I've turned comments off on the blog, as our last meeting is tomorrow. We'll be going over all the comments we got, and integrating them in to a communication to the board. Also we'll reflect on the process make our experience available to those who come after us.
I hope to do a wrap-up comment soon.
Jordan
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Comments Enabled
We said we would take comments on the report through November 3rd. I have enabled comments on this blog. Your comment will not be posted until it has been moderated by one of the committee members. Comments must include a real name AND an e-mail address. That way we can get back to you if there's a problem with your post. Let us know which ONE of those two items you'd like to see published with your post, your name OR your e-mail address.
Comments will appear as if they were posted by "anonymous" - that so we can edit out your name OR e-mail address and still post your comment. Still working out the kinks in how to do this WITH moderation, but so you can still sign on as YOU if you care to, so anonymous will have to do for now.
Comments will appear as if they were posted by "anonymous" - that so we can edit out your name OR e-mail address and still post your comment. Still working out the kinks in how to do this WITH moderation, but so you can still sign on as YOU if you care to, so anonymous will have to do for now.
October 13th Corporation Meeting in Worcester
Just a quick note to say that the meeting was very well attended, and that the "Public" version of the report was distributed to attendees. We don't have a mechanism set up yet for distributing the report to corporation members who weren't there. You might try e-mailing the corporation offices at office@starisland.org and see what happens. We'll work on this on Monday.
Tom Kennedy moderated masterfully. There were insightful questions from corporation members, only a few of which I can remember. They included:
There were a number of other questions. Fortunately, I was sitting next to someone who was taking great notes as I was concentrating on keeping up with the discussions. I hope to get a copy of those notes and boil down the important points for the committee.
Though our work is not done, I need to express my deep gratitude particularly to Jack Lightfoot, who, though not at the meeting, prepared the powerpoint that so succinctly yet thoroughly summed up our report. To Martha Copithorne, Doug Hatfield, and Kristi Vazifdar for being up with me on the podium and answering questions, and to Russ Peterson for advocating for us with the Board. Nick Dembsey,(even though he too couldn't be at the meeting), gets my undying thanks for educating us about regulatory matters so that we could sound intelligent up on the podium.
Tom Kennedy moderated masterfully. There were insightful questions from corporation members, only a few of which I can remember. They included:
- We'll want to sharpen up the linkage between some of our suggestions and the actual IOL events.
- One of the Pelican representatives asked us to clarify what we meant when we inquired about the relationship between how we deal with the Pelican community and the whether or not it was the "norm" for Pelicans to be ex-conferees.
- While we recognize that there is a need for healing and reconciliation, and we did have plans to try to do that in this meeting, in the end the logistical plans for the meeting went elsewhere.
- On the one hand, someone asked if our comment about "disrespect for authority" was overly broad, but on the other hand someone with long experience in Island governance enthusiastically said "Don't change a word about that - thank you for finally saying what I've known for years."
- There was a question about what action plan emerges from this document. We think that's a question for the board
- Someone asked, "What changed between 2006 and 2007 such that we opened in 2006 and not 2007?" This is a complicated question in part answered in the body of the report, which people admittedly had only a short time to review. But has more to do with the nature of regulation and what it takes to make regulators comfortable with a situation. The short answer is that between 2006 and 2007, despite continuing to make incremental safety improvements, we moved out of the regulators' comfort zone. Our efforts this year have been focused on concrete improvements, but also on putting in place the processes and communications mechanisms so that we can maintain a relationship with our regulators such that they feel they can, with confidence, approve our operations.
- A long-time volunteer talked about the frustration of trying to volunteer services and not even being able to figure out who to ask for authorization for a project.
There were a number of other questions. Fortunately, I was sitting next to someone who was taking great notes as I was concentrating on keeping up with the discussions. I hope to get a copy of those notes and boil down the important points for the committee.
Though our work is not done, I need to express my deep gratitude particularly to Jack Lightfoot, who, though not at the meeting, prepared the powerpoint that so succinctly yet thoroughly summed up our report. To Martha Copithorne, Doug Hatfield, and Kristi Vazifdar for being up with me on the podium and answering questions, and to Russ Peterson for advocating for us with the Board. Nick Dembsey,(even though he too couldn't be at the meeting), gets my undying thanks for educating us about regulatory matters so that we could sound intelligent up on the podium.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Report Available at the October 13th Meeting
I have just been informed by Russ Peterson (our committee member and board liaison) and by Brad Greeley that the board has decided to make the "Public" version of the document we submitted, available at October 13th meeting in Worcester.
I understand that this was a difficult decision for the board and applaud them for taking this step.
Look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
I understand that this was a difficult decision for the board and applaud them for taking this step.
Look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
A Clarification About Current Plans for the October 13 Meeting
It is our understanding (as of 11:30 EDT) that the Board is gathering input for its decision as to whether they feel they can release either of the documents provided to them by the committee.
Our feeling is that these documents now "belong" to the board and are theirs to do with as they believe best benefits the interests of the Corporation.
At this time, we have not been informed that they plan to distribute any document.
Our feeling is that these documents now "belong" to the board and are theirs to do with as they believe best benefits the interests of the Corporation.
At this time, we have not been informed that they plan to distribute any document.
