This years Annual
Conference was held at
Camp
Hanover
in
Virginia
.
Our Conference Committee, lead by
Charles and Susan Oropallo, did a
wonderful job of choosing this location
and organizing this uplifting weekend.
There was a lot of
time to get with other facilitators and
share what is going on.
The beautiful environment also
gave us time to relax, meditate, hike
and swim.
The AVP USA Committees met to
share their activities during the last
year and plans for the future.
Committee Reports are part of the
Annual Meeting minutes.
Many break-out sessions were
offered for learning, sharing and
reaching out.
I will enclose a description of
each of those sessions.
We even had an evening of
international folk dancing led by the
very talented Nancy Penney.
The conference
started out with a welcome from the
Conference Committee chair, Charles
Oropallo and the staff at
Camp
Hanover
.
Steve Angell followed with
reflections on AVP.
Then Dick Nethercut led us in a
tribute to Zell Draz and Marjorie Kerr,
both who have passed on this year.
Many of us will not forget the
contribution these ladies made to AVP.
During the
conference, we heard from two very
talented and informative speakers.
Carl Mays, author
of “A Strategy for Winning”, shared some
dynamic, interactive motivational
thoughts on succeeding in life.
He led us through some group
activities to look into our AVP lives.
Tony Laguna, the
author of “Chicken Soup for the
Prisoners Soul”, shared some experiences
he has had while writing this book.
He and his wife, Laura, had some
their books with them and shared their
weekend with us.
He is also the author of the
upcoming “Chicken Soup for the
Volunteers Soul”.scheduled for release
July 15, 2002
.
On Sunday morning,
Sef McBride, an ex-inmate, pulled
together a panel of ex-inmates
facilitators to discuss “What AVP means
to me”.
It was very inspirational to
listen to these men and women.
After all, isn’t this what AVP is
about?
Congratulations to
the Conference Committee for the super
job they did in securing the location
for us and putting together a terrific
program.
Diana Couch
BREAK-OUT SESSIONS
|
Steve Angell
Quick Decisions—
“Workshop from Hell”
Bring a story of your most
challenging experiences as a
facilitator, and hear how others
think they would have handled
it.
|
Tyrone Wallace
Support Systems Inside—The STEPS
(Support, Training, Education,
Partnership) program currently
running in western
Massachusetts
.
|
Terry Kayser
National Program Evaluation—An
invitation to provide input and
express interest in joining a
program evaluation of AVP in
prison settings by other
regional groups.
Hear what is proposed in
Minnesota
working with the Wilder
Foundation.
|
Alan
Taplow, Don Kesselheim
Vermont’s Reparative
Board approach to
Restorative Justice—A new ½ hour
video of the Vermont Reparative
Model, followed by discussion of
how citizen volunteers may
participate in healing process.
|
|
Terry Kayser
Creating Alternative
Agendas—Exploring strategies to
use when workshop dynamics
change and render the prepared
agenda useless.
|
Barbara Carter
“The Way Home”—The Way Home is a
program that operates in
Delaware
that reaches out to men and
women in their transition from
prison to home.
|
Charles Oropallo, Jo Kurzman
Going Back In—An ex-inmate panel
addresses some of the Why and
How of ex-inmates going back
into prisons as community AVP
facilitators—how we can
encourage the process allowing
ex-inmates back inside as
volunteers.
|
Barbara Toews Shenk, Ann Ward
Restorative Justice Inside
Prison—Exploring the RJ/AVP
Relationship—Exploring the links
between a variety of
prison-based Restorative Justice
approaches and AVP.
|
|
Bob
Barnes
Transforming Power Mandala -
workshop
|
Sef
McBride, Charles Oropallo
Stigmatization—An ex-inmate
panel discussion of living with
stigmas within the community and
how AVP can help.
|
Kathy Rubenstein, Carol Peters
Houses of Healing—Learn more
about this Emotional Awareness
Program, which uses
psychological and spiritual
healing techniques to develop
personal insight and
responsibility, and encourage
forgiveness and
transformation—an excellent
follow-on to AVP.
|
John
Shuford
AVP
Community Conferencing in
prison—Simulating a community
conference within the AVP
trainer community when an inmate
trainer has demonstrated
behavior in serious violation of
guidelines or prison rules.
An example is an inmate
getting into a fight and ending
up in the hole.
|
|
Chelsea Kesselheim
New
AVP Exercises—The new manual?
Light and Livelies?
Role-Playing?
Whether new exercises or
variations on old AVP exercises,
come prepared to enjoy and to
share your discoveries.
|
Terry Tyson
“Foregiveness”—the infamous
F-word—The presenter will tak a
bit about her experience with it
as a violent crime “victim”
(notice the quotes) and mediator
and share some readings, music
and participatory exercises (not
in the Advanced Manual) to use
when the topic arises.
|
Stan
Sloane
The Impact of AVP on Inmate
Behavior—Encouraging findings
from research conducted at the
Delaware
Correction
Center
in
Smyrna
, De.
|
Darrell Hefte
HIPP—Workshop formats, network,
policy.
TP?
AVP alliance?
