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.

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.

We've also had a number of "conversations" with people in an attempt to understand how people viewed these events and to understand their concerns, as well as gather any suggestions for going forward. I (Jordan) had the opportunity to talk to a number of people at LOAS I:

• Jill Brody
• Herb Emers
• Will Emmons
• Bob Gray
• Vic Henschel
• Tom Kane
• Betty McKinnell
• George Robbins
• Bob Romero

The following staff and Pels also provided input. During my two days on the Island, I was down in the Pel dining room a bunch, and had a chance to tell all the Pels there what we were about and how to contact us, as well as letting them know where I'd be for conversation. I was a little disappointed that we didn't a little more input from them, and I wonder if that points to issues we need to think about.

• Andy Gordon
• Leslie Lowrie
• Molly Mansfield

Finally, we got e-mails of greater or lesser length from a lot of people, but I haven't gotten their permission to post their names, so I'm not going to do that yet. If your name is on one of the lists above and you'd rather have it removed, let me know (e-mail me at StarIslandOpenedLate@gmail.com)

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

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....