Transmitting our work to the Board
On October 12th, we sent the following e-mail to the Star Island Corporation Board transmitting our work to them:
By this e-mail, we are sending you two documents. The first represents the final submission of the IOL committee to the Star Island Board of Directors. We believe we have thoroughly complied with our charge “to review the elements which led to the delayed opening of the 2007 season and recommend any changes to board policy and process or the staff and its process.”
In an informal conversation before the start of this process, Brad noted the conflicting tensions inherent in this process: “Take as long as you need, but complete your task as quickly as possible.” His statement was prescient. We have no doubt that this report could be improved in various details if there were more time to work on it. Nonetheless, we have researched all of the “fact” issues included in this report to the best of our ability and believe they are all supported by the evidence we have gathered.
We also appreciate that delivery at this time significantly improves the ability of the corporation to move on with the immediate practical work needed to ensure a successful 2008 season. Certainly the deadline has been useful, (if inconvenient!) for us; to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, “nothing concentrates the mind so wonderfully as the imminent prospect of a deadline.”
While we have been unstinting in our candid criticism of all parts of the Star Island community as regards their role as “elements which led to the delayed opening of the 2007 season,” we have striven to make our recommendations constructive and of a type that allows them to be acted upon. It has been our intention to provide the Board with the signposts it needs to chart our course where “board policy and process … [and] staff and its process” do not result in similar events in the future.
As we state in the introduction, “This report will not solve any of the problems confronting our island and its community. This report can only serve to begin a process, or a number of processes, by which we redefine ourselves, re-invent the way we run our island, change our expectations (including financial expectations), and change our personal relationships to one another and to our island community.”
We hope the Board will use this document to begin that process.
The second document is an edition of the final report that has been edited to remove any material that may be problematical if released in a public setting. This document was created with a strong eye to the concerns of the SIC Counsel. It is the opinion of the attorneys on the committee that this document does not represent a risk to the corporation beyond the normal course of doing business. It is the opinion of the expert in regulatory matters on the committee that this document does not create any exposure vis a vis our regulators.
It is our hope that the board will see the value in releasing this version of the report to the corporation membership. One of our significant recommendations is that we “establish transparency as a community value” in the confidence that “the entire Star Island community will respond positively to factual information. We should trust one another not only to handle the truth, but to want the truth in a clear and complete picture. Stating that the Island has shortcomings, what those shortcomings are, and encouraging input as to ways to overcome them reflects a trust that should be a cornerstone of Star Island.”
It is in this spirit that we offer the edited edition of our final report.
On my own part, it has been a privilege working with this extraordinary group of people, and I commend Brad and the Board for assembling such an eminent group. The dedication and love for the island in the room was palpable; the accumulated life wisdom and professional expertise that each of the members brought to bear was extremely impressive.
Respectfully submitted,
Jordan Young
For the Island Opened Late committee:
Martha Copithorne
Nick Dembsey
Doug Hatfield
Jack Lightfoot
Russ Peterson
Kristi Vazifdar
Jordan Young
Full disclosure: At the request of the board, there was a minor edit between the version we sent to them and the version published here. We do not believe the change is material.
By this e-mail, we are sending you two documents. The first represents the final submission of the IOL committee to the Star Island Board of Directors. We believe we have thoroughly complied with our charge “to review the elements which led to the delayed opening of the 2007 season and recommend any changes to board policy and process or the staff and its process.”
In an informal conversation before the start of this process, Brad noted the conflicting tensions inherent in this process: “Take as long as you need, but complete your task as quickly as possible.” His statement was prescient. We have no doubt that this report could be improved in various details if there were more time to work on it. Nonetheless, we have researched all of the “fact” issues included in this report to the best of our ability and believe they are all supported by the evidence we have gathered.
We also appreciate that delivery at this time significantly improves the ability of the corporation to move on with the immediate practical work needed to ensure a successful 2008 season. Certainly the deadline has been useful, (if inconvenient!) for us; to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, “nothing concentrates the mind so wonderfully as the imminent prospect of a deadline.”
While we have been unstinting in our candid criticism of all parts of the Star Island community as regards their role as “elements which led to the delayed opening of the 2007 season,” we have striven to make our recommendations constructive and of a type that allows them to be acted upon. It has been our intention to provide the Board with the signposts it needs to chart our course where “board policy and process … [and] staff and its process” do not result in similar events in the future.
As we state in the introduction, “This report will not solve any of the problems confronting our island and its community. This report can only serve to begin a process, or a number of processes, by which we redefine ourselves, re-invent the way we run our island, change our expectations (including financial expectations), and change our personal relationships to one another and to our island community.”
We hope the Board will use this document to begin that process.
The second document is an edition of the final report that has been edited to remove any material that may be problematical if released in a public setting. This document was created with a strong eye to the concerns of the SIC Counsel. It is the opinion of the attorneys on the committee that this document does not represent a risk to the corporation beyond the normal course of doing business. It is the opinion of the expert in regulatory matters on the committee that this document does not create any exposure vis a vis our regulators.
It is our hope that the board will see the value in releasing this version of the report to the corporation membership. One of our significant recommendations is that we “establish transparency as a community value” in the confidence that “the entire Star Island community will respond positively to factual information. We should trust one another not only to handle the truth, but to want the truth in a clear and complete picture. Stating that the Island has shortcomings, what those shortcomings are, and encouraging input as to ways to overcome them reflects a trust that should be a cornerstone of Star Island.”
