Mar 202017
On Mar 19, 2017 12:07 PM, Constantine Faller wrote:
Paul, I am assuming, correct me if I am wrong, that Geoff passed on two writings of job description. Have you checked out the AO interns site yet?
www.interns.athensown.net
Regards,
Constantine
On Mar 19, 2017, at 1:26 PM, Paul Reed wrote:
Hello Constantine,
Geoff informed me about the position while we were doing tree maintenance along the bike path yesterday. I have not viewed the descriptions.
I am looking over the AO interns site now.
Best,
-Paul
On Mar 19, 2017 2:23 PM, Constantine Faller wrote:
In case he has not presented those descriptions to you, they are as follows:
Here are two entries that I wrote earlier.
First:
Here is a start regarding useful skills that are needed or helpful for the position we were discussing.
Strong writing skills.
Community organizing.
Focused.
Passionate.
Team building.
Already mentioned highly dynamic and big picture.
7th generation long term systems and holistic thinking.
Physical strength to move 50lb boxes.
Self motivated.
Computer skills of Access and creating spreadsheets, power point, and prezi would be a big plus. (or comparable means of organizing data, digitally facilitating community networking and processes of democratic participation, etc.
Are you familiar with the term ‘stringer’ as refers to journalism, photojournalism in particular? Said person, as I understand it, is assignment oriented.
I am looking for a resilience action stringer.
Internship and apprenticeship are both possibilities.
Applicable fields:
– Journalism
– Macro Social Work
– Resilience Systems Engineering
– Human Resources
– Organizational Communications
– Strategic Communications
– Management Information Systems
– Marketing
– Sociology
– Education
and more
Second, written earlier.
Thanks Constantine!
To help me understand what your goals are and who of my contacts might be the best fit, could you clarify a few things for me?
1. Are you hoping for a paid employee, or an intern from OU that needs to do service work as a volunteer for course credit? Either? Both?
With respect to AO internship:
– Our door is always open for unpaid internship. It is one of the ways we believe we can help prepare our youth to be more prepared for, and a part of, building solutions to the immense challenges we face.
– That opportunity, whether called internship or apprenticeship, is open to any age and not just OU students.
– Internship does not need to be tied to required service, course credit, or graduation requirement.
– Heart of Service is one of the modules that is required for our Athens’ Own Resilience Worker readiness Certificate (AORWRC)
Two things:
1) We are in the business of building resilience. Resilience as we see it requires seventh generation thinking, which has as a prerequisite, that one is willing to act for someone other than themselves, for the generations yet unborn.
2) The AORWRC opens the door to $25/hr opportunities, which, as we see it, is a minimum living wage. A google viewer doc showing many of the modules can be accessed on the intern site under the developer tab. http://interns.athensown.net/rwrc-google-viewer-125×100/
– Our internship efforts could benefit from improved postings on OU Bobcat Career Link and individual colleges, game/contest creation, and web based portrayal of the student’s journey/adventure.
– Any compensation will most likely be a combination of US and AO currency.
– Ideally, this person is drawn to the concept of parallel currencies, and will work creatively to expand ours.
2. It sounds like you need a dynamic someone that can be your right hand (wo)man – doing work on web development, interfacing with the public, assisting as needed with production-related tasks (grain, etc), and also helping with political/social/environmental issues and organization. Is this accurate?
Dynamic, yes!
Physical strength related task, yes! Lifting/moving 50 – 60 lb boxes and compost buckets, sliding and tipping 400lb barrels of grain(>120 lbs of body mass is helpful).
Ideally said person would be able to choreograph by way of mentorship, the leadership trainee of teams of teams of teams of interns and community volunteers. The web development team for instance is a subteam of the communications team, which also includes teams of marketing, pr, reporters, advertising, etc. etc. There would also be a food team, with subsets of production, deliveries, farmers market*. This food team would also include outreach efforts that work in tandem with the communications team to facilitate a virtual and physical community dialog regarding food security; what the community needs now, what it would like to see in the near and distant future, and how our Athens’ Own vote, as a member of the Athens Farmers Market, can be a vote of and by the community to help manifest that vision. Athens’ Own is a community company; it is our responsibility as stewards of the resources entrusted to us, to act as such.
*farmers market: retail sales, licensed mobile kitchen based children and adult classes, market based food preparation that includes working in tandem with the unfolding AFM marketing outreach efforts: regular published feature articles, recipes, etc.
WordPress and possibly html proficiency are a big plus; given my upcoming surgeries, these are not a deal breaker.
If we have another individual, that is housebound due to infirmity, solitude, children/adult care-giver, or other reason, that has the above skills, all of this does not necessarily need to be by the same person. Like I said, a reporter in the field can be the eyes and ears for that housebound individual, the team, as well as the community.
Additionally, I am an Athens Time Exchange member, and some of the writing will entail creating exchange postings for community service. It may not seem like it, but the entire Athens’ Own project is a community service initiative played through the window of a for profit business.
Additionally, this individual(s) will have the opportunity to be our team spokes to local, state, national, and global initiatives. This includes our organizational membership in both the Ohio and American Sustainable Business Councils. This directly offers the opportunity to further the relationships, vision, and goals, of our local Athens’ Own Collaborative Business Network.
So yes, a dynamic someone(s). The most immediate core needs address surgery related physical limitations. (dual rotator cuff tears, left and right).
3. Do you have an ideal schedule/number of hours per week that someone would need to be available to you? Of those hours, how many could be from home (web stuff, et al) versus on site?
