Message from the Leadership Team

[Rainer Dammers]

Transitioners,

Earlier this year, participants in the Transition Carrboro-Chapel Hill (Transition CCH) retreat decided to form a leadership team. The mission of the leadership team and the general direction of Transition CCH were outlined, and the key pillars were:

• The leadership team will not initiate activities. Instead, the individual action groups are responsible for initiating Transition CCH activities. Projects should have clear leaders and structured goals. Only members who have an active role in a project get a say in how the project is implemented and steered.
• “Don’t ask but DO tell.” Anyone associated with (or who would like to become associated with) an action group of Transition CCH can initiate a project without getting the approval of the leadership team, but they should keep the leadership team informed of their activities (email: tcch...@googlegroups.com).
• Chapel Hill and Carrboro have many existing active groups with strong community activities. Reach out to, and work with external groups when they align with our mission rather than initiating redundant activities.
• The project leaders are responsible for informing us of news and events so that we can post the information on the website and include it in the newsletter (sa...@earthsupportservices.com).
• The leadership team helps distribute information about projects and encourages wider participation.

Unfortunately there has been very little activity in 2011. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, the issues of Transition (reducing dependence on fossil fuels, decreasing our carbon footprint, increasing local economic resilience) are still important to each and every one of us. At the same time, we realize that we all are engaged in driving these themes in the context of other initiatives and organizations - many of them much older and better established in Chapel Hill & Carrboro than Transition CCH.

Without an active base contributing projects to Transition CCH, the organization lacks purpose. There is a real possibility that Carrboro-Chapel Hill as a community is already so far advanced in transitioning toward a post-fossil-fuel future that there is no need for additional organizations beyond those already well established in the community.

Unless this situation changes by the end of the year, our recommendation as the leadership group is to either dissolve Transition CCH or turn it into a clearinghouse for the activities of other local groups, simply reporting them all in one place on our website. This second choice will still require some work from people.

Here are some things you can do to help with the transition of Transition:

-- Send us feedback on the above options (email tcch...@googlegroups.com).

-- If you feel Transition should remain an active organization, propose a project that you feel strongly about and are willing to spearhead (email tcch...@googlegroups.com).

-- Send us short summaries of initiatives in your personal lives or in the context of other organizations. Especially if you need support for those projects, we can use our website, newsletter, and email list to help get you in contact with like-minded people to expedite and accelerate the work you are engaged in (email tcch...@googlegroups.com).

-- Volunteer to help with one of the following projects that Transition CCH is currently involved in or has talked about pursuing:

• Help with our screening of the film CarbonNation at Southern Village on October 14 (see http://www.carbonnationmovie.com/screenings/community-screenings/icalrepeat.detail/2011/10/14/122/-/chapel-hill-nc-market-street-music-and-movie-series)
  
• Help spread the word and sign up families for the JOCCA weatherization program
  
• Write columns on Transition-related thoughts and projects for local papers

The response that we get from all of you will help us make a decision on what form, if any, Transition CCH should take in 2012 and beyond.

Thank you for your interest and your hard work on behalf of the planet!

The Transition CCH Leadership Team