It is in this spirit that we offer the edited edition of our final report.
On my own part, it has been a privilege working with this extraordinary group of people, and I commend Brad and the Board for assembling such an eminent group. The dedication and love for the island in the room was palpable; the accumulated life wisdom and professional expertise that each of the members brought to bear was extremely impressive.
Respectfully submitted,
Jordan Young
For the Island Opened Late committee:
Martha Copithorne
Nick Dembsey
Doug Hatfield
Jack Lightfoot
Russ Peterson
Kristi Vazifdar
Jordan Young
Full disclosure: At the request of the board, there was a minor edit between the version we sent to them and the version published here. We do not believe the change is material.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Finishing Our Report
On Monday, October 8th, the committee completed its report to the Board of Directors, and e-mailed it to them. The Board met on October 9th to review the document. Jordan was present for the portion of the call dealing with "Next Steps" and how and whether the document would be released to the corporation membership.
Directors offered numerous small corrections to the document, which the committee gratefully accepted. They also had some substantive concerns. The committee concluded that these were best dealt with through the anticipated "public comment period." In the end, we reminded ourselves that the Board did not have to agree with our report in order to accept it and take it under advisement.
Some members of the board expressed concerns as to whether the report needed to be vetted by the Corporation's counsel. The committee had considered this issue several times, most recently in August, and (given that there are three attorneys on the committee) concluded that there was no material in the report of concern.
Nonetheless, the draft given to the Board was referred to the Corporation's counsel, who expressed a number of concerns, some specific and some general.
Early in its deliberations, the committee considered having a "public" version of its report and a version to the board, which would be free of the real constraints that exist with regard to a public document. We had abandoned this approach as we did not believe it was necessary, but readopted it in the face of Counsel's concerns.
Counsel was asked to review the document in this light, and, in consultation with the attorneys on the committee, agreed to provide us with areas of concern.
Our next communication was from the Board, indicating that there was no form of the document that they could envision releasing.
Our intent had been to review the document with the corporation membership at the October 13th meeting, and invite comments and corrections via this blog, which will open for moderated comments in the afternoon of October 13th. Our intent was then to issue a final enhanced document as our report to the Board of Directors.
Given that this plan no longer seems feasible in the absence of a document to comment on, we have finalized our report and will be delivering it to the board on Friday, October 12th. We will also deliver to the board a version of the document which we believe addresses all the substantive concerns of Counsel with regard to public distribution.
What happens to these documents is up to the board.
This was not at all the distribution mechanism nor ending we had envisioned for our committee, and it has been a difficult process.
Directors offered numerous small corrections to the document, which the committee gratefully accepted. They also had some substantive concerns. The committee concluded that these were best dealt with through the anticipated "public comment period." In the end, we reminded ourselves that the Board did not have to agree with our report in order to accept it and take it under advisement.
Some members of the board expressed concerns as to whether the report needed to be vetted by the Corporation's counsel. The committee had considered this issue several times, most recently in August, and (given that there are three attorneys on the committee) concluded that there was no material in the report of concern.
Nonetheless, the draft given to the Board was referred to the Corporation's counsel, who expressed a number of concerns, some specific and some general.
Early in its deliberations, the committee considered having a "public" version of its report and a version to the board, which would be free of the real constraints that exist with regard to a public document. We had abandoned this approach as we did not believe it was necessary, but readopted it in the face of Counsel's concerns.
Counsel was asked to review the document in this light, and, in consultation with the attorneys on the committee, agreed to provide us with areas of concern.
Our next communication was from the Board, indicating that there was no form of the document that they could envision releasing.
Our intent had been to review the document with the corporation membership at the October 13th meeting, and invite comments and corrections via this blog, which will open for moderated comments in the afternoon of October 13th. Our intent was then to issue a final enhanced document as our report to the Board of Directors.
Given that this plan no longer seems feasible in the absence of a document to comment on, we have finalized our report and will be delivering it to the board on Friday, October 12th. We will also deliver to the board a version of the document which we believe addresses all the substantive concerns of Counsel with regard to public distribution.
What happens to these documents is up to the board.
This was not at all the distribution mechanism nor ending we had envisioned for our committee, and it has been a difficult process.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Talking to the Star Island Corporation Board of Directors
The board usually meets once a month on Tuesdays. I gather they've been meeting more frequently this summer as they get through all the work they have to do this year. One of their work items is the search for a new Executive Director since Amy Lockwood resigned in July. The board wanted to know if the IOL committee had any input to the search process; in essence, was there anything we had uncovered as part of our inquiry in to the history that got us to the Island closure that should inform the search for a new Executive Director?
We concluded that there was, and prepared a document as input to their process. Jordan reviewed this document with the Board this evening. Although we don't currently intend to make this document public, as it is part of the Board's personnel process, the thinking that went in to it and the substance of the recommendations that it makes will appear in our final report.
