The77 !AnnualMeetingofthe! FerryBeachParkAssociation! · 2019-05-11 · 1 !!!!!...
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1 The 77 th Annual Meeting of the Ferry Beach Park Association June 16, 2013 5 Morris Ave., Saco, Maine 04072 2072824489 year round office www.ferrybeach.org
Transcript of The77 !AnnualMeetingofthe! FerryBeachParkAssociation! · 2019-05-11 · 1 !!!!!...
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The 77th Annual Meeting of the Ferry Beach Park Association
June 16, 2013
5 Morris Ave., Saco, Maine 04072 207-‐282-‐4489 year round office
www.ferrybeach.org
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Ferry Beach Park Association June 16, 2013 Annual Meeting
AGENDA
11:00 AM. Gathering: Ferry Beach Songs & Pictures Ellie Rolnick, Musician Opening Words, Covenant & Right Relationships Paul Provencher, President Cindy Baker, Moderator Invocation and Chalice Lighting Cindy Baker Necrology Cathy Stackpole, Executive Director Approval of Minutes of 2012 Annual Meeting Marty Burgess, Secretary Nominating Committee Report Brad Cohen, Nominating Committee Chair Election of Officers, Directors and Nominating Committee Voice Vote Installation of Officers, Directors & Committee Members Paul Provencher & Brad Cohen Recognition of Key Volunteers Paul Provencher & Cathy Stackpole Submission of President’s Report Paul Provencher Submission of Treasurer’s Report Carolyn Hodges Submission of Stewardship Report Cyd Melcher Executive Director’s Report Cathy Stackpole Closing Words and Benediction Cindy Baker & Rev. Elaine Bomford Closing Songs and Luncheon Ellie Rolnick
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Ferry Beach Park Association 2012 Necrology
Rev. Raymond Hopkins
Diana Murray Humphreys
Wendy Kinzler
William DeWitt Metz
Marcia Rogers Payson
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Ferry Beach Park Association 76h Annual Meeting Minutes
September 2, 2012
Ferry Beach Annual Meeting September 2, 2012 Minutes Opening Words were read by Paul Provencher Opening Invocation by Fayre The names were read of Ferry Beachers who passed away in 2012 by Fayre It was reported that there were 774 members, 35 annual members, and 739 life members There was a pitch for sustaining members Steve Onacki reported that there was one amendment to the the past minutes on page 4 where it stated that this was Lydia Gibbs 2nd term. It should be changed to read as her first term. There were no other changes to the minutes and the minutes were accepted. Valerie acknowledged Steve Onacki's 11 years of service on the board and that this was his last report as secretary. Nominating Committee-‐Carol reported that Anne Falkowski was new secretary, Carolyn Hodges was Treasurer, Paul Riechmann was serving his 2nd term as Director. All Voted Yes. By-‐Laws Report Correction made to Section 9. Scratch out section that has the Executive Director's Role. Cyd Melcher is the By-‐Laws Task Force Coordinator. Lydia Gibb, Rev Payson, Cindy Baker, Paul Provencher, Bob Brick and Cathy Stackpole reviewed and contributed to this report. Phase 1-‐Addressed inconsistencies and redundancies. Changes are to be voted on. Phase 2-‐ will address finances, clarification of membership, and the election of directors and officers. Also accessibility issues and policies that need to be put in place to address such issues. There was discussion. Life membership definition was clarified. Also discussion on the wording of "at least six weeks before the meeting" combined with the wording, " May 1st notification." It was agreed to strike out the language on or before May 1st. Discussion on Quorum-‐clarified in Article 1X 5% of those who have petitioned for the meeting need to be there. Also questions on, "What is a member in good standing?" There was a vote whether to end discussion or continue. Discussion ended.
