dave, who is on the slate of former leaders?

ww

Social - Matt O'Leary
Policy - Fred Hessel
Perception - Steve Smith
Living Environment - Kraig Schnitzmeier
Leadership - Meredith McKinley
Treasurer - Butler Miller
Membership - Marti Frumhoff
Marketing - Cheryl Bini
Fundraising - Daniel Shaughnessy
Secretary - Brian McCown
President - Thomas Crone

Dave-

Re. the future of Metropolis, could you give an update/more explanation on a couple of the points raised in your column in your Business Journal column re. Metropolis?

Dave wrote:

"One more piece of evidence emerged last night: The group now running the organization was unable to field a full slate of candidates for the upcoming elections."

Q: At the close of the nominating period, it looked like just about all races were being contested. Are there candidates for nearly all seats now that would like to keep Metropolis together? It looked that way based on Gordon's last post.

Dave wrote:

"....clearing the way for a true young person's organization to emerge. (The average age of Metropolis' membership was 36.6 last year)."

Q: Are you saying that Metropolis was/is/should be a "young person's organization"? The "age of membership" issue has always been a source of consternation and confusion for the organization.

I remember hearing many people saying how the organization is open to all age groups, but that the *mission* is about young people. At the Southtown hearings, Kathy Duckworth, Chair of the Board Adjustment, asked Amanda Doyle if she, a forty-something, could join Metropolis. Somewhere she had gotten the impression that Metropolis was only open to young people. Amanda explained that such was not the case, that indeed Metropolis was open to people of all ages.

When you say a "true young person's organization" it sounds like you're suggesting going to the next step, one that would have age limits. If so, that's never what Metropolis was advertised to be.

The word "Metropolis" has a very urban, inclusive-even engaging-sound to it. It doesn't connote one demographic group. Quite the opposite. It connotes "city", not "young people". The name, coupled with the organization's clear pro-city focus, attracted lots of people, regardless of age, that were looking for a place where they could apply their energies to improving the city of St. Louis.

That need still exists. If Metropolis goes away, there is no organization right now that offers the same thing, is there?

And if there's a group of people that want to keep the organization together, even perhaps with some repositioning of the goals, what's wrong with letting them try? Why would anyone want to "fire" volunteers?

It seems to me that if the "let's keep Metropolis group together" has candidates to reinvigorate the organization, why should people stop them? That would seem almost "anti-Metropolis" in nature, by turning away the energy of members wanting to volunteer their time and effort to the organization.

As far as the current weakened condition of the organization, all volunteer organizations go through up and down cycles. Isn't it worthwhile to work to turn things around, especially if it is agreed that the mission, current or restated, is not yet accomplished?

Given the lack of discussion surrounding this issue in general, whether on this or other forums, maybe folks have just tired of Metropolis, and don't much care one way or the other?

Perhaps apathy and cynicism have set in?

RB

Answering Rick's Questions:

#1 "Q: At the close of the nominating period, it looked like just about all races were being contested. Are there candidates for nearly all seats now that would like to keep Metropolis together?"

No. As I stated, the group now running the organization couldn't even find eleven people to run. This isn't rocket science, Rick. When you look at a position and there's only one name next it, it uncontested.

#2 "Q: Are you saying that Metropolis was/is/should be a "young person's organization"? The "age of membership" issue has always been a source of consternation and confusion for the organization."

Yes, Metropolis was and should be a young person's organization. No, you are wrong to say it was not always a source of consternation and confusion for the organization. It may have been a source of that for you. But not for the organization.

#3 "If Metropolis goes away, there is no organization right now that offers the same thing, is there?"

Yes. there are lots of organizations that like Metropolis tday do very little. Metropolis has already gone away. Tehre is no organization now that offers what Metropolis used to offer.

#4 "And if there's a group of people that want to keep the organization together, even perhaps with some repositioning of the goals, what's wrong with letting them try?"

If they were young people in their twenties, then there wouldn't be anything wrong with it. These people are more interested in the organization than the mission. As an advocate for young people, I see this organization hurting the mission.

Your other questions are not substantive.

I think Dave has hit on one of the main sources of tension in the Metropolis movement...phenomenon...organization.

Dave describes Metropolis as an "advocate for young people".

For many people, they understand Metropolis as an "advocate for the city".

Maybe its somewhere in the middle?

Maybe there will be more discussion by others.

re. the field of candidates, the following are the latest names per metropolist messages:

Out of eleven Steering Committee seats up for election, 9 seats have contested races, two seats do not: fundraising and leadership. Meredith McKinley is running as leadership chair on the "slate" ticket. Shaugnessy is running as fundraising chair, but doesn't describe himslef as a "slate candidate".

Perception has four candidates.

Social - Matt O'Leary, Jen Andrews
Policy - Dave Whitman, Fred Hessell
Perception - Eric Berger, Steve Smith, Dan Novalis, Matt Ghio
Living Environment - Kraig Schnitzmeyer, Clark Rowley
Leadership - Meredith McKinley
Treasurer - Butler Miller, Fred Blanton
Membership - Marti Frumhoff, Jennifer Estes
Marketing - Cheryl Bini, Jenn Smith
Fundraising - Daniel Shaugnessey
Secretary - Brian McCown, Kimberly Henricks
President - Thomas Crone, Scott Goessling

RB

One other point to mention.

There has been a lot of discussion re. Metropolis as an atypical organization-one that is all about mission, not its formal organizational structure, or concerned about its viable self-perpetuation.

That is all well and good. Well, not really.

Without a viable organization that is capable of sustaining itself, there is no carriage to deliver on the mission.

Organizations are important-much more so than individuals. Organizations have leverage and can partner with other organizations to form coalitions. Individuals can't do that. Metropolis carried a lot of weight as an organization. It carried even more weight when it operated as part of a coalition. All of that momentum was tied to having a viable organization.

Meanwhile, the main jobs of board member (or steering committee persond in Metropolis terms)are to 1) ensure that the organization is kept viable on all operating fronts, and 2) that the efforts of the organization are kept on mission.

Given the rapid turnover in leadership be design, addressing these responsibilities has always been a challenge for Metropolis.

Last point I'll make. As was mentioned previously, Metropolis is an advocate for young people.

Yet the slogan the organization coined has nothing to do with young people, it's about St. Louis:

"The City is Back, Back the City"

That's a universal message, if you're into St. Louis.

RB

Nothing funnier than a man arguing with himself.

I don't have the time to get into this deeply, but I do want to say Rick makes some good points. Membership has always been open to anyone of any age. If a few senior citizens send in their $20, the average age of the membership goes up, but that in and of itself does not invalidate the organization and its mission.

mstl supporters come in a wide range of ages. Folks who attend the Lot or the Walk skew younger than folks like me and Dave, but many of them don't feel pressured to join the organization. Are you following me here? The "average age" argument ignores the fact that there's a distinction between 'paid members' and 'active participants'. A significant number of active participants in mstl events aren't necessarily paid members. And plenty of paid members aren't active participants.

at any rate...