We concluded that there was, and prepared a document as input to their process. Jordan reviewed this document with the Board this evening. Although we don't currently intend to make this document public, as it is part of the Board's personnel process, the thinking that went in to it and the substance of the recommendations that it makes will appear in our final report.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Interviews & other input
Our original plan was to create a formal interview protocol - a standard set of questions - from which to start interviewing. After much discussion, including debating the need for interviews, we have decided to go forward in a more "free form" way and let the interviewer and interviewee determine the agenda. In that sense, these are really more "conversations" than they are "interviews." These are the people involved in the process who sought us out, or whom we sought out:
- Irene Bush
- Nicholas Cricenti (our fire safety consultant)
- Bill Clegg
- Ron Cordes
- Dan Fenn
- Paul Jennings
- Amy Lockwood
- Sumar Maji
- Dave Reynolds
- Sarah Wicker
- Grey Wicker
- Joe Watts
- David Yermack
- Officials with responsibility for safety inspections at the island.
- Jill Brody
- Herb Emers
- Will Emmons
- Bob Gray
- Vic Henschel
- Tom Kane
- Betty McKinnell
- George Robbins
- Bob Romero
- Andy Gordon
- Leslie Lowrie
- Molly Mansfield
Monday, September 3, 2007
Dick Howe resignes from the IOL committee
After some consideration as to alternatives, and with much regret, Dick Howe has resigned from the IOL committee. Dick has just taken on a time-sensitive personal commitment that makes it impossible for him to continue working on the committee.
While we're all about openness and transparency, this really is a personal matter and we can't go any further in to it.
We will very much miss Dick and realize that our work will be more difficult without him. We look forward to any concluding thoughts he may have for us as input as we prepare our final report.
Thanks, Dick, for your experience, wisdom, and time on our efforts.
Jordan
While we're all about openness and transparency, this really is a personal matter and we can't go any further in to it.
We will very much miss Dick and realize that our work will be more difficult without him. We look forward to any concluding thoughts he may have for us as input as we prepare our final report.
Thanks, Dick, for your experience, wisdom, and time on our efforts.
Jordan
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Quick update during a "quiet" period...
I put "quiet" in quotes because we have been gathering information from interviews during this time, and at least two of us have even made it out to the island.
Martha attended LOAS II and took the opportunity to do some interviews.
And since I (Jordan) didn't get to go to All Star II, I managed to wangle my way out for a couple of days during LOAS I, and talked to a large number of people.
I'll post the list of people we've interviewed shortly, in another post with it's own title....
Martha attended LOAS II and took the opportunity to do some interviews.
And since I (Jordan) didn't get to go to All Star II, I managed to wangle my way out for a couple of days during LOAS I, and talked to a large number of people.
I'll post the list of people we've interviewed shortly, in another post with it's own title....
Monday, August 27, 2007
Time line of events
The idea of the time-line is to collect all the events from 2001 to at least June, relating to fire safety and other issues that led to the Island opening late this year. We also intend to fold board and officer terms, key staff positions, and the facilities committee tenures on to this time line.
Obviously, it's going to have a million entries. We intend to structure it so that it is easy to filter for items of interest and to assign "significance levels" to events so that one can see a "high level" overview as well as all the gory detail.
What's linked from this post is the versions of the time-lines that we submitted to the board for their August 28th meeting. The versions are a "major events" version, and a full version of all the events we have on the time line right now. In no way do we think that this is complete, but this version emerged from one of the draft documents we're working on, and it seemed like a good place to start.
We're very eager for input on these time lines, both in terms of their form, and and substantively in terms of what's on them. Please send us feedback at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com. Thanks.
The files are both PDF files hosted at one of our personal web sites.
Time Line Level 1
Time Line All Events
If for some reason you can't get them and you want, them, e-mail me at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com and I'll e-mail them to you.
Obviously, it's going to have a million entries. We intend to structure it so that it is easy to filter for items of interest and to assign "significance levels" to events so that one can see a "high level" overview as well as all the gory detail.
What's linked from this post is the versions of the time-lines that we submitted to the board for their August 28th meeting. The versions are a "major events" version, and a full version of all the events we have on the time line right now. In no way do we think that this is complete, but this version emerged from one of the draft documents we're working on, and it seemed like a good place to start.
We're very eager for input on these time lines, both in terms of their form, and and substantively in terms of what's on them. Please send us feedback at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com. Thanks.
The files are both PDF files hosted at one of our personal web sites.
Time Line Level 1
Time Line All Events
If for some reason you can't get them and you want, them, e-mail me at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com and I'll e-mail them to you.
Committee submission to the Corporation Board
Early on in the life of the committee, Brad Greeley asked what, if any, interim updates the committee could provide to the Board of Trustees. We were reluctant to committ to "interim" findings, but realized that a work plan and time-line of events relevant to the closure would be useful. We agreed to provide these for the Board's August 28th meeting.
Here's what we submitted to the Board as a narrative (slightly edited for clarity); the astute reader will recognize the "organization" piece from our August 7th post Work Plan for the IOL Committee:
The IOL committee has met once by phone and twice in person and has been working via e-mail. Our current approach to understanding why the island opened late examines events and processes from seven points of view:
We have reviewed the documents provided to us by Amy (both paper and electronic); our not-yet-complete document inventory runs to 195 documents.
Our work is now focusing on the personal interviews needed to round out the picture provided by the documents. Our decision to interview specific people is driven by three factors: can they provide information about the process that was not in the documents; Can we help the future course of events by demonstrating to regulators the serious and dispassionate look we are taking at how to improve our processes; and were people significant actors in the Star Island process such that not interviewing them would make the report seem incomplete. It is very possible we will add people to our interview list, particularly regarding this last criterion.
