Submitted by Eric Moschopedis
Dear Board and fellow Members,
I want to thank the Board for all of it’s diligence, kindness, and thoughtfulness over the last many months. I believe that the work you have done will lay the foundation for some positive change in the future. So thank you. You deserve and have earned my trust and respect—and in my opinion, that of the Membership.
The March 2nd meeting left me, and others who have reached out, feeling sad, bruised, and disappointed. Having the meeting dominated by personal, as opposed to collaborative agendas, wasn’t productive or fair to the rest of the membership. We are a community with a multiplicity of voices, but to be healthy we need to hear them. This means creating safe, fair, and equitable spaces for exchange. Roberts Rules provides a framework for engagement, but it cannot demand respect and kindness, only we, the Membership can.
I am happy that the Membership was able to come together to pass the motion regarding minutes and that the report about the investigation was presented. But I don’t think that we—the Membership—can ignore what happened at the meeting or we will see this behaviour repeated. As a Membership we need to firmly state that “enough is enough” and not put all of the onus on the Board to curb inappropriate behaviour.
A tremendous amount of time, hard work, and money has been dedicated to the physical infrastructure at Sunnyhill, but without proper intervention (think acupuncture) into the body politic of Sunnyhill, we risk an unhealthy community. Sunnyhill is a courageous idea populated by individuals, but only through kindness, generosity, and honest dialogue can we be a heterogeneous community.
The Board and the Membership have created momentum to affect change. I encourage us to use this momentum to create the conditions for healing and the space to be imaginative about who we want to be.
Much respect,
Eric