FALL 2016
In This Issue
Upcoming 
Trainings & Activities 
From Darlene's Desk   
40 years of participatory problem solving. 40 years of being a leader in the field of community mediation. Community Boards sure has a lot to celebrate!  We're planning a calendar of events including a very exciting 40th Anniversary Party on December 3.  Please be sure to RSVP.

These are our other anniversary activities:
  • Conducting a Volunteer Satisfaction Survey.  We'll also convene several Focus Groups for you to sit down and have face-to-face conversations to share your input and feedback.
     
  • Partnering with StoryCorps to memorialize Community Boards' history and the voices of former staff, volunteers, and innovators who've made Community Boards a pioneer in the field of community mediation.
     
  • Creating a critical, five-year Strategic Plan that will help us envision programmatic direction and development.
     
  • Launching a new Community Boards Legacy Society, which we hope you will join.
     
  • Developing a new Community Boards Archive.  If you have any historic photographs or materials, please contact Jim Garrison at jgarrison@communityboards.org.

As we honor Community Boards' history, we're also seeking to sustain our legacy. In late October, we'll ask you to contribute to our $40 for 40 Legacy Campaign.  Our goal: raise $4000 by the year's end. Please join us and give what you can to sustain Community Boards' unique and important services.

In 1976 Community Boards revolutionized the social justice movement with a grassroots experiment in participatory peacemaking and problem solving.  It's an experiment that has stood the test of time.  Forty years later, Community Boards continues to thrive.  We are so grateful to YOU for being a part of our communal history.

With gratitude and thanks,
Darlene

#1:  Chuck Regal, Volunteer of the Quarter  
I took the Community Boards mediation training in 1977 -- the very first one!   I later worked at CB from 1983 to 2006, first as a community organizer, then soon after I became a case manager. A case manager in those days also did intakes, panel coordination, outreach, and training.   In 1998 I became the Program Director and five years later I briefly served as Co-Executive Director with Rebecca Araiz-Iverson. Today I volunteer as a Coach at the Basics of Mediation trainings.

I continue to volunteer because the work is just as exciting today as it was when I first joined. I'm sure many of you have had the same joy and satisfaction after a successful mediation that I still have.

I'm still inspired by the vision and values of our late fantastic founder, Raymond Shonholtz: a viable alternative "justice system" delivered by community members from all walks of life.

Our process and organization of remarkable volunteers, staff and trainers who unfailingly make this process available to others, make Community Boards a societal treasure and one of the truly bright spots on earth.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Community Boards!  

#2: CB Designated a SF Legacy Business   
On August 8, the Small Business Commission voted to make Community Boards one of the first nonprofits entered into SF's new Prop J Legacy Business Registry.  

We're pleased and proud that the city acknowledged our many contributions in making San Francisco a safer and healthier place to live and work.

In 2015 the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously established the Legacy Business registry for businesses and nonprofits operating for 30+ years.  Awardees must also have contributed to SF's cultural and historic identity.  Voters then passed Prop J, which funded this registry.

We want to thank Regina Dick-Endrizzi, Richard Kurylo, and Marianne Mazzucco Thompson of the Office of Small Business for their work and assistance.

#3: Throwback Thursdays
40th Anniversary Facebook "Time Capsule" Album  

Community Boards has a rich 40-year history.  We'll be commemorating our legacy throughout the coming year.  Starting in October, we'll be regularly posting images on Throwback Thursdays to a new album.
  
This album will be  mix of photographs, art work, posters, newspaper articles, and other historical treasures.  We invite you to add comments, thoughts, and personal rememberences. 

If you haven't already, please remember to 'like' CB on FACEBOOK.
 
1982
1995
 
1987 
1979
 
Above is a small sample of what to expect.
#4: Center for Human Development  
Center for Human Development (CHD), one of our BAACM partners, was founded in 1972.  CHD's work centers on creating healthier and safer East Bay communities.  Their two offices in Concord and Antioch provide a spectrum of services aimed at preventing chronic diseases and violence leading to shorter life expectancy.  CHD's services address the high risk of illness, conflict, and injury experienced by individuals and families.

In addition, CHD focuses on community level strategies to address the ongoing concerns and issues that affect wellness.  They run multiple conflict resolution programs that serve diverse populations:  Community Mediation, Family and Community Reunification, Guardianship Mediation, and Elder Mediation.

Like Community Boards, CHD receives critical funding through California's Dispute Resolution Programs Act.  Learn more here: Center for Human Development.

#5: Board of Directors, President's Update
The Board of Directors has been in action since the beginning of our new fiscal year. On July 28, we held a new board member orientation for our two newest board members, Roosevelt Callahan and Jocelyn Koo. We're so excited to have their new energy and ideas!

On July 30, we held a Board Member Training Retreat where our board members soaked in knowledge from fantastic guest trainers on topics ranging from Fundraising & Development, Balancing Communication and Efficiency to Board Recruitment & Engagement. We're very grateful to our trainers: Charlie Spiegel, Michael Tobriner, and Darian Heyman.

Kyra Millich, Board Vice President, is enthusiastically engaged in recruiting new Board Members through the end of this calendar year. If you are interested, please email Kyra at kmillich@gmail.com.

The most exciting news is that several members of our Board spoke at the Small Business Commission hearing on behalf of Community Boards' Legacy Business application to receive designation as a Legacy Business. We succeeded!

As always, thanks for all you do to make ours a more healthy and peaceful community.

R. Kamela Laird
Board President