LOAS I held a “town meeting” regarding their own governance. We were invited to attend but it ended up be scheduled directly in conflict with our second in-person meeting. Brad Greeley, Dave Boynton, and Joe Watts did attend, and our committee sent along an update (largely the same information as is on the blog) that was shared with the meeting. The feedback Jordan got from being on the island later in the week was that the transparency was appreciated. Martha Copithorne is on the island this week and has agreed to take input from anyone interested on the island.
We also submitted a time-line to the board; more about that in the next post.
Here's what we submitted to the Board as a narrative (slightly edited for clarity); the astute reader will recognize the "organization" piece from our August 7th post Work Plan for the IOL Committee:
The IOL committee has met once by phone and twice in person and has been working via e-mail. Our current approach to understanding why the island opened late examines events and processes from seven points of view:
- Regulatory issues
- Budgetary issues
- Communications issues with
- Public
- Staff
- Community
- Public
- Board oversight of managers and staff
- Facilities committee
- Human Relations
- Management by staff of front-line workers
- Who we manage / how we hire
- Why we need the staff we need
- Management by staff of front-line workers
- Culture / "Island Mind" (by which we mean the 200+ year history of difficult relationships between the island and the mainland, and how that must change in the 21st century).
We have reviewed the documents provided to us by Amy (both paper and electronic); our not-yet-complete document inventory runs to 195 documents.
Our work is now focusing on the personal interviews needed to round out the picture provided by the documents. Our decision to interview specific people is driven by three factors: can they provide information about the process that was not in the documents; Can we help the future course of events by demonstrating to regulators the serious and dispassionate look we are taking at how to improve our processes; and were people significant actors in the Star Island process such that not interviewing them would make the report seem incomplete. It is very possible we will add people to our interview list, particularly regarding this last criterion.
LOAS I held a “town meeting” regarding their own governance. We were invited to attend but it ended up be scheduled directly in conflict with our second in-person meeting. Brad Greeley, Dave Boynton, and Joe Watts did attend, and our committee sent along an update (largely the same information as is on the blog) that was shared with the meeting. The feedback Jordan got from being on the island later in the week was that the transparency was appreciated. Martha Copithorne is on the island this week and has agreed to take input from anyone interested on the island.
We also submitted a time-line to the board; more about that in the next post.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Second Committee Meeting
The committee met again this evening in Concord, NH. As with the first meeting, the discussion was wide ranging but productive in clarifying issues and continuing to craft our ultimate report. Each of the members of the committee had reviewed all of the paper files we have received and many of the electronic documents. While there may be a little more to do in this regard, we think we have a handle on most of the documents now.
We received and reviewed the seven "thematic" documents we decided upon at our last meeting. Though different by necessity given their themes, each relates to the events over the last five years, and most include a chronology supporting their description of the events.
In essence, we have a good description of the "What". The next piece to be written down would be the "why" part.
We have committed to have a time-line for the Board of Directors by their next meeting, Tuesday, August 28. Jordan will synthesize this from the various "thematic" reports.
We have identified a number of people in the Star Island community with which we wish to talk. We have not scheduled formal "interviews" but several of the committee members felt that learning how these events transpired from the viewpoints of people involved in the process in different ways would be constructive. We expect to have those conversations over the coming days.
The committee is hoping to have a product we can release some time in October. In order to do this we need to have the "Why" portion of our documents completed in early September so that we can spend the balance of the month checking them and integrating all this material into a coherent whole.
Our next meeting will be in Concord on September 10th.
We received and reviewed the seven "thematic" documents we decided upon at our last meeting. Though different by necessity given their themes, each relates to the events over the last five years, and most include a chronology supporting their description of the events.
In essence, we have a good description of the "What". The next piece to be written down would be the "why" part.
We have committed to have a time-line for the Board of Directors by their next meeting, Tuesday, August 28. Jordan will synthesize this from the various "thematic" reports.
We have identified a number of people in the Star Island community with which we wish to talk. We have not scheduled formal "interviews" but several of the committee members felt that learning how these events transpired from the viewpoints of people involved in the process in different ways would be constructive. We expect to have those conversations over the coming days.
The committee is hoping to have a product we can release some time in October. In order to do this we need to have the "Why" portion of our documents completed in early September so that we can spend the balance of the month checking them and integrating all this material into a coherent whole.
Our next meeting will be in Concord on September 10th.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Board Affirms Confidentiality Policy
We requested that the Star Island Corporation Board of Directors affirm our confidentiality policy. We did this because we realized that as "a creature of the board", the board would theoretically have the right to request any documents of the committee. If people give us information in confidence, we would like it to remain in confidence.
We are pleased to report that at their Wednesday, August 8th meeting, the board did affirm the committee's confidentiality policy.
We are pleased to report that at their Wednesday, August 8th meeting, the board did affirm the committee's confidentiality policy.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Confidentiality Policy
At it's first meeting, the committee adopted a confidentiality policy. Its purpose is twofold:
The committee's confidentiality policy is as follows:
- to provide a vehicle for those who wish to submit information that they do not wish attributed to themselves by name to contribute
- to covenant with each other that we will respect the committee's process and not release information before we as a group are ready
The committee's confidentiality policy is as follows:
The Star Island Opening Late (IOL) Committee was established by the Star Island Corporation Board of Directors "to review the elements which led to the delayed opening of the 2007 season and recommend any changes to board policy and process or the staff and its process."