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Voted yes to add language with "member of good standing of FBPA." 52 voted yes and 20 voted no. It was voted to pass the bylaws as amended. There was an acknowledgement of Search Committee. Paul Provencher gave the Presidents Report. "All great changes are preceded by chaos." Deepak Chopra Paul stated that we have been faced with difficult times and things weren't easy but that Ferry Beach met the challenges. The first challenge was getting interim leadership and that was met with Bob Brick and then the next challenge was longer term leadership and that has been met with Cathy Stackpole. But the real challenge is the long term challenge. Who is going to lead Ferry Beach? We have to develop young people. We have to learn how to use technology. We need to have long term financial plans to guarantee FB is here one hundred years from now. Carolyn Hodges gave the Treasurer's Report A new audit firm was put in place in January of 2012. She stated that we are in the negative but she was not overly concerned because there are very specific steps that we can take to address the negative cash flow. This includes increasing our line of credit or increasing stewardship. Also we are not utilizing the campus fully and doing so will take us out of deficit. Cathy Stackpole gave a talk: There was an advantage to her being an outsider this summer. She saw things from a different vantage point. Think of Ferry Beach as having the potential for a pot of gold but we need to have a fast car. This means 1. Financials 2. Technology 3. Marketing and 4. Leadership-‐how do we bring more youth in? Cathy asked Ferry Beach members, "Who are we?" How do other people view Ferry Beach. She believes we do not have a clear impression. The world is about marketing sound bites. How do we tell our story. We have to revisit our brand. We need to brand refresh. Non-‐profits rejuvenate with this. Ferry Beach needs a simple mission statement that captures hearts and minds. Cathy states that our mission statement is too long. We need to be clear about our core. This will not only help us sell ourselves but also decide which programs to choose to best fit us. Cathy asked, "What is the Ferry Beach Brand?" She gave some words to ponder on. Reunion, communion, family, renewal, transformation, creativity, universalism, and community. Cathy stated that she will foster leadership and help us to document clear guidelines and expectations for ministers, musicians, coordinators, staff, etc. She stated that she sees the need for us to hold one another accountable by creating clear training for our coordinators and volunteers. She is here to help us commit to our core beliefs.
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With regards to marketing, Cathy stated that we need to look at web design and social media. We need to market to targeted groups such as congregations. Financially, we need to take calculated risks, and access which risks boost our numbers and which do not. She will propose 2 and 3 day workshops and one signature fund-‐raising event per year. Cathy stated that financial changes will take time. We first have to change attitude and culture. She ended with a quote, "Playing small does not serve us." Let's work together.
(End of 2012 Minutes)
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Ferry Beach Park Association Nominating Committee Report
To: Paul Provencher, President, Ferry Beach Park Association From: Brad Cohen, Chair, Nominating Committee Re: Slate for 2013 Elections Date: April 23, 2013 The Nominating Committee for the 2013 Ferry Beach Park Association elections included myself, Gary Adams, Carol Rose Thompson, Rev. Wendy von Zirpolo, and Rick DeWolfe, board liaison. Members serve for a single three-‐year term. Wendy von Zirpolo was appointed mid-‐year to fill a vacancy created by recent revisions to the bylaws. We began our work during the Fall of 2012 by exploring ways to make the nominations process open, inclusive and transparent. We committed to reach beyond the Ferry Beachers we knew as individuals, so we asked all Ferry Beachers to suggest potential candidates. We created an application process open to all members and posted it publicly on the Ferry Beach website. We set our sights beyond simply this year’s election, but to the long term needs of our community with an eye to nurturing future leadership. We developed a confidentiality statement in order to ensure honest discussion and foster right relationships. Members logged many hours together on Skype and additional hours writing materials, reaching out, reading applications and interviewing candidates. Universally, every potential candidate we talked with demonstrated a truly inspiring love and commitment to Ferry Beach. We are fortunate to be part of such a strong community. As a result of this process, we are pleased to submit an outstanding slate of nominees. Their bios are on the following pages.
President: Paul Provencher, 2nd term (2013-‐2016) Vice President: Barbara Crowley, 1st term (2013-‐2016) Director: Stephen Fogg, 1st term (2013-‐2016) Director: Jaime Lederer, 2nd term (2013-‐2016) Director: Cyd Melcher, 1st term (2013-‐2016) Director: Ron Willett, 1st term (2013-‐2016) Nominating Committee: Rick DeWolfe (2013-‐2016) Nominating Committee: Wendy von Zirpolo (2013-‐2016)
On behalf of the Committee, I would like to express heartfelt appreciation to Carol Rose Thompson, who is concluding three years of service on the Nominating Committee. Carol led with her heart, and we all benefited from her contributions. We thank all the members of our Ferry Beach community who stepped forward to be considered. You represent the heart of Ferry Beach and we hope you will each continue to be involved in making the Beach the spiritual home it has been for generations.
