Hello! A few items to report: 1) NEW BOARD & OFFICERS OF THE EMPEROR'S BRIDGE CAMPAIGN You'll remember that The Emperor's Bridge Campaign launched in September 2013 as a project to carry forward the call of the Change.org petition to name the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for Emperor Norton. Over the course of the last year-plus, we've been building out that call into a larger historical / educational mission to advance the *full* legacy of the Emperor. A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you the news that the Campaign now is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. This past Sunday, at the Comstock Saloon in San Francisco, seven of the Campaign's supporters gathered beneath the watchful gaze of the casting of Peter Macchiarini's sculpture of Emperor Norton that presides over Comstock's historic 1907 bar. In a joyful ceremony lubricated by Sazeracs, Manhattans, Bloody Marys, absinthes and beers — and punctuated by a lot of laughs — here's what we did: + "swore ourselves in" as the Campaign's founding Board of Directors + elected Officers + voted to seek federal tax-exempt 501(c)(4) status + voted to adopt the organization's Bylaws We also voted to designate our good friend, the late Michael Mattis — who infused the Campaign with much of its founding spirit — as the Campaign's first Member in Memoriam, a posthumous honor provided for in the Bylaws. The Board and Officers are: John Lumea — President Sabine Luisi — Vice President Kristian Akseth — Secretary Joseph Amster — Treasurer Rachel Crossman Mark Hogan Devin McCutchen Please join me in congratulating the Campaign on this important milestone. And stay tuned for details about plans for the coming year and how you can become more involved! 2) NEW FACEBOOK PAGE The Campaign has a new home on Facebook. Our new Page is at https://www.facebook.com/EmperorsBridge. Please "like" us! For the Campaign's posts from September 2013 until November 2014, please visit our Facebook *Group* at http://ow.ly/ESAiV. For historical purposes, we'll leave this Group where it is — but we will not be updating it except to highlight updates to the new Page. All upcoming Facebook news and content from the Campaign will be posted at our new digs. In the coming weeks, we'll post a copy of the Group's photos there, too. And we'll use the "greatest hits" from the Group posts as the "starter kit" for the launch of a new blog on our Web site at http://www.EmperorsBridge.org. 3) HOLIDAY PARTY IN SAN FRANCISCO The Campaign's holiday party — the 2nd Annual Tannenbaum Toast — will be on Sunday 14 December, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the historic House of Shields bar in San Francisco. For details and to RSVP, please visit the event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/622667774522998 :: :: :: To stay in the loop on the latest news and information from The Emperor's Bridge Campaign, please sign up for our occasional e-newsletter at: http://www.EmperorsBridge.org/signup/ Many thanks for your ongoing interest and support, JOHN LUMEA The Emperor's Bridge Campaign