Brief opening remarks;
Discussion
|
|
Tom
Truitt
Strategic Listening—Interactive
practice session on Strategic
Listening—a mediator’s technique
for reaching win-win agreements.
|
John
Shuford
A
“New Reality”—Anger Management
through AVP.
|
|
|
Minutes of the 2002 AVP
USA
Annual Meeting
Camp Hanover
,
Virginia
Sunday, May 26, 2002
The annual meeting was called to order
by Susan Hefte.
The gathering was: “3 words to describe
how I’m feeling”
Ann Ward talked about the regions and
locals and pointed out a graph which
designated our current regions.
We then heard Regional reports from
those regions represented.
Those reports are attached to
these meeting notes.
Each AVP USA committee and ad hoc
committees then gave their reports.
They are also attached.
New business issues were discussed.
|
Restorative Justice would like
to become a full committee vs an
ad hoc committee.
|
Referred to Committee of
Committees to submit a
recommendation.
|
|
Internation Travel Fund was
established.
This was established with
the $1000 that was being held to
send Marjorie to an
International Conference as our
representative when her health
permitted.
Marjorie past away this
year.
|
This fund will be used to assist
those going to
Nigeria
this year.
It will be administered
by the Finance Committee.
|
|
Diversity Issues
|
Conference Committee with
continue to evaluate each
conference keeping these issues
in mind.
|
|
Zell Scholarship – Was left to
AVP by Zell
Draz
|
Finance Committee will submit
recommendations for its
application.
|
|
Need to update PR material
|
Referred to Communications
Committee who is continually
looking at AVP PR.
|
|
Financing for Regions
|
Referred to Finance Committee
|
|
Bringing in someone with Grant
Writing Skills
|
Referred to Finance Committee
|
|
Regular Transformers (plans were
to release 4 a year)
|
Referred to Communications
Committee who is currently
working through this.
|
|
Inmate re-entry into community
issues
|
An ad-hoc committee was formed
to look into this.
John Shuford will chair
this committee.
|
|
New Agendas and Exercises &
getting them out to the AVP
community.
|
Referred to Education Committee
|
|
Co-opting AVP (with HIPP, RJ for
example)
|
An Ad-hoc committee was formed.
Darrell Hefte will serve
as chair.
A letter concerning the
standards and philosophy of AVP
will be drafted and submitted to
Committee of Committees for
comments.
|
|
Dues, Subscriptions evaluated
(Transformer)
|
Finance & Communications
Committee
|
New Officers were presented and
accepted:
Ann Ward – President
Susan Hefte – Vice President
Tom Truitt – Treasurer
Teresa Tyson – Recording Secretary
Tom Truitt has accepted the position
this year stating the he would like to
find and train a replacement this year.
This has been referred to the
finance committee.
The Conference Committee announced the
next Conference for 2003 will be held in
Stillwater
,
Minnesota
at a retreat center.
The closing gathering was “A highlight
of the conference for me was….”.
Meeting Adjourned
Respectively Submitted:
Terry Tyson
AVP–USA Recording Secretary
Attendees to the 2002 AVP-USA Annual
Meeting
|
Pat Wixom
|
Missouri
|
Nancy Helfrich
|
Minnesota
|
Sidney
Hinds
|
Minnesota
|
|
Audry Miller
|
New England
|
Virginia Osborn
|
NY
|
Al Brophy
|
NY
|
|
Chelsea Kesselheim
|
WY
|
Don Kesselheim
|
WY
|
Terry Case
|
WY
|
|
Harry Greenberg
|
MN
|
Anita Brown
|
WY
|
Mary Lou Beatman
|
DE
|
|
Deborah Sanchez
|
Wy
|
Henry Rivera
|
NY
|
Bob Barns
|
CA
|
|
Tyrone Wallace
|
Mass
|
Steve Angell
|
PA
|
Donald Moon
|
PA
|
|
Aaron McBride
|
NY
|
Ellen Flanders
|
NY
|
Teresa Tyson
|
OH
|
|
Diana Couch
|
CA
|
Susan Hefte
|
FL
|
Ann Ward
|
PA
|
|
Sherrill Hogen
|
Mass
|
David Hutchins
|
MD
|
EmmaLou Davis Comstock
|
MD
|
|
Nancy Hutchins
|
MD
|
Judy Varner
|
VT
|
Jane Foraker-Thompson
|
NV
|
|
Jeanette Shaw
|
PA
|
Carol Peters
|
MA
|
Nancy Penney
|
VA
|
|
Michael Bischoff
|
VA
|
Victoria Pearson
|
PA
|
Robin Willits
|
NH
|
|
Karen Tucker
|
Maine
|
Dick Nethercut
|
MA
|
Jan Krouskop
|
LA
|
|
Rick Krouskop
|
LA
|
Grace McGrath
|
NY
|
John Shuford
|
DE
|
|
Alan Taplow
|
VT
|
Jo Kurzmann
|
Maine
|
Toby Laverty
|
CA
|
|
Darrell Hefte
|
FL
|
David Wickes
|
PA
|
Don Ayers
|
MA
|
|
Toby Riley
|
NJ
|
Susan Oropallo
|
NH
|
Charles Oropallo
|
NH
|
|
Jim Loomis
|
ME/NH
|
Terry Kayser
|
MN
|
|
|
Past
Conferences