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Ferry Beach Park Association Bios for 2013-‐2016 slate
Paul Provencher: President 2013-‐2016 Paul is a long time Ferry Beach member. He has attended Work Weeks I & II, Connecticut Valley District (then Clara Barton District), Yoga, Photography, Kayaking, and has enjoyed Vacationing at Ferry Beach as well. Paul is a member of the Springfield, MA Unitarian Universalist congregation and has served on their Board. He also served as Treasurer of the Board of the Connecticut Valley District for seven years up to the district merger with the Clara Barton District. In his professional life he is a Financial Advisor operating his own practice, serving clients throughout New England. Barbara Crowley: Vice President 2013-‐2016 Barbara first came to Ferry Beach in 1985 during the CVD Family week. Her children were then 2 and 4 years old. They moved to Maine the following year and continued to come to Ferry Beach both for summer conferences and during the off-‐season. The children came of age in the Maine UU Youth weekend conferences. For the last ten years she has been an avid fan of Quilting by the Bay, and has found the Beach to be a place of rest, reflection, and creative change. She is proud to be a sustaining member of Ferry Beach. After helping with the search for Ferry Beach's newest Executive Director, Barbara says she was pleased to be asked to serve on the Board and to help continue the work of enlivening and actualizing our UU principles at the Beach and in the world. Having worked as a pediatrician most of her working life, Barbara is now a full time health system administrator working to reform health care in her community of Manchester, Maine. Steven Fogg: Director 2013-‐2016 Steve is nearly a life long UU and has been a Ferry Beacher since the mid-‐1980s when the family would camp in the Grove for a week each summer. His wife, Carolee Anderson, has been a Ferry Beacher her entire life and it was thanks to her that he became acquainted with Ferry Beach. Both kids, Tyler (28) and Emma (24), grew up in the children and youth camps. Steve has been on staff of Different Drummers and FUUTURE youth camps, and has served as co-‐coordinator as well. Steve has been an active member of the UU Society of Wellesley Hills, MA for over 20 years, and has also served on a variety of committees. Presently he is on the House and Grounds Committee and Green Sanctuary Committee, and recently took over as Chair of the H&G Committee. Professionally, Steve is a registered professional engineer in Massachusetts and has been the Town Engineer in Weston, MA for 12 years. His interest in serving on the Ferry Beach Board of Directors is to be able to give back to the place that has provided so much growth and support for his family over the years.
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Jaime Lederer: Director 2013-‐2016 Jaime has been a Ferry Beacher for more than 20 years and is a Life Member. She attended Good Connections, Different Drummers, and Teen Life Issues conferences as a youth and worked for two summers on the crew. She lives in Cambridge, MA. As a result of her participation in strong UU youth programming both in her church and at the district level, she has chosen a career path focused on community and youth development. She has a Masters in Social Work and a Masters in Public Health from Boston University and currently works as a Program Director at Teen Empowerment, a non-‐profit based in Boston. She is delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the Board to ensure Ferry Beach continues to have a positive impact on the lives of current and future Ferry Beachers. Cyd Melcher: Director 2013-‐2016 Cyd and her family live in Three Rivers, Massachusetts. They have been coming to Ferry Beach since 1997 when Cyd attended RE Week in her capacity as Director of Religious Education at St. Paul's Universalist Church in Palmer, MA. Since then they have attended Work Week, Homecoming, and Clara Barton District Week where Cyd and her husband, Dave Basler, each served as Co-‐Coordinators. Cyd has served as a Booster in two UU congregations. Her eldest stepdaughter, Erin, has served on crew and Cyd's daughter, Meredith, will follow in her footsteps this summer. Cyd joined the Ferry Beach Board of Directors in 2009, first as Chair of the Stewardship Committee and now, in addition, she is Vice President and Chair the Bylaws Review Task Force. Cyd, Dave, and Meredith have been Life Members since 2010 and became Sustaining Life Members not long after that. Cyd is currently a member of the Church of the Larger Fellowship and calls Ferry Beach her spiritual home. In "real life" she is Executive Director of the World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, a small nonprofit membership organization in Springfield, MA, which provides events and programs on international affairs and current events for adults and students. She would like another term on the Ferry Beach Board because she wants to “continue the work we have been doing to encourage members and friends of Ferry Beach to make regular, sustained contributions to the organization's upkeep -‐ Not simply to the exciting capital projects like putting up buildings, but to underwrite the day to day cost of the Beach.” Cyd thinks the Board has made progress in this realm in the last few years, and looks forward to more progress to come. Ron Willet: Director 2013-‐2016 Ron grew up in central Texas and moved to Washington, DC as a young man after law school. He says the general practice of law and life as a Gay man in a homophobic culture were two things that did not suit him. Ron held various positions in the US Dept. of Labor during his 30 year career in the Federal government in DC. He retired in 2010 and moved to Lowell, MA where he now lives with his spouse, Bill. Ron and Bill are both Ferry Beach Life Members and active participants in GAYLA. Ron first came to GAYLA in 2001. He knew nothing about GAYLA, Ferry Beach, or Unitarian Universalism. A friend convinced him to come, assuring an enjoyable, restorative week away from Ron's stressful job. In addition to rest and new friends, Ron experienced a spiritual-‐development connection at GAYLA. During morning chapel on the last day of the conference, Ron picked up a Seven Principles card that had been left
