View the Assembly Program →
PREPARING FOR THE 110th AEU ASSEMBLY
Kim Blough, PES Administrator
Many thanks to the members and friends of the Philadelphia Ethical Society for hosting the 110th Assembly of the American Ethical Union. A special thank you to PES Board Member Stan Horwitz who is co-chair of the Assembly Planning Committee and PES President Mike Black-Smith for personally welcoming our work. Another important PES individual is the Society Administrator, Kim Blough, who will be providing a lot of logistical support for our preparations and activities. Kim came to PES at the beginning of 2025 from California with a background in non-profit programming and facilities management.
The Motto by Hilton Rittenhouse Sq. 31 S 19th Street
With a stay at Motto by Hilton Philadelphia, we’ll be centrally located with just a 4-minute walk from Rittenhouse Square and 10-minute walk from Philadelphia Ethical Society. This hotel is 0.8 mi from University of Pennsylvania and 1.7 mi from Philadelphia Museum of Art. The AEU has reserved a block of 30 rooms for Friday and Saturday nights at the rate $149 per night.
Reserve your room at Motto by Hilton with the AEU →
REGISTER TODAY
The Annual Assembly of the AEU is the most important gathering for our movement. We are aware of the many anxieties and constraints that these times present us. “Creating Communities for an Ethical Future” is this year’s theme. We hope you are inspired to bring members, friends, family, and neighbors to a place where we can register our needs for ethical practices in our public and private lives. All fees include food and beverages served at the Philadelphia Ethical Society.
The registration fees are Members and Friends $325 early bird discount $300; Adults Under 29 years $200 early bird discount $175; Youth Under 18 years $75 early bird discount $50; Day Trippers $125 early bird discount $100. If you are unable to attend, but would like to contribute to the Assembly, please do so.
Register for the 110th AEU Assembly →
Scholarships
The Board of the AEU is committed to welcoming all members and friends of ethical societies, circles and communities. With this in mind we are making scholarships available for those interested in attending but for whom it would be a financial hardship to pay full price.
You may request a scholarship by email. Include in your email how many tickets you are interested in, why you would love to attend the assembly, and how much you would feel comfortable paying.
Awards Dinner – Saturday, July 26 @ 7 PM features Lena Fine
We are excited that Philly-based singer Lena Fine will be providing the entertainment at the Awards Dinner. Lena’s self-styled ‘soft indie pop’ music has taken a new life with a band of players that elevates her show with energy and emotion. Among her band of players is drummer, Olias Bendian, graduate of the Bergen Society’s youth programs,
Watch Lena Fine’s Key Studio Session — performed with Atticus Deeny on bass, Bay DuPuy on guitar, and Olias Bendian on drums — below, and find out what she’s up to this summer and beyond by following her on IG at @_lenafine_.
https://xpn.org/2024/06/25/kss-lena-fine/
“The collaboration among AEU Member Societies in anticipation of the Annual Assembly is unprecedented,” said Eric Sandhusen. “Lay leaders from at least 7 Societies will receive the Anna Garland Spencer Award for their dedicated services, and 10 different individuals or organizations were nominated for the Elliot-Black Award, any of whom would be a deserving recipient.”
The Elliott Black Award honors work of Philadelphia Lawyer Mike Huff
This year the AEU Board voted for nominees submitted by some societies. The nominees included: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, Senator Cory Booker, attorney Mike Huff, Rose Williams and Jewish Voice for Peace. A total of 17 directors voted though not all ranked every nominee. The final count was:
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett – 26 votes
Jewish Voice for Peace – 40 votes
Senator Cory Booker – 42 votes
Rose Williams – 48 votes
Mike Huff – 49 votes
Stan Horwitz from PES has confirmed that Mike Huff has accepted the Elliott-Black Award and will attend the AEU Awards Dinner on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at the Philadelphia Ethical Society.
Mike Huff is a criminal defense attorney practicing in PA, NJ and NY. He is known for representing high-profile clients in federal cases and pro bono clients like Black Lives Matters protestors and fair housing respondents in the 2020 Parkway encampments.
As Stan explains, “In 2016, Mike was part of a team of progressive attorneys who offered pro bono legal representation for several young people who were arrested for protesting at the Democratic National Committee’s convention in Philly. Mike and Larry Krasner teamed up and successfully defended everyone who was arrested and got the charges dropped for every one of them.”
We also want to express special gratitude to Pattie Arduini and the Susquehanna Valley Ethical Society for nominating Rose Williams founder of the Getting Ahead Foundation (https://www.gettingaheadfoundation.org/).
Recognizing that poverty is a complex problem – money being only one of eleven resources needed for a stable life, Rose Williams began the first local Getting Ahead group in 2017. Here they investigated how to build resources and develop plans where participants and volunteers come together as a close-knit group supporting each other.
As Pattie expressed in her submission “Rose has been a guest speaker at Susquehanna Valley Ethical Society. Her values and the secular mission of the Getting Ahead Foundation align well with our Ethical Culture values.”
Indeed, this is the sort of community partnering that embodies the spirit of “Creating Communities for an Ethical Future.”
T-SHIRTS Order Deadline July 8
Our t-shirt for this year is light-blue with AEU logo on the chest and “For An Ethical Future” on the back. Thank you Mike Black-Smith, President of PES!
Mike has arranged for a group order from Custom Ink with a pre-order, at-cost price of $13.45. (Extra large sizes and long sleeves are more.) The pre-order closes July 8 – at which point shirts need to go into production to be shipped to Philly by the start of Assembly. Depending on popularity, there should be shirts available for purchase at the Assembly though, at slightly higher cost and in limited quantities and sizes.
Don’t delay! Our main focus is to spread the word through our societies for this order. There may be members not attending the Assembly who would still love a t-shirt.
All orders will be delivered to PES and we will arrange for distribution at the Assembly. Here is the link:
Order Your AEU Assembly Shirt →
All Delegates Welcome!
To Societies who have finalized their delegates to the AEU — Welcome! The Assembly is getting closer! All voting members of the AEU will receive the materials for the Business Meeting which is scheduled for Saturday, July 26 at 9:00 AM ET. There will be no charge for members and friends to attend the Business Meeting Only on Saturday, July 26 from 9 AM to Noon via Zoom.
Register for the Assembly Business Meeting on Zoom →
Guests are welcome to attend the Assembly Business Meeting, but participation is limited to Assembly Delegates unless the agenda indicates otherwise.
All member delegates who wish to attend in person can register with a $25 discount. See your 2025 Assembly Delegates email for the $25 discount code. Virtual registrants will be provided with Zoom codes for all the public sessions and workshops. The plan is also to record all the workshops so that they can be viewed after the Assembly.