity Summit and gave each leader of an organization three minutes to share about their work. The summit was recorded and it would be great to get those mini speeches on the web someday. Our literature from this event says that “The health freedom movement has many leaders, many promoters, many facets, many voices. We need to make our own resolutions, stand together and make a difference”. Amen I say to that!
By 2006 NHFC was traveling to Codex and testifying in Canada on dietary supplements and meeting many new leaders and we decided to host another leadership event including international leaders called the “2006 World Health Freedom Assembly and Leadership Conference for Health Freedom Advocates”. It was held at William Mitchell Law School in St. Paul, Minnesota. This was the first year we created a large circle round and asked international non-profits to join the circle. We were interested in discussing and formulating an “International Declaration of Health Freedom” in the event someday we would want to make it a resolution at the World Health Assembly. But we also wanted to continue our service to state leaders and reserved the Sunday for our lobbying workshops. We invited international colleagues to be in solidarity discussions together as well as many other organizations that would be Advisory Organizations to the International circle. The discussions in this Assembly and in small groups were very lively and the plenaries were recorded and eventually after many versions up on the power point editing screen, the International Declaration of Health Freedom was passed and a great cheer arose. This two and one-half day event featured an evening film festival as well as authors including Billy Best and Byron Richards. The Keynote address was given by Jonathon Emord JD of Emord and Associates. To read the International Declaration of Health Freedom and view the country delegates that signed the declaration click here. The memory of the late night drafting meetings of this Congress are memorable.
By 2007 we were feeling the importance of focusing on our own country needs and decided to apply the circle assembly concept to what we envisioned as the US Health Freedom Assembly. We held it at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN. It was the first year we introduced the concept of the US Voting Members in order to pass resolutions. Many leaders attended and there were six topics with presenters that gave presentations to the circle, and then the Assembly discussed the topics one by one. Topics were “Codex” by Scott Tips, JD, “Security and Prosperity Partnership of North American and the Trilateral Charter Working group Between Canada, U.S., and Mexico on Health Fraud”, by Byron Richards, “Current Federal and State bills that impact Health Freedom” by Diane Miller, JD, “Safe Harbor Exemption Health Freedom Laws” by Diane Miller, JD, “Work Being Done by FDA on Draft CAM Guidance Documents and On AER Compliance” by Michael McCormack, JD, and” Strategies to Strength DSHEA” by Jim Turner, JD. Resolutions were submitted and passed also. Keynotes were Sandra Duffy JD “The Role of Experience Leaders on the Fronts of the Health Freedom Movement: What is working and what is needed.” And Clinton Miller “Top Priorities for Health Freedom Leadership”. Clinton Miller gave us each a three ring binder with a sketch of himself as a young man that was done by a family member and clippings from his journey to DC with his family and the story of his work. He gave us a list of priorities to follow when being a leader including taking care of our own health.
In 2008 we were getting weary and the health of our internal team was challenged but we still decided to reconvene the US Health Freedom Assembly. It was becoming a spiritual ritual and experience for us and our calling to bring leaders together was stronger than ever. During this 6th Conference and Assembly a videographer, Johanna Jones, invited leaders to have personal interviews to speak their truth and their vision for health freedom. Those videos were taken in a glorious chapel attached to the conference hall and contain inspiring footage of amazing leaders. That year we introduced the concept of Assembly Committees and we broke up into small groups to discuss strategies for moving forward. We reserved Sunday for the state leadership workshops. Scott Tips JD gave a remarkable speech updating all of us on Codex and international issues and Tony Stephans presented on Canadian C-51 & C-52. We also developed an Industry Committee. One of the participants had been raided prior to the conference. The Awards and the Keynotes were profoundly moving as they exemplified the deepest darkest sources of the energies we are up against in our world and ways to move beyond. Keynote Autumn Stringam, Author, “My Life Beyond Mental Illness: A Remedy and a Revolution.” And Michael McCormack, JD “Toward a More Balanced Health System: Healing Through the Lens of Freedom.” To view Michael’s presentation on YouTube click here.
At the close of the 2008 event NHFC spoke to the Assembly describing its vision to have the annual assembly continue, and that it was open to having the Assembly launch on its very own with its own leadership instead of being an internal project of NHFC. But the leaders recommended we continue the project.
