The Mission

Post date: Aug 12, 2015 4:13:6 PM

From: Barrett Wilson [mailto:bgwilson53@gmail.com]

Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2015 9:32 AM

To: Chris Riemer; Elizabeth Lachowicz; Barrett Wilson; Mike Agranoff; bluesq5555

Subject: VCAC (AKA Venue Chair Autonomy Comm - ick...)

Good Morning Intrepid Projectiles,

First order of business. We've got a host for our first meeting. Chris has offered his home at 25 Center Ave. in Morristown. We'll be meeting Tues. August 25 at 7 PM, so I don't think munchies are mandatory, although I'll be bringing beer...

To set the tone for our first meeting, I'd like to offer the following. As an organization, I believe our most precious asset is our "entrepreneurs." These are the people who can take an idea in their head and make it become a reality "out there" where all the rest of us can participate. These are the people willing to put in hundreds of hours of their personal time to turn an idea into a reality for the rest of us to enjoy. Without these people, we'd have no Swinging Tern, no Minstrel, no Getaway, no Horses and no Special Concerts Without these people, there's no reason for us to have Board meetings. It's that simple. So I believe one of the most important things we as a Board need to do is to create an environment where this type of spirit can thrive. Where these people feel safe, welcome, valued and supported. This has to be one of our main priorities

When I consider what's the best balance between venue chair autonomy and Board oversight, this is my starting point. Now obviously, this isn't the whole story - there has to be some degree of responsiveness from the Venue chairs back to the Board. Our job on this committee will be to determine the most productive mix of responsiveness vs. autonomy for our Venue chairs. How to create that happy home where they can experiment and thrive and be successful, but also where they understand there's reasonable expectations of shared information and responsibilities.

By sending you this post, I am not wanting to stimulate an email conversation between us right now. Please read and consider what's offered here as a way of sharpening your own thinking, and then arriving at our first meeting with fresh, coherent ideas for all of us to consider.

I'm looking forward to our work together....

Barrett Wilson

President - The Folk Project

president@folkproject.org

Staffing Chairman - The Minstrel Acoustic Concert Series

volunteers@folkproject.org