[Communications] [Resources] Suggested wording for Swap Table for your consideration

Wed Feb 19 12:48:30 CST 2020

Hello Everyone,

It is clear that each one of us wants to make the Conference the best it
can be. Let’s look for a solution here. Moving forward, everyone should
feel good about what we are doing. We all make up CCGA, and everyone’s
voice is important.

As the Conference Chairperson, I would like to find a solution before we
meet next Tuesday.  We have a lot to accomplish over the next few weeks and
need to keep moving forward. I would like to propose a conference call for
anyone who wants to participate. Is anyone available tomorrow, 11:00am or
Friday, 12:30pm?

Please respond!!

Gina Jamison
2020 Conference Chair

On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 12:01 Amy Olson<akeo at me.com> wrote:

> I think we have to try to stay focused on a solution and what it is we
> want to provide at the conference. Having tickets or not is a logistical
> question.
>
> Nobody said that gardeners are thieves and unruly, and I am so sorry if
> what I typed below inspired that thinking. I was not behind the scenes at
> past door prize tables, so I can’t speak to what Ellen meant by it bringing
> out ’the worst’ in people. I don’t think she meant gardeners, but was
> referring to the whole thing - planning it, procuring prizes, staffing it,
> and distributing prizes to attendees equitably. At the meeting we had at
> Whitney Young when she talked about it, my understanding was the biggest
> reason is that it was not sustainable. That decision has been made, and we
> have to move forward.
>
>
> On Feb 19, 2020, at 8:32 AM, Mamie Gray <mamiegray2012 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Even though some of you appear to be hell bent on shelving the use of
> tickets, the bottom line is that CCGA has no obligation to explain their
> decisions to me. Yet I have heard any number of reasons including that
> (some?) gardeners are thieves and unruly. This particular reason is beyond
> the pale. I am finding it harder and harder to understand the true/real
> reason. Although sustainability  comes close as more than reasonable, why
> is it necessary to exclude the use of tickets?  Mamie
>
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 12:03 AM Mamie Gray <mamiegray2012 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> BTW was there any negative comments in the surveys regarding door prizes?
>> Mamie
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 11:28 PM Mamie Gray <mamiegray2012 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Amy! As I indicated at a Resources meeting in January, the
>>> following were considerEd key to the conference: workshops, catering, door
>>> prizes, and networking. Simply organizing the “exchange” should not
>>> undermine or distract from the goal for sustainability. Because I have not
>>> participated in any of the previous door prizes, I am not aware that it
>>> brought out the worse in attendees. I only saw many people looking quite
>>> happy. So, other than the concern expressed about the children, I am really
>>> surprise to hear of any Black Friday-type of behavior. It is truly news to
>>> me. I see no need to spend money or ask businesses for donations if you are
>>> getting good feedback back from gardeners willing to bring an item or two
>>> (clean out my garage?). What exactly is problem other than the claim that
>>> some people were obnoxious. Maybe a selection of simple, humble ware will
>>> encourage them to be more civil and sustainable. Mamie
>>>
>>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 10:57 PM Amy Olson <akeo at me.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Mamie,
>>>>
>>>> I’m sorry this conversation became so difficult at the meeting.
>>>> Speaking for myself, thanks for your email. It helps me understand a little
>>>> better your perspective.
>>>>
>>>> When you say you’ve received emails about the past door prize events
>>>> being fun - are you referring to emails from conference attendees?
>>>> Did they also say that they enjoyed other aspects of the conference, or
>>>> just the door prizes?
>>>>
>>>> Because from ‘behind the scenes,’ people from the resources team, like
>>>> Pat and Ellen, described how this idea of ‘prizes’ really brought out the
>>>> worst in people.
>>>> Negotiating the purchase of the tools, soliciting donations, then
>>>> monitoring attendees so people would not steal stuff.. this is what Pat and
>>>> Ellen have described.
>>>> CCGA should not feel obligated to provide door prizes for conference
>>>> attendees for eternity.
>>>>
>>>> So, I think that is why Angela and Cordia proposed the idea of a swap.