2009 and 2010 were years of re-orientation for NHFC to strengthen our infrastructure and become more able to host the Assembly. All of these conferences were happening in the context of many other political activities and responsibilities and the country was changing fast. Our limited staff worked hard to keep up to the increased demands for involvement. NHFC wanted to be more clear about how it could shape the Assembly to help strengthen the health freedom movement. We explored locations such as Washington DC entertaining making it a federal focus one year, and we explored moving it out of Minnesota, our home office state.
In 2011 we obtained a grant to increase our staff and brought on an assistant attorney Anne Tenner/Gillum.
In 2012 we made the decision to hold the Assembly outside of Minnesota for a limited one day before the Chicago Health Freedom EXPO. The 2012 event name was changed to the “2012 United States Health Freedom Congress: A Gathering of State and National Health Freedom Organizations and Leaders”. We worked hard as a Board of Directors to articulate the “purpose” of the Congress, and to formalize it more as a body that would develop collaborative alliances and pass resolutions that would be disseminated throughout the world as the truth to protect the human family. We had limited time because of attaching it to another large event for leaders. And we had limited time because of the cost of the location of the Health Freedom EXPO. Our action objective was to have open discussion among leaders and to have a call for resolutions and to pass resolutions as a body of Voting Members. We traveled to Chicago with our team and set up the vessel. Our inspiring Keynote was Robert Scott Bell “Who Creates Your Health Freedom Reality? The Talk That is Banned in 170 Counties.” This Congress was a learning experience for all of us. Our staff learned once again how important it is to have processes clear and efficient with such diverse groups. The resolution debates on process were more complex than the content itself so we learned another layer of what it takes to host the Congress. But we were excited to have accomplished a Chicago Congress and to have such wonderful participation of great leaders. We were inspired to continue.
In 2013 we decided to reconvene the Congress again in Chicago. We wanted all of us to experience more productive communication so we invited Denise Lewis-Premshak to assist us in that process, having experienced her in Washington DC at a Voice for Hope Day on the Hill. Denise volunteered her services to introduce us to Open Space sessions so we put Open Space in the program as an evening event before the Congress convened the next day. In addition, we did not call for resolutions, but rather developed key small groups that could come back and report to the whole. The groups were: GMO Labeling; Forced or Coerced Vaccination of Citizens; Freedom to Practice the Healing Arts; and Protecting of DSHEA. The response to the evening Open Space experience was extremely positive and inspired us in our small groups the following day. Our inspiring keynote was Rosemary Gladstar “Planning the Future: Protecting Medicinal Plants and Our Personal Healing Rights”. The hotel provided us with an organic food banquet and we were grateful for a great event.
And you all know the rest of the story of how 2014 went. Denise led the marvelous Open Space sessions, Jason Haffley and Matt Olman of OneNinth led the social media workshop “Health Freedom Going Live: A Hands-On Social Media Experience” , three families gave their Stories of Freedom Stories of Courage, and our Keynote was Barbara Loe Fisher “Vaccination: The Right to Know and the Freedom To Choose”. We passed resolutions via hard copy voting, and we developed a Facebook Group for ongoing communication, and we will be working on branding the health freedom movement going forward. Barbara Loe Fisher’s powerful culminating speech right after hearing Ronnie Cummin’s eloquent remarks on behalf of Awardees was a perfect way to end a spectacular event. We felt inspired and uplifted.
This year is the first year that the NHFC Board of Directors has made a decision to host the Congress in the upcoming year so quickly after the Congress. I think it is because we felt that we have a vessel that works, like a ship with efficient sails, and we can move forward.
There are three very special components that make the Congress successful and possible in addition to the leaders, the speakers, and the work that they do. First are the faithful financial sponsors who have given so generously to make these gatherings possible. We are so glad to be partnering with those who are visioning the future with us. Second are the health freedom heroes that we call Awardees each year that have sacrificed their lives for the benefit of the human family. You can find a copy of all of the past Awardees heroes in your packet handouts and we will load that document on the web soon. And thirdly, the NHFC Board and staff and volunteer team that with mighty hearts and minimal resources have steadfastly continued to learn and grow and contribute their efforts to strengthening the voice and heart of the health freedom movement. I thank all of you for your leadership in this effort to work together to assure survival and prosperity and happiness on this earth.
If I have left out important high points feel free to chime in because there is so much history happening. Just have to keep looking ahead. Thank you all.
My Very Best Regards,
Diane