Vashon Verité

Well, shucks! Sometimes, you’ve just got to kick back and take inventory, regroup and return bigger and better another year. Such is the case for the Vashon Lavender Festival, which announced to sponsors it will be on hiatus for 2010.

As you’ll recall, 2009 was a blockbuster year for attendance, so it’s not lack of interest at all. Just not the right year. Nuff said.

Come back soon!

Ivan Weiss served Vashon Island Growers Association as its most recent market manager. His job position ended abruptly and he’s not too happy about it. Who can blame him? In a Wednesday email, he spilled it to the entire VIGA subscriber email list. From Ivan’s POV, it does smell a little like foul compost. He writes:

“To my VIGA friends:

I had every intention of returning to serve VIGA, the Farmers Market, and the community as Market Manager for an entire year after having assumed the job in midseason. Certain members of the board apparently have seen things differently.

 With no prior notice, no prior feedback, no performance review, and no hint that my 2010 contract might be in question, they abruptly informed me, after the close of the last Market Day, that my contract was not being renewed, that they were “restructuring the position,” and that I was welcome to apply for it again.

 Where I come from, that’s considered pretty shabby treatment. It’s NOT what I expected from people who purport to represent the island farming community. It’s certainly not how *I* treat people. I think I did a pretty good job considering the complexity of the duties and relationships that are involved. Almost all the vendors with whom I have spoken about this have agreed.

Attached is my version of the events that led to this sad day, and a signed list of the vendors and supporters who had hoped that I would be rehired.

 I loved this job and the Market. I appreciated the opportunity to serve. I remain a paid-up VIGA member, and have been, on and off, for something like 20 years, and that will continue. But certain board members are not the kind of people I care to be associated with any longer. In a just community, their behavior should merit disapproval and censure.

Please feel free to respond, but NOT to this list. That’s not what this list is for. My e-mail address is <ivan.weiss@centurytel.net>. The board’s address is vigaboard@googlegroups.com.  I’m certainly not going to slink away with my tail between my legs over this. I’ll see you all at the Market.”

# # #

Here is the attachment he sent to VIGA. Ivan, props to your writing skills. -h

“Whereas I am no longer under contract to VIGA, I am not subject to any “performance review” by this board. Once I have signed a contract as Market Manager for 2010, this board can evaluate my past work. Until then, I’ll save you all the trouble, and will decline to participate. Barring an offer I can’t refuse, I am not a candidate for the “restructured” position. The expected pay cut after “restructuring” will not buy the Market the level of management it requires, and will not meet my financial needs.

I say this with sadness, but without regret. I loved being the manager of the Vashon Farmers Market. I had looked forward to performing that function for years to come, and to improving constantly.

 But the board never gave me the formal feedback that I needed, and had asked for repeatedly. Three board members decided to sandbag me, and certain others let them do it. I was told abruptly that I would not be renewed—and oh, by the way, there were some “issues.” I felt insulted and trashed by people I trusted and respected. If that was not the intent, it was the effect. Whoever will rationalize  this as “professional” or “standard procedure” will be lying to you.That’s just what they’ll try to do, but don’t believe it. It’s callous, petty behavior, period. It’s not how VIGA should treat people. It doesn’t reflect the will of the vendors, or of the membership, or even the entire board.

Except for outright incompetence or malfeasance, the board is supposed to support, not undermine, the market manager. Terminating a contract without a hint of prior notice or prior review is not support. It is at worst malicious, and at best incompetent. VIGA members should find this objectionable. VIGA has always tried to build good relationships, in good faith. Apparently that’s no longer important here.

This board put out an anonymous “survey” that purported to evaluate my work, rather than using it to have vendors tell me directly what could improve, what should take priority, and, most important, how we could be helping each specific vendor to succeed. The whole survey was just plain DUMB, and how the board handled it was dumber yet. I was in place and could have used that information to be  helping vendors right along. Now relationships with a new manager must be built from scratch, and my experience is wasted. Who thinks this is an effective way to run an organization?

Failure or reluctance to communicate is toxic to any organization. VIGA is no different. I relied on Board members and senior vendors for feedback and guidance, and at crucial moments, responses were not forthcoming, or I got conflicting information, or those who I asked simply did not know the answers. I got more help from Karen Kinney than from this board and my predecessor put together. 

 From 2004 to 2008, I was chairman of a volunteer organization with a membership level ten times the size of VIGA, with a treasury and range of activities to match. So I know how the board of a volunteer nonprofit is supposed to work, OK? I know irresponsibility and nonperformance when I see it.

The present board was elected at the November 8 annual meeting. Except for the two new members, all were holdovers. The board conducted its anonymous survey, had at least one meeting, and an open meeting for the community, before it handed me a letter after the last market of the year, December 12, telling me my contract was not being renewed. In other words, the new board had more than a month to meet with me and review my performance, and it failed to do so. Maybe they can tell you why that is. I sure can’t. Only one word can describe this board’s failure to administer this contract in a timely mamner. That word is INCOMPETENCE.

