2006 Annual Meeting

Date: September 10, 2006

In attendance: Cathy Perkins, Felicity Pickett, Doug Wilson, Guy Thompson, Simon Delekta, Zack Leven, John Terracuso, Ilana Greenstein, Pauline Aiello, Gurunam Kaur Khalsa, Rickie Peterson, Bob Scheier, Nancy Hickman, Judy Tator, Joan Logan, Jamie Pinard, Anne Dundinehan, Pam Predmore, Granger Macy, Carol Davidson, Mary Zell, Bruce Robbins, Douglas Wilson, Sue Baldauf

Executive Director’s Report

Doug Wilson

This report may turn out to be personal, because I am turning 60 in two days. 

Long ago, I learned that I am “Camp Counselor Material.”  When I need to, I can energize the whole camp.  I don’t usually do so because I prefer to allow the energy to build naturally and let the wisdom of the group emerge.  I actually believe in democracy, which is one of the seven principles of the Unitarian Universalists.

If I had kids, I would want them to run free, and if I had campers, I would want the same.  I was influenced by A. S. Neil, the founder of Summerhill School, which inspired the Free School Movement.  When I came to Rowe Camp in 1971, I felt it was in sync with my own values and loved it here.  Watching two-thirds of the junior high campers cry for two hours on the last night of camp was enough to tip off even a dense WHAM (White Heterosexual Adult Male) that something special was going on here.

When I founded the conference center three years later, influenced by Esalen Institute in Big Sur, the leader of the Human Potential Movement, I was really just offering the Spirit of Rowe Camp to adults and families.  A more dignified name than Rowe Camp was needed, so Rowe Conference Center was born.

I’ve had a wondrously fulfilling life, with a lot of help from a lot of people.  I’m good at getting out of the way and letting folks do what they want here.  Prue has been with me most of my time here, helping make the magic happen alongside me and adding her special genius, which is love-in-action.  We are partners and I am very lucky she agreed to marry me.

Last year, I went through my own process, perhaps some kind of late-onset mid-life crisis.  Around Christmastime, I decided to leave Rowe.  I told Prue first, then Felicity.  It was exciting to think about doing something else, and I asked Mel Toomey, a corporate consultant, to help Rowe with the transition.  He said he would, but first I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. 

Prue and I went down to his home in Connecticut for a couple of days and talked about what I wanted to do.  I said I wanted to win the Nobel Peace Prize, like the woman from Vermont who worked with banning land mines, though I was aware that was highly unlikely.  As is often the case, I was being facetious, as well as honest. 

After talking for a couple of days, I realized that a lot of people would love to be doing what I am doing and that I really liked what I was doing.  Perhaps I could keep riding this wild horse for another six or seven years.  The Maya calendar ends in 2012, which seems like a good time to stop.  And if I were to work one final year, I could retire with forty years of service, though I’d rather get a mini-cooper than a watch.  

I’m really pretty old fashioned and believe in small-town values and the small-town way of life.  The baker, the doctor, and the banker didn’t stop what they were doing until they retired, so maybe I’m destined to be like them.  My grandfather was a Methodist minister in British Columbia, and that denomination moves its ministers every three years.  This policy always seemed horrible to me, since it takes a long time to get to know another human being.  I’ve heard that IBM stands for I’ve Been Moved and I believe one of the primary reasons our country is so rootless and lost is that people move so often that they don’t really know where they live.

Over the past year, we had some serious problems with a few of our work-study people.  We called in our staff therapist, Michael Gigante, to help us, and we’re slowly learning how to handle difficult people more skillfully.  This fall, we have a wonderful crop of work-study people, and it’s a pleasure to be with them. 

I like working with Felicity.  She is sharp, attends to details, does what she says she will do, and has become a good friend.  I thank her for the Oak Grove story she wrote for my 60th birthday and I thank Eclipse for her portrait of me.

With the help of Alan Goldsmith, we redesigned the Rowe catalogue.  We shortened the workshop descriptions by 100 to150 words, changed the typefaces, left more white space, and generally brought it into the 21st Century.  People are saying very nice things about it and we will see if the new design helps attendance.

As usual, it’s been an exciting year with a lot of wonderful people, conferences, experiences, and camps.  I love living in this vast forest that stretches up through Vermont into Canada, and I’m looking forward to several more productive years. 

I thank all the wonderful people in this room and those not here for all they’ve done to make Rowe Camp and Conference Center the amazing little place that it is.  My blessings upon all of you.

Director’s Report

Felicity Pickett

Working with a seasoned staff has made so much difference. Both Paige Cooper, who manages the office, and Kathe Camara, who manages the kitchen are in their third year at Rowe. Having experienced managers makes for a smoother running of the operation. Each brings her own special gifts to the position as well. Paige has a wonderfully welcoming presence in the office. Her warmth and caring shine through in her interactions with those who come here. Kathe is an amazing cook. As one guest said recently, she has a very sensitive palette and it comes through in her cooking. She is creative and has brought lots of new recipes to Rowe.