To understanding the events and actions that resulted in the delayed opening, we welcome information from all sources and pledge to respect the confidentiality of those individuals who request it. While we may utilize and disseminate information provided in confidence, we will protect the identity of people who provide us that information. The Committee will not accept information submitted by anonymous sources. Signed communications may be sent to the IOL Committee at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com
As individuals, we have pledged not to release information we have collected, except as needed to further our investigations, until the committee as a whole decides to release interim or final documents.
We have asked that the Board of Directors affirm our confidentiality policy, and that it not request from the committee any attribution for information received in confidence.
Work Plan for the IOL Committee:
Following the committee's initial face-to-face work meeting on August 7th, I think I can say the following about what we plan to produce.
We foresee the committee having two primary work products: a chronology of what happened when, and a narrative assessment why things happened as they did. The chronology will be available in draft form for the Corporation's Board of Directors meeting on August 28th. We look forward to having it available for people to comment on and update, as there are many events that led to this year's closure.
The narrative assessment has been tentatively divided into seven themes:
In addition, we are interested in acquiring as many "vignettes" as possible about what happened to whom when. Our purpose explicitly is not to repeat them or validate them, but to understand what kinds of things people think happened, and understand what that means about how we do communicate and how we need to communicate. In an Island community such as ours where we all share the same space, but not at the same time, there are some very challenging communications issues, and we'd like to use stories to understand them.
We foresee the committee having two primary work products: a chronology of what happened when, and a narrative assessment why things happened as they did. The chronology will be available in draft form for the Corporation's Board of Directors meeting on August 28th. We look forward to having it available for people to comment on and update, as there are many events that led to this year's closure.
The narrative assessment has been tentatively divided into seven themes:
- Regulatory issues
- Budgetary issues
- Communications issues with
- Public
- Staff
- Community
- Public
- Board oversight of managers and staff
- Facilities committee
- Human Relations
- Management by staff of front-line workers
- Who we manage / how we hire
- Why we need the staff we need
- Management by staff of front-line workers
- Culture / "Island Mind" (by which we mean the 200+ year history of difficult relationships between the island and the mainland, and how that must change in the 21st century).
In addition, we are interested in acquiring as many "vignettes" as possible about what happened to whom when. Our purpose explicitly is not to repeat them or validate them, but to understand what kinds of things people think happened, and understand what that means about how we do communicate and how we need to communicate. In an Island community such as ours where we all share the same space, but not at the same time, there are some very challenging communications issues, and we'd like to use stories to understand them.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Jordan goes to the Island for the staff meeting
Jordan was invited to the Corporation staff meeting on Friday the 3rd to brief the staff on how the committee intends to get its work done and the values the committee intends to try to uphold. An important part of this meeting was to hear the staff's concerns about the committee. A large part of this was trying to allay concerns that didn't seem justified in the light of how the committee wants to operate, and understand concerns that the committee hadn't foreseen and see how those can be addressed.
I basically shared what was in the previous post, as well as describing the people on the committee.
There were many questions and clarifications, some of which resulted in work that I took back to our committee when it met on Tuesday the 7th.
I basically shared what was in the previous post, as well as describing the people on the committee.
There were many questions and clarifications, some of which resulted in work that I took back to our committee when it met on Tuesday the 7th.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Values Guiding the IOL Committee
As a committee, we have not yet formally adopted a set of guidelines or values for our work. However in all of the conversations that I've been part of around this committee, some things have become clear, and everyone seems to be coming from the same place on them. When people ask, "how are you going to go about this job", these things form the core of the story.
I'm laying them out here because they seem consistent with the teleconference the committee had on Tuesday, and they were in place before I went to the Island on Friday.
First and foremost, this committee is not going to blame anyone for what happened. We're most emphatically not going to get to a statement like "This wouldn't have happened in so-and-so had done such-and-such on this date." My feeling, reflected in our charter, is that this was a systems and process failure, hence our charge to understand how we do what we do, and how that works and does not work for us, rather than to understand who did what when.
Everyone working for Star Island, whether paid staff or volunteer, strongly wants to do the best thing for the Island. There was no failure of good will or "not my job" or people not caring about the outcome. Again, it's how we work together that raises questions.
Both of those things having been said...
It is entirely possible that we will find instances where well-meaning people, doing the best the could, made decisions that led to bad outcomes. Again, I don't think we're on a hunt for such decisions, but it is very possible that we may find them. Our reaction has to be, "How can we help this person make better decisions in the future?" ... whether those means be personnel development, better management, improved business processes, or whatever. We characterized this as the balance between accountability, which is good and constructive, and blame, which we don't see as having any purpose in this context.
The many different "constituencies" that make up the Star Island community, and the relationships among them, are key to understanding how we got here and what we have to do differently in the future. Our community and its governance have evolved over more than a century; decisions and structures that made sense in 1900 didn't necessarily make sense in 1950, and those that made sense in 1950 didn't necessarily make sense in 1985, and those from 1985 similarly don't necessarily fit 2007. Learning to think intentionally about our community and what it is we value about it versus what are just historical vestiges will probably be important in helping us shape the future.
