M is for Minnesota Design Team

(yes, I know I'm leapfrogging "L." That post will take some time to write. I'm going for a well-crafted tribute rather than a brain dump so we'll come back to it. I bet no one really writes encyclopedias in alphabetical order anyway.)

Recently, I went to Washington, DC to accept an award on behalf of the hundreds of volunteers who have visited more than 100 small towns in Minnesota, offering their design and grass-roots community organizing/visioning skills all over our state.

photo from AIA website, linked above

A long while back, Em asked me to write more about MDT. There is lots of great information on our website about what we do, how we do it and where we've been. Take a look at the "Workbook" if you're interested in the details. Check out the boards in the "Visit Archives" if you just want to see some images. Rather than ineloquently rewriting that content, I'll tell you about how I got involved and what I love about MDT. I suppose this story will also explain why I got to hold the award.

I spent a lot of time in my early adulthood (post-Architecture School) looking for a place to volunteer some of my time, somewhere I could go regularly and something I could do that would make a difference. I am well aware that volunteering affects the volunteer at least as much as the beneficiary of that time, but I was looking to create a little more meaning in my life, and to do things that really mattered to me.

Inspired by a quote (which I can't quite remember) on the wall at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, I tried volunteering at the Minnesota Zoo. I loved walking around the place, loved learning about the animals, avoided the creepy bugs in the Zoo Lab, but enjoyed the snakes (sorry, AO) and helping people learn more about the animals of our planet. The thing was, they had this huge volunteer program. I never felt needed and the group on my days seemed like they'd all been volunteering together a long time. It was a clique I didn't quite fit into. No one was mean, I just didn't feel a part of it.

I found a posting from a clinic in a poor neighborhood looking for a knitting instructor for a breastfeeding support group. I met only one of the three desired qualifications, but I applied and they asked me to do it. Sadly, the clinic administration never really supported the program. The organizers were passionate about it, both with the original intent and when they tried to expand it to a women's health support group. I went every week for a long time, but it was rare to have anyone show up since we couldn't offer child care or transportation like the other programs could. It was a great idea and would have been a great fit for me, if it had really worked.

In professional circles, I started hearing about the Minnesota Design Team a long time ago. I chatted with staff and volunteers at a booth at our state convention one time and was invited to a meeting. It was their party meeting so I didn't get a good feel for the place and I didn't get added to the mailing list. At the time, I didn't realize how much they needed volunteers. Fast forward aways.... In Spring of '05, MDT did two visits to E'Yoak's hometown (one regional, one focused on downtown). Due to minor surgery in April, I could only sign up for the second one, but sign up I did. It was a lot of hard work and by the end of the weekend I was exhausted, but I LOVED it. There were 20 or so people working together, really collaborating. Our team leaders were great at keeping us on task, delegating and bringing us together. Having led a couple of visits now, I know even better how good they were at it.

After the visit, I got a card from the leaders suggesting I should co-lead a visit in the future. They must have turned my name over to the Chairs because I got a call. I thought I really ought to participate in a few more before leading, but Rita assured me I could do it.

I was exceedingly lucky to be paired with Harold (that year's chair and an experienced team leader). He was really good at encouraging me to lead the activities, prepping me for each step, adding to them when needed. He was simultaneously a mentor and a co-leader (with the emphasis on co). On Saturday night, we went up to the projection booth to check that our slides were ready to go for the presentation. On our way back to get our group ready, Harold asked, "so, would you be willing to become an MDT chair?" I tripped and said, "no" quite definitively, but he pretended not to hear me. At breakfast the next day, he asked if I'd thought about his question. I told him I'd already answered and he pretended to have no idea what I was talking about. Over the next few weeks, Rita and Harold tag teamed me. They were (mostly) honest about the workload, but more focused on the joy of the work we do, the fun of working with great people in our 3-chair structure. They appealed to my sense of responsibility and my desire to do work where it's needed. I don't quite remember when I said "yes" (except that I waited until we decided not to move to CA for E'Yoak's grad school), but I did.

Vienna shook up the 3-chair structure so I was absentee/repeat-incoming chair last year, when I would have been "current." So, this year, I'm the one writing the agendas and trying to keep people from distracting the focus of the meetings. It's hard work, but I love it. I love it because I feel valued there and I love it because I believe in what the organization does. I also love it because I love the people who give up time doing anything else to devote time to the Minnesota Design Team. It's a crazy mix of personalities, but every one of them shows dedication to something much bigger than their egos. Collaboration when fees and billable hours are involved rarely feels like true collaboration, but in those school media centers and lunchrooms where we get ink all over our hands, it comes alive.
MDT is a magical thing, where true collaboration happens and everything comes together to sparkle on Saturday night. In it, I found a place where I belong and it was my great honor to hold that award and smile big on behalf of everyone who contributes to the magic.