Dec. 3rd - First 'Official Business Meeting'

I was delighted to see the first 'official' business meeting of Sustainable Shenandoah so well attended by interested members of our growing community! The meeting on December 3rd made the case for localization, reviewed what other communities are doing to localize, and proposed a structure for the organization of Sustainable Shenandoah. Though this was done during meetings held in August, in four short months we find ourselves in a different world: finance, manufacturing, and our industrial food system are in collapse, and 450 communities have requested 'Transition Town' status since the publication of Rob Hopkins' 'The Transition Handbook' in April 2008. The need to localize, on a community level, is being recognized around the world and spreading like wildfire, and I'm grateful for the work others are doing and sharing with us.

The meeting attendees are tasked with reviewing localizing communities' websites according to their areas of interest and preparing action plans to be presented at the January business meeting. GULP's localized food action model was given to all attendees as an example of an action plan to localize food, and each group should prepare something similar. I'll be forwarding ideas to each group cut from Sustainable Shenandoah's business plan and working with them throughout the month.

The groups discussed last night are as follows:

Coordination Committee
Jennifer Orenic
Susan Guest
Deanne Good
Chris Freeland

Community Education
Deanne Good
Joy Lorien
Brad Blanton

Outreach
Joy Lorien
Carol Wallbridge
Deanne Good
Jennifer Orenic
Chris Freeland
Brad Blanton

Marketing
Kaylee Alger

Finance
Alice Richmond
Susan Guest

Distribution Center
Mike Alger
Alice Richmond
Susan Guest

Food
Kaylee Alger
Mike Alger
Paul Dennison
Susan Guest

Water
Joy Lorien
Chris Anderson

Energy
Alice Richmond

Manufacturing
Alice Richmond

Materials Reuse
Kaylee Alger

Shelter: nobody

Systems of care
Matt Douglas
Jennifer Orenic
Brad Blanton

Transportation: nobody

Security
Carol Wallbridge
Susan Guest

The Coordination Committee will review whether other groups are desired and whether some should be combined. All other Sustainable Shenandoah fans who were not present last night will be put into their groups as they express their interest, as will all new 'recruits!'

At the January meeting, we will also be determining 'meeting protocol' and consensus building. Minimally for every meeting held by Sustainable Shenandoah going forward, the following will apply:

All Wednesday meetings at Rainbow Hill are the primary public interface of Sustainable Shenandoah and are where the public will be directed to in order to learn more about sustainable localization and to participate in community localization. New attendees should be encouraged to introduce themselves and be introduced to other attendees. A brief overview of the mission, goals, and activities of Sustainable Shenandoah should be given at every meeting for the benefit of new attendees. An atmosphere of warmth and community camaraderie must be nurtured and everyone is encouraged to express themselves freely, ask questions, and find understanding. Having said that, I also like what Willits' meeting protocol says: speak clearly, to the point, and without put-downs. Don't interrupt. Be courteous. Work toward a middle ground when two seemingly opposing viewpoints are presented. Hostility stifles creativity (and most everything else) and is not conducive to finding agreement or community building.

In addition: it's only fair that we take care of George and Nita who so generously allow us the use of their space each Wednesday. Please remember the donation jar!

For the next two Community Education meetings we will be showing 'The World According to Monsanto' and 'The Future of Food.' Looking forward to seeing community at Rainbow Hill!