The Best Ways to get Involved in Your Community...

A few days ago, after my re-election to Grand Marais Mayor (thank you to all of you who voted for me!) I put out an invitation on facebook telling people that if they would like coaching on how they can better get involved in their community, I would be willing to work with them to help them find a way to do that.

*As a definite caveat, I write this not because I know it all or because I have any secrets, but because the response that I got from that simple shout out was very, very strong and I haven't had enough time to get back to most of the people that contacted me, so I thought I would write up a few thoughts and observations that I have had from my experience. This won't, by any means, be complete, but it may serve as a decent place to get started!

**As another caveat, I am going to throw out a lot of ideas that don't require much if anything beyond having a willingness to stand for something. There are, of course, many positions within cities and counties that you can serve formally in, but it is much more powerful to live out what you want to see happen and work to bring others with you in that lifestyle...

First of all, the simplest thing that you can do is to KNOW WHO REPRESENTS YOU and build a relationship with them. This doesn't just mean you send them letters when you are angry. This means that you know who they are and, as much as you can, communicate with them about your views on the situation for which they were appointed.

For example: Every district in our county has a school board member. Sending your school board member a message when they make a decision that you agree with is very good for them. Sending a message saying how proud you are of the volleyball team (well done this year ladies!) or that you noticed students doing science work outside of the building and you think that's great speaks volumes about what the community puts value in and helps those people do their jobs better.

Being respectful when a decision is made that you don't agree with and asking how that decision was reached can help significantly as well. Educating yourself is easiest when you get the information from the "horse's mouth" so to speak. Then you can start a conversation about how you feel about the process that led up to the decision and not only the decision.

*Calling people names never gets you what you want.

There are dozens of these boards and commissions in our county and there are even more in more populous places! We have:

Mayor and Council
Public Utilities Commission
Economic Development Authority
Planning and Zoning Commission
Library Board
Parks and Recreation Board
School Board
Hospital Board
Visit Cook County Board/Grand Marais Area Tourism Association/Lutsen Tofte Tourism Association/Gunflint Trail Tourism Association
Grand Portage Tribal Council
County Board of Commissioners
Airport Advisory Commission
Board of Adjustment
Board of Equalization
Broadband Commission
Emergency Communications Committee
Community Center Board
Cook County Invasives Team
Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District
Univ. of MN Extension Committee
Human Services Board
Local Water Management Plan Advisory Committee
Revolving Loan Fund Committee
GES Board
School Curriculum Advisory Committee
School Health and Safety Committee
School Academic Team
School Communications and Collaboration Team
School Long Range Planning Team
School Extracurricular Activities Team
School Health and Wellness Policy Team
...and I haven't even gotten into the non-profit boards around here!

**I know, that sounds like a lot of people to get to know and to build a relationship with, but I'm not saying you have to know and have a conversation with all of them, but did you know that we have an Airport Advisory Committee? Did you know there was a Long Range Planning Team at the school?

All of these committees were listed on the webpages for the City, County, and School. Check it out and if there is a part of everyday life that you feel very strongly about, like invasive species or emergency communication, then reach out and make a connection there. Your board members will appreciate it!


Secondly, since I went through the trouble of listing out all of those boards and committees I figured that would be a good place to segue to the conversation about actually getting on a board or two. Many of the boards and commissions that I listed (and non-profits that I will list below) have community representation on them and THEY ARE the folks that make decisions concerning everyday life in regards to those specific topics. You may have noticed on the ballot this election there were a number of people running unopposed for seats on many of these committees. There are also a number of non-profits that would LOVE to have some new folks come in and sit on their boards.

**You: "But it takes too much time."
Me: Valid concern. Very valid. Many of us are working quite a few hours and those that are not often have other concerns to deal with within our families and homes. No guilt there AT ALL. Life happens. Take care of your own first! You can't impact change in your community if your own home is in shambles!

BUT,

Many of these boards and committees are structured to allow for busy schedules and are very flexible to work with and sometimes even do meetings via group phone call or skype, which means you don't have to leave your house to participate! Also, if you have interest and energy to be on one of these, I can bet you that the existing people on the board will bend over backwards to make it work...

SO SECOND: Find a Committee or Board to sit on. (Check out Number Three first though).

Cook County Higher Education
Boreal Community Media
Coldwater Foundation
Grand Marais Art Colony
Arrowhead Center for the Arts
Grand Marais Playhouse
North House Folk School
North Shore Health Care Foundation
North Shore Music Association
WTIP Community Radio
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic
Violence Prevention Center
Cook County Local Energy Project
Superior Cycling Association
YMCA Council
Northwoods Volunteer Connection
Social Justice Project
North Shore Ski and Run Club
Norpine Trail Association
Friends of the Library
Empty Bowls
Arrowhead Animal Rescue
Cook County Ridge Riders Snowmobile Club
Cook County ATV Club
Deer Hunters Association of America
(I'm missing about a hundred I think...)

THIRD: Don't get involved specifically, but represent what is important to you fairly and publicly. This is probably the biggest thing that you can do honestly. Ask yourself what you are really good at and what makes you love where you live. Is it that cup of coffee with friends at the Blue Water in the morning? Is it saying hello to someone that you vaguely recognize at the Post Office? Is it buying that kid at the next table a dessert because she has been so well behaved? Do these things and encourage others to do the same. If they don't, no worries, but every little bit makes our community stronger.

Do you have a personal connection with a topic? International Workers? Domestic Assault? Drug Abuse Prevention? Environmental Protection? Something else?
Find a way to encourage these things. Offer to help/host an international worker, stand up against domestic assault, buy into a community solar program, etc...

**The one thing that I cannot stress enough in this area is to not assume that your beliefs are superior to someone else's. You have to bring what you have to offer as just that, something to offer. It doesn't have to be taken. Which gets me to the next point:

FOURTH: LISTEN and EDUCATE YOURSELF. Listen to what people are saying even if you disagree with it. Ask questions to clarify. Ask the person who you have the issue with, not the fourth person down the chain. Be respectful. It is much harder to make headway in a compromise if you can't talk through something enough to know what you have in common!

We lose nothing by talking to people as we would like them to talk to us. This doesn't mean you have to be passive, but is does mean that you should wait to judge someone until you have had a chance to talk with them about what you disagree on. If there is a leader in the community who you often disagree with, contact them and ask them how they got to their decision. Then you can inform them of WHERE you disagree with them, not just that you DO disagree.


Well, those are 4 things that can give you a place to start.

If you have read this and have an idea of how you can get involved in your community, great! If you still need some help formulating your thoughts, let me know and I would be glad to help think it through, but it may take me a little while to get back to you...

So, in conclusion: Find out who your representatives are in your community (and beyond) and start communicating with them. If you find a topic that you really believe in and that drives your desire to get involved, then research an organization or ask people who are already involved how you can get involved (then be clear about your time constraints).
If not, represent your beliefs in a way that will encourage others to consider them and ask questions so you can better understand the situations that you don't like.

AND, if any of you get a wild hair and want to run for an elected position, let me know. I can help you organize that (even if it is just to get you information to get registered on time... I have learned that is really important...). Thank you all for being great community members. I look forward to serving the Grand Marais area for another two years and am willing to be a resource for people from other areas to help them get involved as well!