How we communicate among our constituencies is clearly part of the problem. Communicating to all our constituencies - all parts of the Star Island community - what the competing claims and constraints are in running the island is very difficult. People seeing different pictures because they're seeing different parts of the same picture, and therefore drawing different conclusions leads to unnecessary contention. One of our tasks will be to identify how communications figured in to the problem and in to the unfolding events this summer.
Values. Different constituencies value different things about Star Island. Which leads them to different conclusions about Star Island policy issues. One of our tasks will be to understand what these different values and goals are, and how they can interact constructively, rather than dysfunctionally.
Transparency is gonig to be a key task for the committee. Hence this blog. It is important that people feel that the committee is accessible and not secretive about what we're doing.
I'm laying them out here because they seem consistent with the teleconference the committee had on Tuesday, and they were in place before I went to the Island on Friday.
First and foremost, this committee is not going to blame anyone for what happened. We're most emphatically not going to get to a statement like "This wouldn't have happened in so-and-so had done such-and-such on this date." My feeling, reflected in our charter, is that this was a systems and process failure, hence our charge to understand how we do what we do, and how that works and does not work for us, rather than to understand who did what when.
Everyone working for Star Island, whether paid staff or volunteer, strongly wants to do the best thing for the Island. There was no failure of good will or "not my job" or people not caring about the outcome. Again, it's how we work together that raises questions.
Both of those things having been said...
It is entirely possible that we will find instances where well-meaning people, doing the best the could, made decisions that led to bad outcomes. Again, I don't think we're on a hunt for such decisions, but it is very possible that we may find them. Our reaction has to be, "How can we help this person make better decisions in the future?" ... whether those means be personnel development, better management, improved business processes, or whatever. We characterized this as the balance between accountability, which is good and constructive, and blame, which we don't see as having any purpose in this context.
The many different "constituencies" that make up the Star Island community, and the relationships among them, are key to understanding how we got here and what we have to do differently in the future. Our community and its governance have evolved over more than a century; decisions and structures that made sense in 1900 didn't necessarily make sense in 1950, and those that made sense in 1950 didn't necessarily make sense in 1985, and those from 1985 similarly don't necessarily fit 2007. Learning to think intentionally about our community and what it is we value about it versus what are just historical vestiges will probably be important in helping us shape the future.
How we communicate among our constituencies is clearly part of the problem. Communicating to all our constituencies - all parts of the Star Island community - what the competing claims and constraints are in running the island is very difficult. People seeing different pictures because they're seeing different parts of the same picture, and therefore drawing different conclusions leads to unnecessary contention. One of our tasks will be to identify how communications figured in to the problem and in to the unfolding events this summer.
Values. Different constituencies value different things about Star Island. Which leads them to different conclusions about Star Island policy issues. One of our tasks will be to understand what these different values and goals are, and how they can interact constructively, rather than dysfunctionally.
Transparency is gonig to be a key task for the committee. Hence this blog. It is important that people feel that the committee is accessible and not secretive about what we're doing.
Copies of documents mailed to committee members
After a great deal of copying and putting in to binders, the documents Amy had given to Jordan were UPS'ed out to the committee members today.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Committee's conference call July 31, 2007
After a false start with Skype, we succeeded in having an old-fashioned conference call with all on except Nick, who couldn't make it. After getting to know one-another, Jordan synthesized our call of over an hour down into five points:
- We'll met in Concord next week, as understanding where we're all coming from on this process is important.
- It’s too soon to think about formal interviews. There’s a mountain of information in the documents that Amy sent along and in the binder. We’re best of digesting that and making our work plan face-to-face.
- Confidentiality. We recognize people’s concerns with this as regards giving us information. Our intention would be to honor requests for confidentiality. We see no constructive role for anonymity in this process. We are aware that there are issues regarding information given to us and the Board of Directors. Regarding committee deliberations, source documents, and draft documents, we’ll covenant confidentiality with each other.
- There is a sense of urgency in the community about this. It affects fund-raising and trust in our governance.
- The committee was comfortable with Jordan going to the Island staff meeting this week primarily to help them understand what this committee is about – understanding the time-line and the issues that got us to this place. Informal conversations around this will probably be a good thing, but again, we’re no where near an “interview” process.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Electronic versions of files
Amy e-mailed along 19 additional documents for the committee's review. Jordan passed them along to the committee.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Jordan, Brad Greeley, Amy Lockwood meet
In order to get the committee started, Brad Greeley and Amy Lockwood met with Jordan. Amy passed along about two inches of documents that she had found and believed were relevant to the committee. We also talked about issues of confidentiality and practical issues.
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Little Background on the Committee Members
People have asked for a little background on the committee members, beyond what would fit in the press release. Here's a little "Star Island" and "real world" bio of each of us:
Martha Copithorne
Nick Dembsey
Doug Hatfield
Dick Howe
Jack Lightfoot
Jordan Young (chair)
Russ Peterson - Board liaison
Kristi Vazifdar - Staff liaison
Martha Copithorne
- has attended various conferences since around 1946, inlcding LRY, Pel reunion
- most recently involved in LOAS I and LOAS II where she was co-chair in 1985
- has been on corporation nominating committee
- has been on corporation committee on appointments
- retired family court judge
- retired attorney
- two son were Pelicans
Nick Dembsey
- has attended International Affairs since around 2002
- Professor of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Doug Hatfield
- has attended UCC I since around 1980.
- was on the Corporation board in the early 1990's.