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on a pew. He says “when I picked it up and read it I instantly realized I had found something of great importance ... I had not even been aware that I was in need and in search of people with such principles.” Ron says there is hardly any aspect of his life that has not grown in new directions as a result of coming to Ferry Beach. Ron has been an active UU since 2002, is a facilitator/teacher of Sacred Circle Dance (which he learned about at FB), and has been active in 12-‐step recovery for 25 years. He was among the founders of the Triangle Club in Washington, a non-‐profit meeting space for Gay/Lesbian groups of 12-‐step fellowships, and served on the Club’s initial Board of Directors for a few years, acting as Secretary during part of that time. Ron has also served on the Board of the Dept. of Labor Fitness Assn., including time as Secretary, and on the Session (governing body) of a Presbyterian church in Washington. Ron believes this is an exciting time to be part of the Ferry Beach family, and is looking forward to being part of the efforts to make Ferry Beach work even better for even more visitors. Rick DeWolfe: Nominating Committee 2013-‐2016 Rick resides in North Calais, Vermont. He has two sons, Reid and Jack. They are all Life Members. Rick is the president of DeWolfe Engineering Associates, Inc., a civil and structural engineering firm working in New England and the mid-‐atlantic states. Rick is a third generation Ferry Beacher who concludes his service as a Ferry Beach Board Director this year. He brought to the Board a wealth of knowledge from his 30 years of experience in the construction and engineering business. Rick’s personal goal of preserving the Beach for future generations continues as he looks forward to serving on the Nominating Committee. Wendy von Zirpolo: Nominating Committee 2013-‐2016 Wendy is a 3rd and 4th generation New England Unitarian Universalist. She was ordained into UU Ministry in 2005 after receiving her Masters of Divinity from Boston University. She has served as Ferry Beach Board President, President of UU Allies for Racial Equity, member of the UUA Accessibilities Committee, founding member of the UUA GA Right Relationship Committee, and currently chairs the UUA Journey Toward Wholeness Transformation Committee. Wendy first came to Ferry Beach as a new Director of Religious Education, and went on to coordinate that week for several years. She has also served as Minister of the Week for a family week and our youth camps. Wendy has four adult children, all living between Washington, DC and Massachusetts. She serves the UU Congregation of Marblehead, MA, lives in Gloucester, MA and spends as much time as possible in Traverse City, MI where she shares a home with her partner, Gini Courter.
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Ferry Beach Park Association 2013 President's Report Paul Provencher This is the second year in a 2-‐year term as your President. At last year's Annual Meeting, we discussed a number of changes in our facilities, in our staff, and how we were going to operate our programs going forward. At that time, I quoted Deepak Chopra: “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” I find this to still be true at Ferry Beach. The beautiful thing about chaos is the seemingly infinite number of possible outcomes that may arise out of it. I was contemplating what to write for this report during a 3 hour drive from my home in Massachusetts to Ferry Beach. Thinking about this report, I looked out the rear view mirror and considered what had been accomplished in the last year. Looking through the rear view mirror shows us where we have been. A lot is back there, but it is a restricted and a short-‐term view of the past. In Ferry Beach's rear view mirror we see a year's worth of changes: the securing of our permanent, long-‐term leadership with Cathy Stackpole just beginning her role of Executive Director; improvements occurring around the campus; the establishment of new operating policies; some people coming to Ferry Beach for the first time, some from far away places; our by-‐laws were approved and we continued to operate with as much transparency as possible; our financial situation began to stabilize; and a healthy number of members became sustaining members, providing Ferry Beach with dependable financial support. During the past year, Ferry Beach focused on the use of technology. As a result, we have a new registration program. It isn't perfect yet, but it is an improvement. The website has seen numerous improvements with more pictures, newsletters, postings, and a blog for discussion to occur. We have worked to develop a few new leaders and add them to our Board and committees. This is a continual challenge. Ferry Beach also continued to maintain its commitments to past leaders. With the recent death of Rev. Ray Hopkins, the 40-‐year joint agreement to provide him with housing has come to an end. His former home will provide us with both opportunities and challenges in the future as we make plans for that building. As I look forward through my imaginary Ferry Beach windshield at the road ahead, there is so much to consider as the future looks bright and we have so many possibilities. I am reminded of a quote from Mother Teresa: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Let us begin. Begin where, though? As I think of visioning the future I think about what Ferry Beach could look like in 5 or 10 years. What are the possibilities? The road ahead has not yet been traveled. We must pave the way, and we must participate in a visioning process so that we pave with intention. I've broken down some of the possibilities into four categories: the physical plant, leadership, programming, and finances. Physical Plant
• The Grove becomes a preferred campsite with new and sparkling bathrooms; and sewer, water, and electrical hook-‐ups.
