We are all humbled by Anne - no-one has thought more intensely about Parkinson's than her - "The Godmother"? !!!
I am a bit snowed under for the next two weeks and so will leave you guys to get on with fine-tuning the mission statement.
In the meantime here are my thoughts on what I have only scanned so far.

Firstly I think we need to be careful not to be a threat to other organisations. We are different and we are should celebrate and promote that difference.

It might be worth just defining what those differences are so that we know how best to present ourseves to the outside world.

Sorry - I have no time to do this at the moment - but for me the principal ones are - we are patients, we are passionate, we have a sense of urgency, we are global, we are united, but perhaps most impoirtant of all we are the true voice of the patients

I feel it is just so important to build this gradually - we need to be credible, accepted, innovative and as Anne says "one voice".

Personally I don't thin k we do want to become an organisation - because an organisation is too inflexible and doesn't work on a global scale with a new venture. This is as Sheryl says "a network" - the patient community. My view is that we should not sound like an organisation either because that makes us threatening. May be in time we do - but not yet.

I wonder whether we should take Leonore's concept of urgency and try and use the word expedite in some way.

Perhaps

eXPDITe with the strap line
People with Parkinson's, One Global Network, One Voice, One Call to Action


This is not quite right and needs work - but just wonder if it sparks any ideas. I quite like it because it has our main point of difference "urgency" it has the PD and the "X" i.e across the world - although that bit is a little difficult to spot perhaps. Food for thought.

I am perfectly happy with AJ's ideas but just throw this out there as an alternative.

Gotta go


Tom