 Vendors and customers have told me I was a great fit for this position, and I have their oral and written testimony to prove it. Clearly, however, I am not a good fit for the present board. I’d need a more formalized, more robust feedback mechanism written into the next contract before I would work with this board again, and a greater commitment—enforceable, in writing—to a good-faith relationship.

Even after being told my contract would not be renewed, I had hopes of reapplying for it, even for less pay. But no longer. The tipping point came when a vendor who also is a board member told me, in the final week of December, after I had asked for feedback, that she had been dissatisfied with her space allocation. Asked why she hadn’t said so then, there was no answer. This dated back to JULY! Who can do a job properly if people will not volunteer the most basic information? And this is a board member yet? People won’t state their needs forthrightly, and it’s somehow MY problem?

 I can deal with any criticism, and I can fix any faults that anyone finds. I accept responsibility for my actions, and adjust accordingly. But if board members withhold information, then use that as an excuse not to rehire me, the responsibility is theirs. I hope they are satisfied that they have driven an enthusiastic, motivated market manager away in disgust. Members should ask them what we have gained, how it helps the Market prosper to be rid of me, and why these people are on the board in the first place, if this is the best they can do.

I have lived and farmed here for 33 years. I have been a VIGA member for longer than anyone on the present board. I want to keep agriculture viable on Vashon. So I am not going away at all, much less going away quietly.

 The (in)actions by this board in its dealings with me have not helped one more farmer sell one more carrot. If VIGA is to be at all effective in “promoting local agriculture,” then we need a board that is dedicated to that, and not to individual members’personal agendas or petty control trips.

 When I ask why certain things are so,  once in a while I get a decent answer. Most of the time, though, I get: “That’s how we have always done it.” Or “That’s VIGA’s historic mission. It is written.” Clinging blindly to these attitudes will lead to stagnation, irrelevance, and extinction for this Market. 

Maintaining valuable institutional memory is one thing. We need to do that. Making it dogma, and the property of certain “high priests,” is another. How and why we do things must be spelled out in writing for everyone, and cannot remain vague or unstated. If the “old ways” aren’t serving us well, they should be abandoned. We “promote Island agriculture” when vendors MAKE MONEY at the Farmers Market. Everything else is secondary.

 I am grateful to those who hired me as Market Manager, and my treatment by small, petty people  should not outweigh how positive and satisfying it all was. I loved my work and the people at the Market, and most people think I did just fine. Under the right circumstances, I’d gladly do it again. I am part of the Market, and the Market is part of me, and I expect that to continue. Happy New Year.”

Ivan Weiss, PO Box 860 , Vashon WA 98070, (206)463-4647

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, I’ll share that Haiti suffered a terrible earthquake and thousands have died.

Bob’s Bakery on Vashon Island is donating 100% of its next two Sunday profits (Jan. 17, 24)  to aid organizations that will help provide food, shelter and other assistance to the victims of this natural disaster.

Way to go, Bob’s!

Erin Kenny of Cedarsong Nature School has so much knowledge of local flora and fauna, you’d never starve if you took one of her classes. You’ve read her columns in the Beachcomber, read articles about how her immersion programs have profoundly affected some autistic children, and are probably aware she offers walks and intensives from time to time. Well, the time is coming!

Thank you to Bill Rowe, the poolmaster of Vashon Athletic Club and simultaneous kitchen manager of The Harware Store Restaurant. You see, twice a year the pool goes through a big ole clean-out which he masterminds. I have tried to keep a swimming habit and when I went for my swim not too long ago I completely forgot the pool was closed for maintenance, even though Bill had warned me in advance (as had the club signs). I was left high and dry, literally!

Now, it’s open and gorgeous and without murk. The only buzzkill about going for a swim has nothing to do with the facilities; the downer I find are the people who fail to honor the protocol that’s posted (I tell ya, I read that stuff. I care. I follow it, when it’s posted!).

Let me preface this by saying I have a pesky little neurological condition that makes swimming pretty much the only form of serious exercise my body can presently handle. Swimming is, in essence, my means to longevity, the way I see it. I gotta get in there for the benefit of my nervous system, endurance, strength, etc. (That and samba!) So I go, and when it’s crowded, I wait my turn. When it’s busy, and in winter it is VERY busy, I observe people will:

1. Bamboozle their way into lanes ahead of those waiting…no regard or respect (see Rodney Dangerfield!). Nobody wants a confrontation so we just tend to wait more.
2. They’ll swim in the water-walking lane. FYI it’s the outer half of the ”stair lane” nearest the locker room entrance.
3. They’ll get in the pool without really soaking down their hair and bods (have you ever tasted someone’s shampoo, or perfume, or lotion while sharing a lane? It is truly disgusting!).
4. They’ll slip in the lane with you without the courtesy of a visual or tactile cue, making you the full-body-contact target by default.
5. They’ll let loose their beautiful mermaid hair that needs to be tucked in/tied up/held back, not splayed out (lest Bill’s hard work be damned!).
6. Exceed 30 minutes, despite the crowd. When nobody else is around, no matter, prune out. Bask in the chlorine glow!