• Solar panels are located on every roof and they are used to heat our buildings in the cold seasons. The solar panels generate enough electrical power to sometimes sell it back to the electric grid.
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• Since we are on the coast and we live with wind, we could have one or more wind turbines on campus to generate power. This is a project developed with a major research University to educate students and the general public of the benefits of wind turbine options.
• Ferry Beach becomes a University affiliate with a wave power research program. • Working with the Army Corps of Engineers, state of Maine and local officials, the dunes on our
beach are raised to a level where a breach is not such a large threat in the future. • More residential and program space is developed on our campus to enable more people to enjoy
Ferry Beach's wonderful spirit and activities. • Ferry Beach develops a second campus for programs & activities in case our ocean front property
is compromised by a large storm like Sandy which hit New York & New Jersey. This could be an old Boy Scout or Girl Scout camp somewhere inland in Maine.
• The local Gun Club moves to a location where they don’t break the wonderful peace of a Sunday morning at Ferry Beach.
Leadership
• We are diverse in age, gender, life experience, and abilities. • We document the history of our organization for the benefit of our future leaders. • The focus shifts from 'who can we get to volunteer?' to 'what are the skills and experiences Ferry
Beach needs and wants?' • We are able to use our leadership experiences to teach and develop numerous future leaders in
our environments back home (e.g., church, schools or work places). • Continually looking toward the future, our leaders develop a 50-‐year plan for Ferry Beach. They
have a vision. Programming
• Winter season retreats and workshops are held consistently. • Ferry Beach becomes the premier “retreat” facility for New England UU districts and other related
programs. • Local businesses and groups view Ferry Beach as a peaceful and appropriate location for their
business meetings. • Because of our beauty, peacefulness, and welcoming environment we become a “Wedding
Destination Site” for all kinds of couples. • Ferry Beach is developed into a “Life Span Learning Center” to benefit the local population in
conjunction with local colleges and Universities. This would take advantage of the increasing number of people over age 60 who may want to be involved in life long learning experiences.
• We provide programs for young people, empowering and encouraging them to take charge of their own lives and not have them controlled by others.
• Ferry Beach branded programs are held at off-‐campus sites throughout New England. Financial
• Ferry Beach has a culture of abundance and of generosity and is able to operate while having no debt.
• The financial picture is stable and a healthy scholarship fund provides scholarships to encourage young adults and young families to attend Ferry Beach programming.
• Grants are available to allow underserved or underprivileged youth to have unique outdoor and environmental experiences.
• Ferry Beach has a buildings maintenance fund, which is capable of handling the ongoing maintenance needs of all its buildings and grounds.
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• Ferry Beach has a robust campus and online store which generates revenue via branded merchandise.
These visions represent only a slice of Ferry Beach's possibilities. We encourage you to look through Ferry Beach's windshield and join us in imagining the road ahead. We will be asking for others to participate in this experience of generating ideas for the future. We want to have as many as possible participate. All ideas have merit and we should generate them freely without judgment, dismissal, or discussion of the draw-‐backs. We need to have ideas before we can decide how to proceed. With that I leave you with a quote from a great President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.” Respectfully Submitted, Paul Provencher, President Ferry Beach Park Association
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Treasurer’s Report
Expense Analysis
Ferry Beach Park Association Treasurer’s Report – 2011, 2012 & 2013 Carolyn Hodges
• Baseline FY 2013 Financial Budget: 2011 2012 2013 (Budget)
– Revenue $1,006,862 $1,094,753 $1,078,040 – Expense ($1,073,367) ($1,094,903) ($1,088,391) – Net Income ($66,505) ($150) ($10,351)
• Updated baseline Cash flow – improving/ remains negative
Projected deficit: Dec 2013 ($57,572) v. Dec 2012 ($83,000) Board & Management preparing 5 yr. plan to proactively manage Letter of Credit
• Debt Service Status:
2011 2012 – Debt $1,050,260 $1,019,681 – Principal Paid $36,410 $30,570 – Additional $20 thousand in principal payments planned 2013 – Reviewing refinancing options to reduce interest costs
• Key Expense Drivers/Total 2012 2013 (Budget) Staffing Costs 35.7% 35.4% flat ** Food Service Costs 24.6% 25.0% flat/slight + Maintenance 11.8% 9.5% flat/slight -‐ G&A/other 27.9% 30.1% flat/slight +
** Staff has currently reduced overall costs and are waiting to add staff based on cash. • Watch Items
Additional long term debt principal payments ($20 thousand) Legal/Negotiations $35,000 estimate Continue Program to Improve Cash Flow -‐ 2013 and beyond: Increase Beach Usage Flat to 2012 /Modified housing options Adjust Conference Fees/Comp Flat to 2012 / Plan now for 2014 Stewardship/Annual Giving 2013 Budget increase over 2012
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Ferry Beach Park Association 2013 Stewardship Committee Report
The Stewardship Committee continues to focus on ensuring that Ferry Beach attracts a steady and predictable stream of unrestricted annual gifts from members and friends.
