New member intro, from CT
From: Christina Smillie (smillieccomcast.net)
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:36:57 -0800 (PST)
I'm not sure of the etiquette on this list, but I've just joined this list, so I thought I'd introduce myself: Tina Smillie, with Green Haven <http://www.greenhavencohousing.org/>, a community forming in greater New Haven Connecticut. This summer at the coho.org conference in DC, I met two people active on this list, Ann Zabaldo and Sharon Villines, at the Sociocracy workshop that Ann did with John Buck, the man who brought Sociocracy from the Netherlands to the US. (And who co-authored the book about it with Sharon Villines.)

Our iteration of the New Haven forming coho group has been active for about five years, using Diana Leafe Christian's book as our guidepost. About 4 years ago we brought CT Butler in to teach us Formal Consensus, and now, at his suggestion, and Diana's, we are now hot to learn all we can about sociocracy. More about that in my next email.

We've all visited a lot of other communities (part of the path to membership), and, in the general order in which it happened, we have a vision statement, ground rules for caring communication, a housing consultant, an atty, bylaws, an acct, a fabulous architect, and now, we hope, a piece of land. plus a website, a blog, and a FB page. Besides two weekend workshops' training in Formal Consensus, 2 years apart, we've also had random training in facilitation, mediation and group dynamics. We've even had Raines Cohen drop in on one of our meetings. We're incorporated as a non-stock corporation (as the developer) as well as an LLC (to accept and lend money to the corporation). We meet 4 times a month, two business meetings and two potlucks for newcomers to find out what we're about, and we're just starting a monthly family brunch for families to get to know each other, so that will then be 5 meetings a month. It isn't as crazy as it sounds, because after five years we're pretty bonded, and the new people keep us fresh. They're the ones who started the family brunches.

OK, enough. And yet, none of us, as far as I'm aware, have joined this list. (Set me straight GH folk if you're on this list!)As we shift gears from planning and negotiating on the land, to more intense marketing, growing membership, and growing financial commitments, we've got a big mountain in front of us. And transitions we can't even begin to imagine. Looking forward to soaking up all your wisdom. And to try to learn from your experience without letting negative stuff dampen our enthusiasm... tina smillie, Green Haven, New Haven, CT





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