Fwd: Thanks for everyone's hard work to create the OLA scorecard, survey, and new advisory committee

[Rosie Weaver]

Friends, I want to share this email from Claire about the Off Leash Committee process and her work to create a new Off Leash trail at Mary Moore Searight Park. I join her in thanking everyone who's participated so far. 

Rosie Weaver
Outreach Director
Austin Parks Foundation
816 Congress, Suite 1680
Austin, TX 78701
512-477-1566
rwe...@austinparks.org
http://www.austinparks.org

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Claire Sorenson <csore...@austin.rr.com>

Date: September 25, 2009 12:16:52 PM CDT

Subject: Thanks for everyone's hard work to create the OLA scorecard, survey,  and new advisory committee

Hi all,

I would like to personally express my appreciation (as no part of any organization) of everyone's efforts and hard work on the OLA scorecard, survey, and development of the new advisory committee.  I know some people did not participate in this process because they said it had all been done before and they did not want to waste their time on a repeat effort that would, in their past experience, just be ignored later.  Given their experience I would probably do the same.  But, because I am relatively new in this group, I am still optimistic.  Since I began the process of creating the new OLA at Mary Moore Searight Park, I was at first painfully aware of the amount of pessimism, suspicion, lack of trust, resistance and lack of communication by both PARD staff and OLA reps and volunteers.  This made my work on the new OLA more difficult than it needed to be.

Therefore, I have been very excited to see the level of cooperation, between all parties involved, that occurred and allowed us to proceed as far as we have in the last couple of months.  No, the process was not perfect and we still have some of flaws in communication that have plagued us, but even so, we have made way more progress than appears to have been possible in a long time.

I would like to first thank Rosie who got me started in this process through the APF OLA subcommittee.  Thanks to my partner Mark for working alongside me on our project.  I would like to thank Joan Singh who has been a big supporter of the MMSP OLA from the beginning and for the assistance of her park maintenance crews.  I appreciate Joan and Rosie and Tom Nelson's encouragement when my own project appeared to be impossible.  I would like to thank Sarah Hensley for her straight forward, no nonsense approach to support of OLA's and keeping the process going.  I would like to thank Jenna for doing such a good job, in such a difficult role, as moderator of the group that developed the basis for the OLAC.  I would have been terrified to walk into that first meeting alone, knowing that I might be torn to shreds.  Given past experiences, I think people (mostly) conduct themselves admirably.  Thank you to Chris Yanez for heading the group that developed the assessment score card and survey group.  And thanks so much to the OLA reps who were willing to give it another try.  This kind of work can be a real heart breaker when you really care about something, give it your all, and pound your head against a wall over and over with no response.  I hope this time all of your efforts are rewarded, your hopes are realized, and that we have gained more than we have lost in our attempt to combine efforts.

I look forward to our continued work together,

PS - if I have left anyone off of this email please pass it on.  It was hard to combine all of the different email lists.

--
Claire Sorenson