We have a very strong facilities team. Deb Lively has been here two years now as the Head of Maintenance. She is highly skilled and competent and being that she is a town resident, has a lot of local resources that she can call on when needed. We are pleased to have Johno Balchuanas back with us again as a second maintenance person. His gentle, helpful presence is also matched by that of Lance Smith, our new Guest Facilities Coordinator. They are both hard working and capable and together the three of them make a great team.

Joan Lager, our Finance Coordinator and Development Assistant is also in her second year. She is extremely competent and organized and has done an exceptional job in keeping our finances on track as well as keeping me on track with development. Having her in that position has freed more of my time to focus on development.

Andy Earle, though the youngest and most recent addition to the staff, is quite an amazing Associate Chef. He is a talented cook and a very sweet person. Though he has been with us less than a year, he had actually worked a summer at Rowe a couple years ago and so he too is a seasoned staff member.

We are fortunate to have Prue Berry’s continued presence hosting weekends. Her beautiful voice welcomes the day as she does wake up and her loving heart welcomes all who comes to Rowe. Becky Bradley, another town resident, and former staff person Margaret Woodside, continue to offer part-time office support. Their years of service make them very valuable in that position.

Doug and I have always shared the same work ethic, commitment, and vision. Something shifted this year and we are now learning to do this dance of directing together without stepping on each others toes as often.

I would like to thank all of the staff, as well as the summer staff, work-study interns and volunteers for their hard work over the year. Frequently Doug and I hear from guests what a wonderful place Rowe is. It is the entire group of staff working together that create “the magic of Rowe.” I recently stated in a staff meeting that our job titles should all be Magician. It is in the places that fall between our job descriptions that this magic is created. It comes from a deep commitment to what we are doing.

The community this year has felt very cohesive, though we started out the year with a good deal of interpersonal tensions. Out of that came the development of a new sexual harassment policy and a better honing of our screening skills. The staff has worked with a consultant, Michael Gigante, for over ten years now and this year we seemed to have gone deeper and have been availing ourselves of Michael’s skills in a stronger way. We are grateful for his help. In all, it has felt like a year of deepening and maturing on all levels.

Our focus has been on taking care of things. We put a new roof on the Chapel, built a new wood shed, replaced floors and flooring in the Rec Hall bathrooms, continued the process of cleaning out the barn, settled into our new staff housing, and put new ceiling fans in the Farmhouse dining room.

The work of the stewardship committee has helped us to focus and have a vision for the upkeep of the buildings and grounds. Our greatest challenge has been getting contractors to come up to do the scheduled work. Though money is available right now to put a frost wall under the Orchard Guest House and replace the footings on two of the cabins, we have been unable to get a contractor here to do it. The project was scheduled to start this week. The contractor has not finished the job he has been working on all summer and is now not returning my calls. Our short window of opportunity, due to the approaching winter, is quickly closing. Between the lack of contractors in this area, the resistance to coming all the way up to “these hilltowns” and scheduling difficulties due to our programmatic usage needs and short seasonal building opportunities, we find ourselves spending lots of time trying to get things done.

I am grateful for the patience of the health department in allowing us some latitude to get the septic system at Fromson House, the new staff housing location, completed.  The system will be put in place in the next month. The hold up again was a back up in the contractor’s schedule.

This year we sent out several proposals to contractors for building a new camp cabin. We have not had one response. The cabin was to be built in honor of Bert and Mique Weinstein. Bert had been Board President back in the 70s and both had been very active members of Rowe. The family is now considering giving us a Yurt instead, which would also be a great addition to the campus.

We have made arrangements with several electricians to rewire the Chapel. One actually gave us a price and then said he was too busy to take the job when we tried to schedule it. In general this lack of available building folks in this area has become quite frustrating.

Our goals for the coming year are about completion. We intend to complete the projects we have already funded, to put a new floor in the Farmhouse dining room, in order to bring that project to completion, and to bring the Chapel up to as new condition for the celebration of its 100th anniversary next year. And with the continued support of a great staff, we will continue to provide a place for others to come and be rejuvenated through the magic of Rowe.

Vice President’s Report

Holly Thompson - presented by Simon Delekta

As Vice President of the Board, I was responsible this year for recruiting, nominating, and orienting new board members.  I also convened and chaired the Long Range Planning Committee.

Board Recruitment Finding qualified board members has long been a challenge for the Board. Being on the Rowe Board requires a good amount of time, dedication and skill.  Our members commute six times a year from as far away as Boston and New York, and as Rowe has grown financially and professionally, we are increasingly in need of board members who can bring specific skills, such as knowledge of finance and accounting, fundraising and development, and law.

