|
|
|
JULY 2011
FEATURING: i.e.* overview
i.e.* what's next
More at Floricane.com
Ripe Resources
Playground Perspectives
|
|
Dear ,
This summer, I've been digging back into the modern version of my album collection and revisiting my punk rock roots.
I recently found myself on a street corner in a faux village in Short Pump with artist Ed Trask, reflecting on the shared punk rock ethos of our youth. I met Ed by accident 25 years ago this summer.
On a July morning in 1986, a handful of friends piled into my car for a trip to DC to see 7 Seconds, a seminal hardcore band from Reno, Nevada, play a matinee show. We arrived to discover that we were a day late. We blew a tire on the way home, and got back to Richmond just in time to see a new band play at Rockitz, a popular club near VCU. Backlash, one of Ed's first bands during his art school days, was on the bill, and they blew my socks off.
Ed is one of dozens of entrepreneurial, self-made Richmonders who continuously have me wondering where my socks landed -- making their own music, serving their own food, showcasing their own art, sharing their own words, teaching their best lessons. For many of them, the DIY creed that colored the late adolescence of my generation and the heyday of American hardcore punk music lives on.
Punk rock gave many of us a voice in the 1980s; it gave us permission to create. Before I was out of high school, I had a radio show on the University of Richmond's student-run station; I was booking bands from all over the country at two local clubs; and I was self-publishing several 'zines (hand-crafted, photocopied magazines). It didn't seem unusual to me; it seemed obvious -- there was a void that needing filling.
But I wasn't the first, or the best, or even alone. Hardly. Richmond in the late 80s was thick with creative talents finding their niche and taking the initiative. Unfortunately, the broader community wasn't ready for all of this youthful angst and energy. In the early 90s, much of it dissipated. The RVA creative subculture continued to churn, but only in the margins.
Fast forward to 2011...there is growing evidence that larger swaths of RVA have become increasingly tolerant of this creative, entrepreneurial community. There seems to be more recognition of its power to shape a sustainable, vibrant region. I'm hoping this appreciation for small, dynamic, street-level change has staying power this time around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
i.e.* overview
Did you miss last month's inaugural i.e.* event? No worries. We've got a slideshow, John's overview of the day and a running list of links to news and blog coverage of the creative session.
More than 200 people came together at the gorgeous La Diff warehouse store in Shockoe Bottom to connect with each other and listen to more than two dozen local changemakers; the i.e.* website has videos of many of the speakers.
On July 19, the Greater Richmond Chamber is reconvening i.e.* participants and others interested in the initiative at The Camel for Bar Talk, to connect and discuss next steps.
|
|
i.e.* what's next One of our next steps is something we're currently calling the West Broad Workshops -- a six-week, late summer series designed to keep the spirit and energy of i.e.* alive. The series will be held at the Marvin Lang building across from Lowe's on West Broad Street near VCU, and organizers Peter Fraser, Ansel Olson and John Sarvay are busy nailing down details. Seats are limited and participation is restricted to no more than two sessions per person. We'll distribute details to the i.e.* community at the July 19 Bar Talk event and online immediately after; be sure to "like" Floricane and i.e.* on Facebook to get the latest. |
|
|
|
|
Cultivating A Healthy Organization
July 19 :: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
In this abbreviated version of our two-day organizational assessment workshop, Floricane's John Sarvay and Sarah Milston will take nonprofit leaders through a fast-paced, hands-on, evaluation of your organization.
Join us next Tuesday for this half-day workshop at the Appomattox Regional Library. This workshop is being offered as part of Southside Community Partners' Learning and Leadership series. |
|
Strategic Planning: Creating an Organizational Roadmap
August 5 & 12 :: 9 am - 3 pm
Learn how to take your organization through a healthy strategic planning process during this two-day summer program offered through VCU's Nonprofit Learning Point. Floricane's John Sarvay will guide participants through the nuts-and-bolts of effective strategic planning with an eye on readiness, scope and capacity.
Register for this two-day strategic planning workshop today.
|
|
Insights DiscoveryŽ for Self-Awareness and Effectiveness
September 29 :: 9 am - 4 pm
Wherever you go, there you are. That old adage rings true because it is. Self-awareness is the cornerstone of strong working relationships and effective leadership, and this workshop is guaranteed to open your eyes to the way others experience you at work. Participants in this workshop will receive an individual Insights DiscoveryŽ personal profile, a 30-page narrative summary of their personality strengths and weaknesses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We went to one of Thea's favorite spots over the Fourth of July weekend -- her Pop Pop's house in Deltaville. Her great-grandfather's home sits smack between three bodies of water -- Broad Creek, the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. It's a water lover's dream.
This year, Nikole and I discovered that we are the proud parents of a water lover. We also discovered that Thea has finally reached a stage of life where we don't have to lurk in the shadows to rescue a water glass that's too close to the edge of the table, or keep a firm hand around one of hers as we walk down the pier.
In fact, we had one of our most relaxing vacation weekends in three years at the river cottage -- swimming, swinging in the hammock, fishing and watching Thea watch fireworks over the water from the warm comfort of her Pop Pop's lap.
Because she's three, and I'm slightly abnormal, I am starting to see elements of Situational Leadership II emerging in my relationship with Thea. (Normal parents say things like, "She's really growing and changing, isn't she?! I say things like, "Her competence is at a point where she has really become self-motivated, and doesn't need direction from me." Yeah, I know.)
Situational Leadership was developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard several decades ago to describe effective ways for successful leaders to adapt to the developmental levels of individuals and groups. Blanchard uses terms like "enthusiastic beginner" and "disillusioned learner" to describe how individuals and groups developmentally progress as they tackle new tasks or develop new skills.
Successful leaders, in Blanchard's world, navigate by providing an appropriate amount of "direction" and "support" -- depending on the developmental level of their followers.
When it came to swimming and fishing during our brief holiday, Thea was definitely an enthusiastic beginner -- literally beside herself with joy as she put her face into the water to blow bubbles, and as she reeled in her first, second and third croaker from the pier with her Grandpa Jay. She needed a lot of direction and support to keep her from poking one of us in the eye with a fishing rod -- or worse.
On the hammock, however, she had developed the mastery of a three-year-old gymnast. What had been last summer's dangerous trick pony is now where our daughter races when she wants to relax (for three minutes). Parental guidance not required. (Parental snuggling sometimes requested.)
One of the best things about our mobile, curious and independent three-year-old is that life is increasingly about exploring, discovering and adventure. More and more, our job is to assess when she requires direction (to help her succeed, or keep her safe) and when she simply needs our encouragement and support (and cuddles).
It's a tricky balance, and one I don't pretend to suspect will fade as she ages. If anything, I'm certain to be a much worse situational leader of a teen daughter...
|
|
|
|
|
|
