TRUSTEES' REPORT

A BRIEF HISTORY

During the past eighteen months many changes have taken place in Stelle. The sequence of events leading up to these changes is so complex that we have found ~t difficult to summarize all that has transpired. It is primarily because of this difficulty that we have not publicized the matters discussed in this article, yet we feel a certain obligation to the many persons interested in Stelle, and we wish to provide a basic outline of the events of the recent past. References to communications from the Brotherhoods to Richard Kieninger are as reported by Richard; the following presentation is simply our best understanding of the situation, and it is only in retrospect that the events outlined take on an order which was not readily visible at the time they occurred.

It is our view that the changes that have occurred during the past eighteen months were necessary to the development of self-reliance on the part of the citizens of the Stelle community. We have learned to make our own decisions relative to community affairs, and we have begun to develop a system of government that we believe will allow for the rapid expansion of the community of Stelle from this time forward. It has been a difficult period for all who have lived through it, and the considerable tension that developed within The Stelle Group was a severe test of our desire to promote peace and brotherhood in the course of our daily lives. Yet out of these difficulties has come a deep respect for the system of government that most of us take for granted in the United States of America, and we look forward to the fulfillment of Stelle's purpose in the Great Plan of the Brother-hoods during the years to come.

On April 1, 1974, at the Founding Day Ball of The Stelle Group, Richard Kieninger stepped down as president of Stelle Industries, Inc. and The Stelle Group. Richard stated at the time that he would be leaving Stelle for an indefinite period, and he delegated his responsibility as president of both The Stelle Group and Stelle Industries, Inc. to James E. Howery. Richard named Gail Kieninger to carry on the work of admissions in The Stelle Group, and he stated that he himself would be doing other work for the Brotherhoods.

This change affected all of us very deeply, but life in Stelle continued and The Stelle Group grew. One of the chief results of Richard's leaving was that many participants felt they had each assumed a portion of the responsibility that had been Richard's prior to his departure. Jim Howery and Gail Kieninger shouldered a large part of his responsibility, and they worked diligently to insure that the transition was a smooth one. It became apparent that the survival of The Stelle Group did not depend on Richard Kieninger's presence.

Late in April, 1974, Richard was instructed by the Brotherhoods that he was still responsible for Stelle and that he could return to assist the new officers if he so chose. Upon his return in May, however, Richard was enjoined by the trustees from having any contact with all but two members of The Stelle Group and his family. The trustees' communications with Richard during the previous months had caused them to believe that he was not being true to the Brotherhoods' philosophy. Seeing no way to become effective in the affairs of the group under those conditions, Richard traveled to the western part of the United States to attend to other business. On August 9, 1974, John, one of the contacts from the Brotherhoods who spoke to Richard in The Ultimate Frontier, told Richard it was imperative that he return to Stelle because of disturbing trends in the direction the Group was taking. He was charged with helping the people of Stelle come to govern their own affairs more in accord with the ideals in The Ultimate Frontier. On September 28, 1 974, Richard appeared unannounced at a monthly meeting of Stelle Group members to protest the restrictions imposed on him by the trustees and to suggest several changes in the functioning of The Stelle Group. Whereas in previous years Richard had insisted that the Group follow directives issued by himself and the trustees, at the meeting he stated that the Group needed to develop methods for more "grass roots" participation in the decision-making process, and he recommended the formation of a rudimentary judicial system.

The trustees agreed to Richard's return to Stelle on November 1, 1974. He continued to voice his opinion that more democratic forms of government needed to be developed in Stelle, and his criticism of the trustees manner of conducting business eventually led to a complete breakdown of communication between Richard and the trustees of The Stelle Group. On March 13, 1975, Richard was informed by the Brotherhoods that through their "totalitarian oppressiveness" the trustees had separated themselves and Stelle from the Brotherhoods, who had championed and founded self-ruling governments through centuries of careful development of Western Civilization and the United States. Richard was instructed to "begin to actively pursue exposure of the trustees and their removal from office." (This communication was not generally made known to The Stelle Group until several months later.)

On March 15, 1975, Richard spoke to the assembled participants of The Stelle Group at a general meeting and explained that he felt the trustees had placed too much emphasis on the practical aspect of Egoic advancement and had exceeded their authority in leading The Stelle Group in a direction that was not in accord with the Brotherhoods' philosophy. The disagreements between Richard and the trustees caused a great deal of concern on the part of all participants of The Stelle Group. Finally Richard asked that the trustees resign. The meeting ended with no resolution of the differences.

On April 12, 1975, the trustees expelled Richard Kieninger from membership in The Stelle Group. Richard appealed this decision, and, as stipulated in the by-laws of The Stelle Group, his case was heard before a panel of seven members on April 19, 1975. Based on testimony by members of The Stelle Group, this panel voted to sustain the expulsion initiated by the trustees.

