Up date on Sebastopol and the process

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The following composition is presented for all Sonoma County Y2k Grass roots leaders and others. However, I am composing for the out of county audiences meeting around the greater bay area as there are many meetings afoot where I have been invited but cannot attend much as I would like to. So.. bare with me please.

Several months back, I provided a background and present circumstance of organization within our town. At that time I posted a 14% of our towns population organizing block by block, family by family. I also listed out the number of local block leaders that were responsible to their chosen area of influence. Now, May 5 1999, we are moving somewhere into the 20-22% range of individual family awareness/preparation/neighborhood coordination. Specifically, there are 26 individual leaders (husbond and wives/partners/ and lone leaders) within the town limits organizing 552 family groups. There are 31 similar leader groups that are organizing groups within their area of influence creating satellites around the township. I have no idea about the number of folks they are organizing.

How is this being done? (this is for those of you that monitor this website from out of the area). The first phase of this process has been done with the assistance of the original FORUM meeting sign up sheets, subsequent sign up sheets from the Church attendence in town, phone contacts directly to the church, myself and through the newspaper and TV coverage we have received. Most all of those folks were identified, called and asked to assist as neighborhood block leaders (along the lines of WWII civil defence block captains).

Once we met, I gave individual packets to each person, asked them to select an area near their home and distribute copys' of the packets around. Some leaders chose their apartment complex, while others chose several blocks around them. Each leader became a dot on a city map provided by our town government y2k Coordinator. And, each area of influence was colored in. The final mosaic is shared around and with each new leader so that they would know that they were not alone. This map has been presented to city government officials so that they could see the y2k environment they were now working in.

The packet.... it contained copys of the list of names and locations of most of the other leaders, a copy of our county Grand Jury Report, and copies of things to do, and things to consider doing by at least four other active y2k movers and shakers.

We are now holding our last in town y2k Church meeting on the 17th. The two pastors have done their part for now. They will resume town meetings, they assure me , sometime in September or October. I will be moving into a new phase of putting up posters around town, left for a few days, and then moved again. They will ask for new block leaders and give my home phone number. After several days in one area, they will be moved again.

I want all of you to know my attitude and assumption about providing these 14% and 21% numbers. These numbers rely primarily on each leader that has come forth to help "really doing what they say they will do". I , generally do not second guess their follow through nor do I check up on them. I do drop off packages of jokes or some such silly for them to know I am still out here to assisit as they need it. In a way this attitude is to practice faith. It is also with the knowledge that numbers are as artificial as counting the body bags in Viet Nam and projecting the winning of that war from numbers. So, we may have no better numbers than 56 leaders that have packets in their hands. I also do not know about what the 250 merchants in town have done with their business packets. I know that at least one has taken the information home to Santa Rosa and another to home in the town of Sonoma.

Beyond this , we are proceeding on. The pastors are now sending their folks out to the streets to provide another avenue of engagement and information. And, I am certain that we just won't get to know who is informed and acting in a complementary way.

So, in closing, it is like a practice, a journey, a war, a marriage. We don't get to know it all, nor most likely, do we need to know for sure what is taking place. We simply get up each day and do what we can and walk on knowing we have done our best. My sincerest best wishes to you all known and unknown. Fred

-- fred beeler (fbeeler@yahoo.com), May 05, 1999


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