Show the love. Read the rules. Follow them and don’t make people who try to do so feel stupid. Think Post. Think Vanderbilt. If all else fails, have a great swim!

Riddle me this: If our Island has a population of 9,000 (or 10k on a summer day), and there are approximately 20 known residents with clinically definite Multiple Sclerosis, and only one in about 1,000 are typically diagnosed with MS worldwide, wouldn’t that make Vashon a cluster area? Some information on MS and cluster clues can be found here. Some studies suggest these are geographic areas lacking Vitamin D; others suggest it’s environmental factors such as industrial fallout. All I know is there are too many folks suffering, and there must be an answer out there somewhere.

George looks over his evening eats for a sold out dinner Saturday

carnivore's delight: la boucherie's prix fixe fixins on fiyah!

Saturday La Boucherie enjoyed a sold out crowd at its $75 prix fixe dinner. If you were in a one-block radius of Vashon market it was nearly impossible to NOT smell that barbecue goodness. On the hand forged spit and rotisserie were a leg of beef and two chickens. The beef cooked all darn day. It was treat to check out!

Islander Cathy Fulton is giving you three, count ‘em, three months to get ready for a workshop that puts politics where your mouth is. If you’ve read any books by Michael Pollan, Raj Patel, etc., this will interest you. She writes:

I know this is a bit in advance, but mark your calendars for March 5-7, 2010 to attend the Vashon Island Food Summit. Billed “…for people who eat,” it will be a conference style summit in which all Islanders can explore ways to eat better­-both for themselves and their families and for the Island as a whole. The summit will feature guest speakers, panel discussions, workshops on a variety of topics, good food, and some surprises! There will be three workshop tracks:

Raising Food

Acquiring and Preparing Food

The Food Economy

Raising food and food preparation will be key areas of information. We will also explore how the way we eat is ultimately a political act and we will learn ways to “vote with our forks.”
 
Current co-sponsors of the event include Sustainable Vashon, Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA), the Food Security Working Group, and VashonBePrepared. We expect more co-sponsors to join us soon. If we receive enough funding to meet our expenses, admission to the entire weekend will be free!
 
I am sending this to you now, to encourage you to become involved in the weekend event in a way that will be rewarding for you. We have a “Call for Presenters” out asking for proposals for our break-out sessions: workshops, demonstrations, educational displays, and more. There are also lots of volunteer opportunities as well. Go to our web site to learn more about our call for presentations and/or volunteering for the event:  http://mariposagardens.org/FoodSummit

If you have any questions, please contact one of the Food Summit co-chairs:
Cathy Fulton <cathy@MariposaGardens.org> 463-5652
Jessica Lisovsky <triling@mindspring.com> 463-1941
Emily MacRae <egmacrae@yahoo.com> 408-7072

Thank You!
Cathy Fulton
Mariposa Gardens

Good boys. Trails look great! We collected thousands. Seriously.

A smiling, toothless, army-trench-wearing Merlin hawks Real Change newspapers at 6th and Olive in Downtown Seattle, near my office. We started a friendly banter not too long ago because even from the 14th floor, I can hear him hollering (and breaking my concentration!) like the old school hawkers–and I told him so; he bested me by saying someone on the 17th floor can hear him, too.  This week, “for my troubles,” he insisted I take the latest issue because it was a good one.  The headline story opened a scab for Vashon, just a little. It was entitled “Living in a State of Denial,” and the story’s first two words were “Vashon Island.”

Micheal Specter was the center of the article. This author of his recently published book, “Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens Our Lives,” rekindles the national sensation caused by reporter and colleague Donald McNeil seven years ago in his story for the New York Times citing a fact that 20 percent of Island parents declined to vaccinate their children. 

In the Real Change interview, he goes on to call the autism-vaccination link total misinformation, and those who buy into it “willfully ignorant” and the notion “very damaging to the kids.”

Other topics in Specter’s interview (and book)  include medical advancements and the role of race in genetic predispositions, the aversion to genetically modified food and imminent starvation based on population growth (and the need to yield more from the land we already have), and Big Pharma’s persuasive direct-to-consumer advertising, among others. Sounds a little like Raj Patel’s “Stuffed and Starved” to me mixed with other hot button issues.

Check it out!