Like all nonprofits, Ferry Beach continues to depend upon this type of support for programs and operations. This helps fill the gap between the money we receive for room, board and conference fees and what it actually costs to run Ferry Beach. Annual giving helps ensure conferences are adequately staffed with volunteers, our campus is maintained and we have lights and hot water.
We continued to build on efforts in previous years to encourage people to become Sustaining Members, contributing a regular amount each month or quarter, often automatically through a bank draft or charge to a credit card.
Thanks to your generous response to these efforts, we raised $53,746 in annual contributions and our income from memberships reached $25,562, exceeding our combined goal for those two categories of $75,000 by over $4,000.
Again, we are grateful for your enthusiastic support of Ferry Beach in FY 2012. If you haven’t given yet in FY 2013 please do so and encourage your friends to join you.
Committee Members: Carolyn Hodges, Paul Riechmann, Cyd Melcher, Chair
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Annual Meeting Report Cathy Stackpole Executive Director “Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall always behind you.” (Sr. Joan Chittister) “When we succeed in moving outside our normal processes of self-‐reference and can look upon ourselves with self-‐awareness, then we have a chance at changing. We (are no longer self sealing,) we break the seal.” (Margaret Wheatley) These are the things I have learned through the winter: 1. Maine Nor’easters are much harder on the dunes than hurricanes. Breaching the dunes occurs regularly at high tide throughout “normal” winter storms. 2. The winter months at Ferry Beach go fast! Our small year round staff has been busy planning this summer, thinking about summer 2014, making improvements to the physical campus, staying in touch with the membership, and addressing all of the “Business” of Ferry Beach. 3. Ferry Beach juggles the ever-‐present and growing list of maintenance projects based on available and future cash. 4. As a 501c3 organization, we operate year round with a dedicated group of volunteers! Ferry Beach members, volunteers, and staff are curious, engaging, caring, and optimistic: Board members stay busy helping Ferry Beach throughout the fall, winter, and spring seasons; our conference coordinators work hard, are extremely dedicated, and want nothing but the best for the Beach; and our membership stays engaged with the Beach in a variety of helpful, thoughtful, and generous ways throughout the year. The Dunes: The winter was hard on our dunes, but we are happy to report the Army Corps has issued its plan for addressing the jetty at Camp Ellis. The city of Saco and perhaps the state of Maine need to sign off on the plan and we hope that they do that soon. The plan will help stop the erosion of the beaches, and should also help bring sand back to our beach area. We are working with a local wildlife biologist to set up some dune restoration efforts through the summer and early fall. The Corps solution may still be 3-‐4 years out. The Business of Ferry Beach: We are projecting to go a little above the financial breakeven point on our summer conferences this year. Our registrations are currently ahead of where we were last year for some conference weeks. We are so grateful for our coordinators and their efforts in creating a wonderful summer season. We hope to continue marketing the conferences as the season progresses. We are excited about a special family weekend coming up for Labor Day and hope we are able to attract local people to that event as well as people who have always come to Ferry Beach. We also were able to buy 30 of the teal song books: Singing for the Journey. We are looking at ways we can do better in terms of marketing. We plan to offer some shorter conferences in 2014 so that more people may enjoy a Ferry Beach experience. We hope adding 3 and 4 day conferences will appeal to adults and families with limited funds and/or time. The conference booklet went out 2 months earlier this year. We learned that we should post conference information on the website first before we print a conference booklet. Our new website and ongoing Facebook presence
