LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Matters |
by Murray Archibald |
Looking Ahead: a 2010 Odyssey The recent dedication and grand opening of the new wing of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center was a great event, and a well covered one in this magazine. It was also a pivotal point for us as an organization and in years to come, I'm sure, we will look back on these days as a period of great inspiration both in our focus and in our vision for the future. CAMP Rehoboth the organization, has played a large role in shaping the nature of our community over the last two decades; CAMP Rehoboth the Community Center will continue to do the same in the future, but the addition of our much larger, multi-functional gathering space is creating both new opportunities and new issues for us as an organization. Over the last year, I've written several times about the new committee structure of CAMP Rehoboth and the many individuals who are pitching in to do the work of maintaining a facility and grounds of our size and complexity. The truth is, this year is going to continue to be one of great experimentation for us as we learn what works and what doesn't, and as we seek to both operate and create programs for our new space. In 2010 we will launch a new Long Range Planning Team to take a strategic look at where we need to go as an organization. Our hope is that by not starting that process until next year, we will have had sufficient time to "live-in" our new space and understand the full scope of our new facilities. Remember when 2010 was "the future?" Arthur C. Clarke's sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey2010: Odyssey Two firmly anchored that date in our heads as a time that we would call "future." Future is never future for very long, of course, and shortly that future will briefly blaze in the now and move ever so swiftly into the past. Almost, before we can even appreciate it, 2010 will exist only in that old fashioned, somewhat out-of-date, sepia-colored attitude we call yesterday. Facebook, twittermedia and communication beyond the imagining of those of us who started CAMP Rehoboth almost 20 years agowe are living in a world so fast paced, almost the very moment we learn of a new trend or fad it becomes outdated. Unless we take the time to stop and analyze it, the progression from future to past becomes nothing more than life lived, and because we're so busy living it, barely noticed at that. How then to we plan ahead? How then do we create a successful future for an organization like CAMP Rehoboth that in many ways is unique and certainly doesn't exactly match anything around iteven other LGBT Community Centers and organizations. From leadership to facilities, programming to financial and event planning the work of CAMP Rehoboth is never done. My part of it has always been about the futureabout seeing possibilities. Artists and designers, at whatever the task or in whatever their field, are challenged to see something uniqueand to help create a vision that will sketch an outline for something new, something unseen. Last season's beautifully produced film Milk was about the past. It was about a time period I lived through, a time I remember wellor believed I remembered well until I saw the film. What a different and horrifying world it would be for us if Prop 6 had passed in California. I guess time had dulled the meaning of it all for meand understandably so, I suppose, as the first years of the AIDS epidemic suddenly grabbed all our attention and energy away from everything else. Still, the past shows us what the future could be and reminds us that if we do not take the time or make space in our lives for the kind of creative and visionary exploration that leads future innovation, we will not stay relevant. Anticipating what the future will bring is less reliable than even a beach weather forecast, but we do know that one of the key factors up for discussion in next year's planning process concerns leadership of this organization and how well we plan for the day when Steve and I step down or are no longer able to do our jobs. One of my own goals for creating the CAMP Leadership Council was to provide fertile ground for the development and growth of new and younger leaders, and to add more voices to both the process and its evaluation. Between now and January, the CAMP Rehoboth Human Resources Committee will select several community members to serve on the 2010 Long Range Planning Committee. There is a selection process, but anyone with experience in the field of strategic planning who would like to be considered should talk to our Human Resources Community Representatives Chris Beagle or Gwen Osborne about the process. Besides developing leadership for the future, other issues that will almost certainly be included in the 2010 discussions include: long term financial security, understanding the needs of the LGBT community (both locally and on a national scale), the role of CAMP Rehoboth in our changing world, understanding staffing and volunteer needs, evaluation and development of programs and activities, communications and technology development and analysis, and long term care and maintenance of the physical buildings and grounds of our CAMPus. An odyssey is an extended journey, and this CAMP trip we've been on for almost 20 years is far from over. 2010 is just the launch pad for a brand new future. Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Thank you to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period of June 5-June 18 Sondra Arkin Carl Armideo John Barnard Bill Bernhart Billy Bonn Tony Burns Harvey Chasser Ron Childress Sandra Clark Becky Craft Paul Fessler Corky Fitzpatrick Kathy Fitzpatrick Nan Flesher Mark Hodski Tony Ghigi Bob Ireland Mike Kelly Grant Kingswell Spencer Kingswell Paula Kovarcik Charlie Lee Chelsey Leffet Otis Marechaux Bob Nagy Sally Packard Stephen Palmer Anthony Perkins Bruce Pfeufer Steve Proctor Joie Rake Barb Ralph Ken Reilly Judy Rosenstein Chris Sampson William Tallent Linda Yingst Rainbow Thumb Club Matt Carey Ward Ellinger Rob Freeman Tony Ghigi Steve Hoult Bill Jones Danny Martin Bud Palmer Stephen Palmer Ken Reilly Tom White |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19, No. 07 June 19, 2009 |