<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I was part of the group that met in Chicago to form a united group of celiac leaders. Indeed, there was subterfuge and painful disappointment to those of us who ended up trying to implement the ideas and desires of this remarkable, spontaneous gathering. The purpose: Lots of discussion on this, which boiled down to the need for a single, strong voice to promote a consistent and defensible body of knowledge, to give celiac disease a national prominence and awareness and to provide lobbying efforts, effecting good regulation and investigative, scientific study. Practical problems and questions arose: (1) The need to incorporate: Where, which state. Criteria for forming a governance board and evaluating performance. (2) Funding: It will cost money and a lot of it. And will have to be continuously supported. (3) The form: As a new group of individuals and groups or as a group of groups. The landscape has changed significantly since that meeting. This listserv has provided an excellent forum for celiacs around the world for individual support. New publications, websites and purveyors of GF products are popping up all the time. Nothing helps the newly diagnosed celiac better than a local support group or contact. In this case, it does not matter to which national group the local chapter belongs or, for that matter, if the local group is independent. What is important is that the leaders of the local group avail themselves of information from several sources and that is easily accomplished. From my perspective and experience, FIRST I would like to see all the leaders of the national groups agree unconditionally to go forward with a coalition, with a common goal that can be sustained by each of them. SECOND, using only that common statement of purpose, convene other group delegates to give shape and form to the coalition. Any other procedure will do nothing more than create another national organization and muddy the already turbid waters. # # # I'm not an officer in any of the celiac groups, but I belong to two of them, and another lady in our local group has joined a third so our local group can have input from all three. I also print out and index informative letters written to the maelstrom group so a person can quickly find a comment on a specific problem. What I notice is that there are not yet definitive answers to many of the questions concerning celiac disease, and even the experts do not agree. The organizations each have a little different focus, and I treasure each of them. The writers to the maelstrom listserv often disagree, and, as is true of myself, we don't always know all that we think we know. Still, I treasure the listserv, and it is not all that difficult to come up with some pretty solid information that can be very helpful. I would not like to have just one organization. I think the areas of disagreement are really rather minor, and are usually worked out with time. When we are asked to speak with one voice, whose voice is it? We Americans value our freedom and diversity. Take that away and we may not progress so very fast. * Please carefully compose your subject lines in all posts *