This year, our Board outreach efforts proved to be successful.  We saw a spike in the number of volunteers who joined board committees and regularly attended board meetings in preparation for joining the Board.  Two of these volunteers will be elected to the Board this year, and there are 8 or so other Board candidates who have expressed interest in learning about the Board and attending our meetings this coming year.

I am pleased by the high level of interest in the Board.  We are lucky to have a large pool of Members who are not only skilled and talented, but unusually dedicated to Rowe.  I’m confident that, going forward, the Board will continue to attract high-quality members who have the skills and dedication needed to help Rowe move forward and achieve its goals.

Long-Range Planning This year’s long-range planning process grew out of an Executive Director report.  About a year ago, Douglas told the board that, although Rowe was (and is) in a strong financial position and attendance continued to be near the ten-year average, “people who come to Rowe are growing older and younger people are not replacing them.”  He thought it “would be wise” for the Board to form a Long Range Planning Committee to take a close look at the future of the conference center -- to learn how our members and other constituents view Rowe and to think about what we can do to make sure we can fill our programs well into the future.

The Long Range Planning Committee, which consisted of four board members, three volunteers, Doug, and Felicity, made good progress in getting the long-range planning process started, but not enough was accomplished for us to draw any real conclusions.  The committee decided to start the process by collecting information from a wide range of people about why they come (or don’t come) to Rowe and what it would take to get them to come more often.

Our first strategy was to conduct focus groups.  We developed a focus group questionnaire and interview protocol for interviewers, drafted an invitation letter, scheduled a number of focus groups, and sent out invitations to people on the Rowe mailing list.  Unfortunately, the response was a bit underwhelming.  Of six scheduled focus groups, two groups took place this year.  Another was held just yesterday as part of Members and Friends weekend, and another will take place in the fall.  The focus groups that did happen yielded some insightful impressions and opinions from the “younger set,” but we need more information before we can analyze the data and formulate recommendations about long-term strategies for the conference center.  Those are the next steps in the long-range planning process.

Looking forward, this coming year members of the Long-Range Planning Committee will lead focus groups on the weekends with conference attendees.  The committee will also develop a written survey that we will send out to members and post on the web.  The survey will pose many of the same questions that were asked of focus group members:  what do you love about Rowe, what is getting in the way of you coming to Rowe more often, what should Rowe do to get you to come to Rowe more often, are there specific programs or program leaders you would like to see at Rowe, etc.  A written survey will likely yield a better response rate than the focus groups, as well as both qualitative and quantitative information that can serve as the basis for a long-range plan.

Nominations:

Cathy Perkins - President

Simon Delekta - Vice President

Fred Schoeps - Treasurer

Zack Leven - Clerk

Simon moved to approve the slate. Motion carried unanimously.

President’s Report

Cathy Perkins

The 2005-2006 fiscal year has been very productive.  The current board is very strong, and we have been blessed with a group of enthusiastic and hard-working prospective trustees.  The new slate is made up of individuals who have been volunteering their services for months, and we are glad to welcome them.  Unfortunately, we are losing two board members whose absence will be sorely felt. We wish Holly and Ilana well and hope that they will consider board work later in their lives when the demands of family become more manageable.

Some loose ends from the previous fiscal year were tied up; namely staff housing and the new by-laws.  The new board structure is working well, with committees forming to address issues, and dissolving when their goals are accomplished.  Our energy has been focussed on the Long Range Planning Committee, the Stewardship project, the new Investment Policy, and recruitment of new board members.   The Kim Klein Workshop, which occurs about every two years, always seems to inspire new directions for this board.  This year, it became clear that the Board should be in the lead for fund raising.  We will be working hard to make that happen in the coming year.  There is also much work to do for the Long Range Planning Committee. 

At Holly’s suggestion, we have changed our meeting schedule to concentrate our meetings from October to June and take the summer off.  This should eliminate the loss of momentum that seems to occur in the summer months.  Finally, at Fred’s suggestion, we decided to publish our meeting schedule on the web site.  Well, that was an idea that took on a life of its own.  We will soon have everything about the corporation on the website: the meeting schedule, the minutes of the meetings, board policies, the strategic plan, and the board manual.  I encourage you to check it out!

Treasurer’s Report

Fred Schoeps

OPERATIONS:

Rowe staff consistently demonstrated fiscal responsibility for the year 2005-2006 capably managing and adjusting individual budget line items to control operating expenses while growing income as projected.

DEVELOPMENT:

Through the generosity of our members and friends Rowe staff raised more than $138K.  These contributions are essential to maintain our financial health and cannot be overemphasized.  Development income funds scholarships, new construction and capital improvements.   As a non-profit organization development income is essential to the financial health of the Rowe Camp and Conference Center.

