JUST back from a whirlwind trip that took me from Idaho to Wisconsin to Connecticut.
At EACH juncture, I spoke, with escalating fervor, to nonprofit colleagues about our shared economic contributions to every community and our essential need to work in concert to elect new leaders.
What kind of leader do I want? Ones who commit to appointing a liaison to work everyday with nonprofits in their city or state.
There is only one state where a Governor has a point person—Connecticut, under Gov Malloy, and his point person, Deb Heinrich sat down with me yesterday for a solid chat about her first years work. Pay attention to her….her work could very well become the prototype.
I am a futurist. I study trends and anticipate opportunities….then I march out to meet that “likely” future with the audacious goal of changing it. Here’s an example.
There are 90 million “Millennials” (people born between 1985 and 2000) in America…and they have been raised doing service. They will have a huge impact on America if they choose to move beyond the charity that they may have encountered during those service trips and channel their ideas and energy into tactics that embrace economics and politics. Some already are.
I travel ALOT, and I dig the road for so many reasons, but most of all, I dig seeing living breathing examples of innovation in action. Last year, I visited the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, and wrote about students efforts to register to vote in local elections, and the many hoops they had to jump through to gain that right. In the months since that visit, they elected one of their own to the City Council. His name is Scott Foster, and he is a natural leader, as you’ll see from this video. But what I dig the most about him is that he is trying to expand the communities understanding of their assets. He sees students, seniors, nonprofits, along with traditional businesses and trade association as important contributors to the future of Williamsburg. That greater vision is exactly the kind of “all hands on deck” thinking that will be required to help rebuild and right America’s listing economic ship.
A week ago, I stood in front of Monroe Elementary School in Topeka Kansas, where the historic Brown vs the Board of Education lawsuit originated. That Supreme Court decision struck down the odious “separate but equal” ideal that kept white students and black students divided. Of course, the Courts decision was driven by the Constitution, but make no mistake—they knew this was not only illegal—it was stupid. Our country only works when we work together, without false or antiquated divisions. I believe that that idea will one day let us leave behind the idea of that .COM businesses drive the economy, while .ORG charities do good deeds. Truth be told—we are equal in that NO community can function, thrive or grow without a dynamic combination of both. There is no profit without nonprofit. And when we meet that future, we will rightly view any business that helps this country stay free, safe, secure, open and just as an essential player in the great and unfolding American dream.
As many of you know, I really dig CA. I grew up in SoCal in the 60’s, and even though I am a now a threw and through east coaster, I a-l-w-a-y-s feel at home when I step foot in the Promised Land.
I was invited out this time to be a judge at the East Bay Food Fight, which raised the profile of, and cash for, the Kitchen of Champions, one of numerous DCCK inspired “community kitchens” that operate across the country.
(We’re an open-source model, in that we have no interest in hording info or charging for ideas. Our motto: if we got it, it’s yours. Because of that culture, we’ve helped over 60 cities get something similar going since we opened in 1989.)
The Kitchen of Champions is part of the amazing St Vincent DePaul (headed by the Phillip Arca) out in Oakland…a town I’ve visited three times in the last few years, and which I have now really grown to admire.
Oakland is the Brooklyn of San Fran, as you can see by the crowds of cool cats and kittens who have opened, or who frequent, the growing number of swinging restaurants that line Telegraph and Broadway, or who you see on Sunday morning at the Farmer’s Market out by Grand Lake.
I flew in early to be able to drive up to Sacramento…another town I dig, and the first city to open a DCCK styled model (the Sacramento Area Community Kitchen) back in 1992. Funny thing…Donna Zick, the young woman who was all kinds of behind that program is still one of my dearest, closest chums. After connecting with her for lunch, I got down to business and met with numerous nonprofits up there to discuss social enterprise, client empowerment, access to capitol and political engagement. Gordon Fowler of 3Fold and Steve Curuso of Cottage Housing led the way to getting local leaders together, organizing a SparkClub breakfast the next day that was attended by a whole slew of foundation and nonprofit leaders, as well as a reporter from the local Business Journal.
From there is was back down to the Bay for a personal mission…to visit Amoeba Records down on Haight Street to see if I could connect with Brain Jonestown Massacre member and tambourine player extraordinaire Joel Gion.
I gotta tell you….hunting down rock gods is not for the faint of heart or the weird of head. Most are just regular folks who are happy to hang if you don’t act the stalker, and Joel was amazingly sweet to sit, chat and sign a record for my daughter, who shares my love of the ulitimate rock and roll train wreck/love bomb movie DIG, and the breathtaking music of BJM. If you don’t know them—check them out, IMMEDIATELY. You can thank me later.
So…this is already going on too long, so let’s cut to the finale.
After judging the Food Fight on Saturday (which was mc’d by Kitchen on Fire owners Oliver S and Mike C) I met, bonded with and fell madly in love with Amy Klein, the Executive Chef at Revolution Foods. Founded by Kristen Groos Richmond and Kirsten Saenz Tobey, this company is boldly, brazenly and deliciously challenging every assumption about what school foods can be, do and make happen. After a tour I grabbed her to film a quick video….watch it, and then check them OUT.
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