– Grain pickup is the most time sensitive task, usually Tuesday and Thursday noon, at Jackie O’s uptown.
– Deliveries to Seaman’s need to happen before 3pm, or noon on Saturday, and usually only once per week.
– The hours for production and packaging at ACEnet are quite flexible.
– Currently I am not doing much in the way of appearances at AFM due to health and work load.
So
– Lots of flexibility for on site work.
– Lots of flexibility for at distance work.
Number of hours beyond the above 10 – 15 hours is more dependent on drive, capability, availability, and whether one would like to earn our AORWRC.
Let me know if I am on the right track, and I will help you the best I can. I have a few people in mind, but I want to make sure I understand your needs correctly. As I mentioned previously, I can offer up a little bit of time if you have immediate web needs or writing that needs to be done – I lost all of last summer to hernia repair and recovery, so I understand how hard it is when your body isn’t cooperative!
Ouch. I have had two inguinal hernia repairs; I can relate maybe a little to your lost summer.
I hope some of the above responses offer you some sense of being on the right track.
I could use immediate writing assistance from someone that can be with me during some of the intown activities, either in person, or by phone.
Some of the above, and content of a recent exchange with a math intern applicant, could make good additions to the faqs page. (At distance opportunity)
I hope you have fun on the intern site,
Constantine
On Mar 19, 2017, at 3:39 PM, Paul Reed wrote:
Hello again Constantine,
Geoff suggested the second entry, related to being your hands and feet while you recover, to me.
The position appeals to me as I am a senior Environmental Geography major at OU with a deep interest in environmental conservation and sustainable systems (from everyday living habits, to sustainable ag). Looking over the position description and the intern website, this seems like an excellent way for me to apply my education, build my professional skills, and learn how to engage with the community in sustainable development and increasing self sufficiency.
I am looking for temporary employment from April 2017 to June 2018 as I will be applying to an international exchange program and graduate schools for 2018.
Before proceeding further, would this time frame work for you?
Thanks,
-Paul
On Mar 19, 2017 5:12 PM, Constantine Faller wrote:
Paul,
Purely from a timeframe perspective, it can work. The relevant question that can separate you from other applicants is how much you want to apply yourself beyond hands and feet. You may be able to take from our interns site that any opportunities with us are so much more than that.
Is this your FB page? https://www.facebook.com/birdington
If so, you seem to like adventure. Is that true?
What commitments do you currently have inside of the time frame that you lay out?
C
On Mar 19, 2017, at 7:47 PM, Paul Reed wrote:
Constantine,
The hands and feet cannot work without the brain of course, and that is where the most development would occur working with AO; though I know that just because one has a brain does not mean that one always uses it to its full potential.
I recognize that working with AO offers dynamic and transformative learning opportunities, incomparable to most other internship experiences.
I would apply my body, mind, and soul to the position; that is why meaningful employment is important to me. I want to be fully engaged and stimulated to offer my best and I believe that I would be able to do that with AO.
In regards to your questions:
That is my FB page and I do like adventure.
If you investigate our mutual friends you will see Kelly Fernandez, who is my friend and my housemate. She has given me many insights as to what working with AO is like.
I have a few commitments in my time frame. First, I must finish the academic semester and graduate. I am available on a very limited basis on weekdays until May 1st. My weekends are relatively free with the exception of biweekly research commitments that will go until the end of the semester on April 28th.
Next, I must take the GRE this August. Studying for this would be done in my free time and would not limit my availability except for the day I take the test.
Lastly, I will have to go to Michigan sometime in January or February of 2018 to interview for the exchange program I am applying for. I do not have an exact day for the GRE testing or the interview at this time.
-Paul
On Mar 19, 2017 8:15 PM, Constantine Faller wrote:
I would like to immediately transpose this dialog to the intern pages, utilizing it 1st) to open your log, and 2nd) to be of maximum benefit towards as many of our goals as possible.
Are you ready for that step?
Please note, no time commitment is expected of you between now and May 1st. And, while we understand your higher priority is successfully graduating, the door will be open for you to begin at the pace you have available.
c
On Mar 19, 2017, at 8:35 PM, Paul Reed wrote:
Constantine,
I am ready for that step.
-P
On Mar 19, 2017 11:08 PM, Constantine Faller wrote:
Paul,
I shall endeavor to have your log ready in the morning.
I will email you to that affect.
C
Hi Paul, you are now subscribed for notifications. Please subscribe for your most recent post.
Hi Constantine, thanks for getting my log configured and available to me. I have subscribed to my newest post.
Great.
Referencing the Guiding Principles on the page “About Our Internships”
http://interns.athensown.net/about-our-internships/
Would you please check with Ms Fernandez to see if the copy of At Home With Holistic Management that she has on loan is available for you to borrow. If in any way not so, we can get another copy in your hands.
Ms. Fernandez is willing to let me borrow the book.
I will begin reading the book and start brainstorming my personal Whole and Holisticgoal.
I will also work on the incident command training, referenced in the “About Our Internships” and “Application” page (http://interns.athensown.net/application/), as my schedule allows.
Aside from responding to post comments, I will also post an update on Saturday, the 25th, to document my progress and reflect on how my balance between OU and AO education worked out for this week.
Excellent, with the emphasis on as time allows!
Thank you for the clear communication regarding an eta for an update. It is very much appreciated. I am looking forward to your reflections.
5/17/17 0845 hrs
Good Morning!
I am thankful for the team meeting explorations we (pr, cf, kj) are all participating in this morning.
I look forward to reading through your log entries; apologies for my delay of presence.
Thank you!
Kathy J (kj)