- is now on the board of directors of the "permanent trust" (endowment).
- attorney.
- retired district court judge.
Dick Howe
- has attended International affairs since around 1979.
- was on the Corporaiton board 1990 - 1999.
- Corporation President, 1995 - 1999.
- former property manager, Trustees of Reservations
- former town manager
Jack Lightfoot
- has attended various conferences since around 1953
- most recently involved in Natural History conference (where he is treasurer)
- Corporation board in the early 1990's
- currently on the Isle of Shoals UU board
- attorney
- legislative advocate for children and family services
Jordan Young (chair)
- has attended All Star II since 1969, chair in 1989, currently secretary
- member, Board's "Financial Accessibility Task Force" 2001-2002
- database analyst at the Salzburg Global Seminar
- prior to that, business process consultant
- co-author, several ...for Dummies books
Russ Peterson - Board liaison
- has attended Natural History since around 1992
- two children were Pelicans
- Board member since April 2007
- investment manager
- prior to that, career in healthcare financial management
Kristi Vazifdar - Staff liaison
- Since 2000, Star Island Corporation Financial Manager
- Completing her MBA studies at Southern New Hampshire University
- Proud mother of a 2022 season Pelican
The Star Island Corporation News Release Announcing the Committee
The following press release was issued by the Star Island Corporation on Friday, July 20th, announcing the Island Opened Late committee:
---QUOTE---
---QUOTE---
THIS MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF BRAD GREELEY, PRESIDENT, AND JORDAN YOUNG, IOL COMMITTEE CHAIR. PLEASE DIRECT REPLIES TO StarIslandOpenedLate at gmail.com
As we prepare for the opening of Star Island and our focus now turns to hotel operations so we may ensure our facilities are ready for the arrival of our conferees and other visitors, we also wish to keep you informed of our dedication to enhancing our process.
Star Island is committed to making changes to its internal operations to ensure future life safety improvements are built into its strategic plan, executed in a timely manner and facilities are well maintained to meet or exceed applicable codes.
The Star Island Corporation Board of Directors has established a committee to review the elements which lead to the delayed opening of the 2007 season and recommend any changes to board policy and process or the staff and its process. It expects the committee's report and recommendations may take several months to complete and anticipates a progress report to the board at its August meeting.
The Board approved the newly appointed members of the committee at its latest meeting. The Board chose to revise the membership of the committee so that it will be comprised of people who have been independent from the corporation leadership for at least five years. While the Board had every confidence in the independence and impartiality of the original committee, it recognized that the new members would more easily avoid any preconceived notions as to the committee's ultimate recommendations.
The committee is now made up of seven people with a broad knowledge of the island. Six committee volunteers are corporation members; one volunteer is a safety inspection engineer and conferee. Board and staff liaisons are also participating volunteers.
Jordan Young, an All Star II conferee for 40 years and recently a business process consultant for the State of Vermont, will chair the committee. The other members of the committee are Martha Copithorne, Jack Lightfoot, Doug Hatfield, Dick Howe, and Nick Dembsey. Russ Peterson will be liaison to the Board and Kristi Vazifdar will be liaison to Staff.
The committee will meet this week to develop its work plan and timeline.
We kindly ask for your patience and understanding as we work diligently to not only ensure life safety remains paramount and history is preserved, but also to ensure thoughtful consideration is given to this internal process.
If you have questions or comments, please submit your comments directly to Jordan Young, the IOL committee chair, via email at StarIslandOpenedLate at gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Brad Greeley, President, SIC Board of Directors
---- UNQUOTE ----
About the "Star Island Opened Late Committee" Blog
Welcome to the blog of the Star Island Opened Late (IOL) Committee.
This blog will document the work of the Star Island Opened Late Committee, a committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Star Island Corporation ...
This blog will not discuss the substance of the work-in-progress of the committee. It will discuss things like when we met, generally what we're looking at, generally who we've talked to, etc.
The goal of this blog is to make the process of the committee as transparent as possible.
In the realm of full disclosure, this blog was created on August 19, 2007; entries prior to that date were back-dated to when they occurred, so that the chronological order of the entries would make sense. Hopefully, subsequent entries will happen in a more timely manner.
We welcome your input. You can contact the committee at StarIslandOpenedLate (at) gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
Jordan Young for the Star Island Opened Late Committee
This blog will document the work of the Star Island Opened Late Committee, a committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Star Island Corporation ...
to review the elements which lead to the delayed opening of the 2007 season and recommend any changes to board policy and process or the staff and its process.This blog will report on the activities of the IOL committee and report on our progress as we move towards our two immediate goals:
- Prepare a preliminary report for the Star Island Board of Directors' August 28 meeting
- Prepare a draft report for the Star Island Corporation to be presented in some form in the fall of 2007; the exact venue and time as yet to be determined.
This blog will not discuss the substance of the work-in-progress of the committee. It will discuss things like when we met, generally what we're looking at, generally who we've talked to, etc.
The goal of this blog is to make the process of the committee as transparent as possible.
In the realm of full disclosure, this blog was created on August 19, 2007; entries prior to that date were back-dated to when they occurred, so that the chronological order of the entries would make sense. Hopefully, subsequent entries will happen in a more timely manner.
We welcome your input. You can contact the committee at StarIslandOpenedLate (at) gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
Jordan Young for the Star Island Opened Late Committee
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