INVESTMENT:

Because of past foresight Rowe invests each year monies for long term financial health through our Investment Committee that provides oversight and direction. Our planning horizon for these funds is ten years and we will continue making such investments next year.  The Investment Committee also guides several endowments -- such as the on-going maintenance of the meditation house and the garden fund.  Specific endowments concretely contribute to the magic that is Rowe and are greatly appreciated.  In the coming year we encourage our members and friends to consider yet another way of creating a legacy as some have already done and include Rowe in their wills.

SUMMARY:

The Board wishes to acknowledge and thank the staff for the results achieved in managing the 2005-2006 budget responsibly.  The attached reports reflect results achieved while the attached 2006-2007 budget provides solid guidance for operations.

Fred moved to accept the budget. Guy seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

By-Laws Committee

Simon Delekta

The last year was a productive one, as the revised bylaws went into effect and the investment committee worked to find an efficient way to manage the organization's investments.  In the coming year there is a lot to be excited for.  As the Board continues to transform from a group that helps with the operation of the organization to a group that oversees there will be some exciting discussions - including long range planning, development and looking at some of the policies that are in place and revising them.  To this end, we have a great group of people on the Board, with a diverse set of skills and backgrounds.  We also, have a number of vacancies on the Board, and as incoming Chair of the Nominating Committee, it will be exciting to work to try and find new people to bring to the Board with new perspectives and skills that will only strengthen the current group.  We hope to have a full Board by this time next year!

Stewardship Committee

Guy Thompson

The Rowe Stewardship Committee met on October 1,2005. The stewards gave their reports and there was some discussion on a number of the items in the reports.

The committee met again on October 2, 2005 and voted on the priorities for the 2005 - 2006 capitol budget.

The top four recommended projects were:

1.         Repair the piers on the Cabins and the Bathhouse stairs.

2.         Replace the septic system for Fromson

3.         Rectify the dampness and water infiltration under the Rec Hall.

4.         Obtain a pickup truck for maintenance.

The rest of the proposed Capitol projects were put on the 2005 – 2006 “Wish List”, To be completed If and when the opportunity and Capitol became available.

The committee then met with Russ Jolly and walked to inspect the Orchard Guest House. The discussed the proposed frost wall and discussed the condition of the piers currently supporting the OGH. The committee voted to recommend proceeding with the frost wall as soon as possible. Hopefully before the winter set in.

Over the course of the year a number of projects were completed or initiated:

1.         A new roof was installed on the Chapel

2.         Insulation and improvements were made under the Rec Hall to reduce the dampness and the danger of freezing in the winter.

3.         Arrangements were made to have Jimmy Williams Install a new septic system at Fromson, Which should happen in the fall of 2006.

4.         Attempts were made to get someone to fix the piers under the cabins and install a frost wall under the OGH. Poor weather conditions and the remoteness of Rowe were reasons given by potential contractors for avoiding the jobs.

5.         A new cabin was designed by Bill Shipsky, but a contractor could not be found to erect the building at a reasonable price.

Investment Committee

Granger Macy

The investment committee has been meeting much of the year to develop a policy on how Rowe's investment funds are handled. The policy defines responsibilities for periodic reviews of investments, the types of investments which are appropriate to make, and defines responsibilities for how monies are  managed - deposits, withdrawals ,and transfers. Much discussion centered on the issues of investment safety and return, deciding on the appropriate types of investments, and where the investments would be housed so that they could be easily managed.

Development Committee

Bob Scheier

At the last Development Committee meeting the committee established five priority areas for the coming fiscal year and they are the following:

1. Providing Camperships

2. Preparing the Chapel for 100th Anniversary

3. Finishing Dining Room Floor

4. Installing Septic System at Fromson House

5. Providing money to fund Stewardship Committee Projects.

We developed a budget to meet these goals. To meet these goals is very exciting, but to actually complete all these projects will mean a stepped up commitment from the entire Board and the Rowe Staff to meet the challenge. Conversely if we don’t have everyone’s commitment, we need to know now so we can revise our plan. So, what does this means in terms of what the board has to raise and how much the staff is committed to rising? Here is a summary of the big figures:

Purpose Budget

•  Staff Housing $20,000

•  Chapel $33,600

•  Dining Room Floor $25,000

•  New Guest House $20,000

•  Total Capital Projects $98,600

•  Board Commitment $80,000

•  Annual Drive $18,600

•  Total Development Budget

•  Felicity Annual Fundraising $143,377 (includes annual drive above)

•  Board $80,000

•  Development Budget for 06/07 $223,377

This will be a stretch for the board and the staff but I think it is obtainable with a concerted effort. It is a goal that is a challenging but not one that is too overwhelming. I hope we can all agree to take this challenge to make Rowe viable for years to come.

Cathy moved to adjourn. Simon seconded. The motion carried unanimously.