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has received lots of kudos for keeping people informed! We enjoy keeping in touch with you all throughout the year. We heard from many families last summer regarding the importance of more family friendly efforts on behalf of Ferry Beach. To that end, children 8 and under now come to the Beach for free with their families. We hope this will help more young families come to Ferry Beach for conferences. Families also told us that they needed spaces for family friendly lodging, so we have opened the Metz Village Cabins and Claflin Cottage. We are hoping to offer more housing like this in future years. We are working diligently to continue our transparency as an organization. The Board created a policy for complementary gifts for ministers, musicians, coordinators, and workshop leaders that is equitable and fair. The policy is publicly available and we are administering it across all conferences and positions. We are providing a few scholarships this summer, as we don’t have a lot of money to give out. As scholarships are requested we ask people to first check with their church to see if they can get some help there, then we ask what people are able to do themselves, and then we try to add something to that. We hope to build a strong scholarship fund for future years. We made several church visits in the off-‐season and hope to do that more next year. We also attended the UUA district meeting. We have made some good connections with the UUA and are hoping to build strong relationships with the people responsible for the professional development of ministers so that we might aid in support of professional growth through our work. We are working with staff of the UUA to see what that might look like. With the board, we are working on helping all of us understand the importance of our not-‐for-‐profit, 501c3 status. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on the support of others to help us with their donations of time, talent and treasure. Buildings and Grounds: By cutting staff at Ferry Beach, we have helped reduce the challenges that the overall income stream and debt have brought. With our financial projections, we hope to stay on top of a few capital projects this year. Since last summer, we have made some substantial improvements to the buildings and grounds. We were able to hire a contractor to remove trees that were a danger in the Grove. We redid the floors in Zieglar and the GAYLA Theater, and put down new bamboo flooring in the Quillen Lobby. We re-‐did the inside of Claflin Cottage in preparation to rent out the space this summer. We replaced the outside doors in Rowland and reframed the outside doors in the Dolphin Room. We added heaters to Rowland Hall as well. New fans and new lighting will be added to the GAYLA Theater, hopefully before mid summer. We still have some structural issues with the loft in Quillen as well as the front washhouse in the Grove. We will be exploring ways we can address both of these issues in the next several months. We completed contract negotiations with our Food Service provider, Pangea Food Service, and now have a three year contract with Pangea. We are in the process of working through our contract with the Ferry Beach Ecology School and hope to resolve our differences as soon as possible. Our Mission and our Volunteers: This winter we were also able to support our mission by participating in efforts to educate others about reform legislation. We provided space to people who were volunteering in Maine for marriage equality, and also later in the winter for college students working on health care
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reform issues. We are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of social justice issues here in our state at Ferry Beach. In the spirit of Quillen Shinn, we are advertising our Sunday Services in the Grove with posters throughout the communities surrounding Ferry Beach. In a biography of Shinn, written in 1912 by William McGlauflin, Quillen saw the Grove meetings as “persistent endeavors for the extension of the Church in missionary fields” which “afford people of other communions and those without church relations.” The Grove meetings to Quillen Shinn were “opportunities to kindle and enthuse the indifferent.” We are grateful to support the Ferry Beach mission and our legacy by letting our surrounding community know about our wonderful Sunday services in the Grove. We are grateful for all of the gifts given to Ferry Beach this fall, winter, and spring. As donors, you help us continue to provide such a wonderful place for generations of families. We are extremely grateful for our growing list of Sustaining Members. We now have at least $39,000 per year coming in through sustaining memberships! We gave away 11 jackets to people who became $100 plus givers per month. We really and truly appreciate