>>>> A swap is about gardeners bringing things that they no longer use, or extra
>>>> plants, etc. and exchanging them for something else. Or not! Perhaps they
>>>> just want to donate something. It’s about giving and receiving. Not just
>>>> taking. Cordia and Angela - please share your thoughts!
>>>>
>>>> The energy behind this idea was not to ‘get out of’ doing any of the
>>>> work involved in a door prize/raffle. It’s to foster a more sustainable
>>>> conference. To eliminate the need to solicit donations from companies for
>>>> more ‘stuff.’ The Resources team already gives so much away on behalf of
>>>> CCGA. They are giving tools away on March 7, in fact.
>>>>
>>>> My own opinion is that we don’t need to give door prizes away at the
>>>> conference. I don’t think the majority of the attendees come to the
>>>> conference to get a door prize. I think they attend for the workshops and
>>>> also to meet with other gardeners. Ok, maybe they also love the seed table.
>>>> But it was never all about the swag, that was just extra.
>>>>
>>>> Putting my own opinion aside, I want what’s best for the conference,
>>>> and what’s best for CCGA. We can figure this out:
>>>>
>>>>    - If we want to continue with giving away door prizes, we can
>>>>    conduct that as the Resources Team did, and allocate money to purchase new
>>>>    things, and ask for donations from companies.
>>>>    - If we want to host a swap on behalf of the gardeners who attend,
>>>>    we will not promote it as any sort of ‘door prize’ event at all. It would
>>>>    be a sharing event. We have to think of it as the opposite of a door prize.
>>>>    Think of reuse, sustainability, giving, repurposing…reducing stuff.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps in some way,
>>>> Amy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Feb 18, 2020, at 10:13 PM, Mamie Gray <mamiegray2012 at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hello! I do not think that an honor code/system is appropriate for
>>>> donated garden prizes. Yes, placing all items on a table would require
>>>> minimum effort. I was under the impression that garden-type, related prizes
>>>> would substitute for door prizes as done in the past. The emails that I
>>>> have received on this subject are about how much “fun” it is to participate
>>>> in the door prize event. If CCGA just don’t want to do the work required
>>>> for a drawing, I will volunteer. Please advise. Mamie
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Feb 18, 2020 at 9:49 AM Lorraine Kells via Resources <
>>>> resources at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm submitting wording for FB and the website about the swap table,
>>>>> and would like to present this at the meeting tonight.  We can add info at ccga
>>>>> for questions, comments.
>>>>>
>>>>> As Julie suggested no tickets are necessary, just a volunteer or two
>>>>> at the table which would best be among the vendor/exhibitor tables.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *CCGA steps into the ‘sharing economy’ with a Garden Goods Swap*
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Consumption trends are changing, and "gift exchange" – sharing items –
>>>>> is a way to live more economically. We think gardeners are experts at
>>>>> thrift exchange rather than trashing what they may no longer use.  We know
>>>>> that in nature there is no concept of waste, simply something in the wrong
>>>>> place.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Bring your gently used, clean, garden related item – whether a pair of
>>>>> gloves, a hand tool, a rake or shovel, gardening book or unused journal, a
>>>>> small plaque, a potted herb, a clay pot – anything you’d like to swap at
>>>>> our conference. We’ll have a table set up for this garden goods swap.
>>>>> Anyone who brings something can take something in exchange.  Swap as often
>>>>> as you see something put on the table, but always leave something.   It's
>>>>> best to bring an item that can be carried easily, no lawnmowers or compost
>>>>> bins at the table.  When you choose an item it must be taken from
>>>>> the table, our volunteers cannot hold items for you.
>>>>>
>>>>> All items left at the end of the conference will be given to a
>>>>> charitable donation organizatio. Anything that is recyclable will be
>>>>> recycled.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Resources mailing list
>>>>> Resources at chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>>
>>>>> http://chicagocommunitygardens.org/mailman/listinfo/resources_chicagocommunitygardens.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>
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