During this series of events, a growing number of participants became dissatisfied with the administration of the affairs of The Stelle Group. A petition was circulated late in March asking for an early election of the board of trustees, and this petition was signed by a majority of the full members. The Stelle Group seemed to polarize around two basic viewpoints: one faction supported the trustees in their interpretation that their having acquired responsibility/authority from the Brotherhoods via Richard did not obligate them to consult the people of Stelle in deciding matters affecting the lives of individual members; the other faction supported democratic structuring of the governmental system in Stelle and felt that all matters affecting the lives of individual members should be voted on through the democratic process of referendum as recommended by Dr. White in The Ultimate Frontier. The disagreement and resultant tension between these two factions became so intense that some individuals refused to actively support either faction.

On another level, these matters of principle also came to be mixed by some people with loyalty to Gail on the one hand or to Richard on the other. Through a series of open letters, Richard had informed the Group of marital difficulties between himself and Gail, and this aspect of their personal lives was further surfaced in a public reading within Stelle of the transcript of Richard's expulsion hearing. Thus personal loyalty began to play a part in the individual process of deciding which viewpoint to support.

In May, 1975, 22 members of The Stelle Group called a special meeting of the membership in accord with the Illinois statutes governing not-for-profit religious organizations. This meeting was to occur on May 24, 1975, and was for the purpose of adopting an amendment to the by-laws of The Stelle Group defining a referendum procedure. In response, the trustees of The Stelle Group called a meeting to occur on May 17, 1975, one week prior to the May 24 meeting, for the purpose of adopting an amendment to the by-laws that outlined a procedure for petition and criticism and required a two-thirds majority for passage of any subsequent by-law amendments. Since a two-thirds majority is very difficult to achieve on any issue, the passage of the trustees' by-law amendment proposal would probably have prevented the passage of the referendum procedure to be voted on at the meeting of the following week.

After lengthy discussion at the meeting on May 17, 1975, the membership decided to appoint a panel composed of twelve persons to formulate an amendment that would meet the approval of both factions. Four persons were selected from among the 22 members who had called the May 24 meeting, four persons were selected from among the general membership, and the four trustees formed the balance of the committee. This committee met approximately two times per week for the next five weeks.

After five weeks of discussion, the four representatives of those who favored referendum came to the conclusion that a stalemate had been reached; so on June 22, 1975, they decided to move independently to hold a special meeting of The Stelle Group on June 27, 1975. Forty-five members of The Stelle Group signed the call for a special meeting to discuss and vote on a by-law amendment that defined a referendum procedure.

At that meeting on June 27, the trustees objected to the legality of the meeting and walked out, as did a number of other members. Legal counsel advised that the meeting was legal, and a quorum of the voting membership remained to vote on the by-law amendment proposal. The amendment to the by-laws of The Stelle Group received a majority vote, and its official distribution to the membership was requested.

The trustees refused to recognize the legality of the meeting or the majority vote of the membership relative to the by-law amendment. In addition, many of the individuals who had supported referendum became the brunt of reprisals on the part of the trustees. These actions coupled with a growing tension within the group precipitated a call for a special meeting to remove the trustees of The Stelle Group from office. The call for this meeting was supported by 8 1 members of The Stelle Group.

The meeting to remove the trustees from office was held on August 12, 1975. At the start of the meeting each of the trustees announced his resignation. Then the membership elected five new trustees: Malcolm Carnahan, president (member seven years), Walter Cox, vice president (member five years), Jeanette Williams, secretary (member eight years), John Alexander (member four years), and Kurt Raillard (member six years). These individuals are the present trustees of The Stelle Group.

During the course of the next several weeks, the former trustees and their supporters resigned from most of their positions. Some of these persons have since chosen to relocate in other areas, although most retain their membership in The Stelle Group. During this period, progress has been made in several areas: an admissions committee has been formed to decide on the acceptability of applicants for membership, an enrichment program has been included in the curriculum of the Stelle School, and the expansion and reorganization of Stelle Industries, Inc. has begun. We will keep everyone posted through continuing articles in the Sidle Letter as new developments occur in the life of the community.

The basic purpose of the community of Stelle remains the same-to gather together those persons who are desirous of creating a positive environment for individual Egoic growth within the framework of the Brotherhoods' philosophy; Stelle is the precursor to the Nation of God. Although Richard Kieninger, the author of The Ultimate Frontier and founder of The Stelle Group, does not reside in Stelle, he stays in contact with the group through open letters to the membership and occasional communication with the present trustees. In this manner the link between The Stelle Group and the Brotherhoods is maintained. Richard has stated that he feels The Stelle Group is once again evolving in a direction that is in harmony with the Brotherhoods' philosophy, and we look forward to the rapid growth of the Stelle community in the immediate future.

We realize that it may come as a disappointment to many people that Stelle must find solutions to many of the same problems that are evident in the world at large, but Stelle is not and was never intended to be a Utopia. Stelle is an active, vital community . . . a social workshop of the most meaningful kind. Our immediate task as individuals is to learn to become Citizens of the Nation of God, and we feel the membership of The Stelle Group has taken the first step in the direction of self-government through the assumption of responsibility for community decision-making.

The Board of Trustees of The Stelle Group

Stelle Letter, November 1975