everyone who is a sustainer. A complete list will be up in the dining hall during conference season. We are very grateful to Brad Cohen and the GAYLA brothers for all of the work they did this winter to help us raise money to buy new chairs and a new spotlight for the GAYLA Theater. We now have 200 new chairs! This activity was done primarily by email and through Facebook! Way to go everyone who contributed. We are also grateful to the many Ferry Beachers who have encouraged their friends and family to attend a conference for the first time this summer. Word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool any organization can have and we are thankful for every one of you who choose to share your Ferry Beach testimonies. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Executive Director. With enthusiasm for the journey! Cathy Stackpole
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Under $100 Ann Abbot Gerald & Regina Armstrong Cynthia Baker Glenna Ball Chris & Elizabeth Barnett Judith Bassignani Philip Bender Andrea Blunt Allison Bowen Luiza Brown Patricia Burke John Burt Christopher Cadiz Lynne Champion Judith Chatman Mukesh Chaudhury Susan & Timothy Curran Charlene D'onofrio Florence DeRosa Pamela Dulmaine Connie Dunn & Joyce Adams Rebecca Enck Tracy Ericson Ann Fox Bill Free Darlene Gernert Bob Green & David Durkit Sally Greene Jean Hadjigeorgiou Michael Hall Amy & Alex Hood Anne Horgen Jane Hucks Mia Joiner-‐Moore Roberta Jordan Catherine Kalonia Jill Kaye Judith Knilans Karl Koehler
Glen Koehler Linda Koehler Jennifer Landry Karen Lane Kathleen Lewis Richard Lownds Cecile Mark Susan Mazrolle Kathy McGerigle Joan McIntyre Elizabeth Moore Gymm Morey and Tracy Jackson Judith Morse Hilary Nowacki Donna & Thomas Onaki Wendy Page Edele Panessidi Lois & Brown Pulliam Eric & Karen Rizzo Joel Ross Wendy Rundle Nancy Schoen Maureen Smith Janet Stover Robyn Trottier Lois Welch Franklin, MA, Music Boosters $100-‐$499 Elinor Artman Heidi & Charles Ballantyne Tom Bassarear Susan Borchard William Bradley Bob Brick Viki Bridge & Joel Lussier John Cavallero Mary Collins
Thomas Comparin Betty Cosgrove John Crowe Nancy Cunningham Holly Dominie Judith Donovan Joseph Ercolino Anne & Matthew Falkowski Marilyn Fentriss Jon Fletcher Fred & Cindy Foster-‐Clark Essjay Foulkrod Brian Greenbaur Peter Gernert-‐Dott Ruth Gitchell Rempt Hilary & Ted Green Pamela Gross Andrew Guy Jim Harry Allan Hartman Rev. Cynthia Kane Carmela Cannistraci Michael Knight Susan Koch Christine Krom Judith Lamb Susan Lederer Jaime Lederer Paul Lorenzo Denise Lydon Tom Malone John McBee Nicole McGuire Jim & Carol Peale Diana Menefee Elizabeth Merchant William J.Mitchell Paula Mullen Janet Noble Mary O'Sullivan
Ferry Beach Park Association 2012 Donors
(We apologize for anyone we have missed)
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Margaret Oakland Cammie & Steve Opre Benjamin Peck Bruce & Mary Plummer Melvin Polisher Gare Reid Walter & Jean Rostron Jeanette Ruyle Richard Scobie Dorothy Scott Jackie Shanti Thea Shapiro Frances Sharp Jonathan Slavin Richard Smyth Barbara Stroup Linda Sullivan Kate Sullivan Diane Sullivan Judy Tator Rev. Carol Taylor John Thiemann Carol Rose Thompson Kathryn Toye Ralph Toye Richard Trudeau Ed Visco Dorothy Westerfield Donald & Mindy Whisenhunt Betsy Jo Whitcomb Valerie White Ronald Willet Catherine Williamson Kitsy Winthrop Christopher Woodward First Parish UU in Arlington Franklin School Committee UU Women of Greater Lynn UU Congregation of Gwinnett, Georgia 1st Universalist Society in Franklin First Parish in Concord
$500 to $999 James Adams Marcia Berman Linda Borth Bradley Cohen Elizabeth Cosgrove Barbara Crowley Francesca Elms Marion Emery Ken & Mary Feathers Stephen & Carolee Fogg Sidney & Lynette Gardner Lydia Gibb Karen Hempel Goldsmith Carol Sue Hayden Heidi Hertel-‐Therrien Jay Herzog Raymond Hopkins Guy Huntley Linden Jackett Jennifer Kenyon Kelley Eleanor Lockwood Joe & Nancy Madar Elizabeth McNab Cynthia Melcher & Dave Basler Steven Onacki John & Elizabeth Rafter Robyn Shiely Stephen & Gail Vail Marshall Webster Deb Wilson $1000 or More Gary & Suzanne Adams Tom Allison Carolyn & Bill Bradley Marty & Christine Burgess Judith Chatman Carolyn Hodges Margaret Johnston Lee Kass Barbara Keppel David Knapp Donald McNamara
William Metz Ann Nozawa Paul & Judy Provencher Paul Riechmann Donna & Stuart Russo-‐ Savage Heather Sankey Darien & James Smith Cathy Stackpole & Pam Lassek Joanne Steele David Sumner Roger White Dover Digs Householders First Unitarian Society in Newton Specialized Medical Imaging, Brockton, MA
