Rural
America has a long tradition of collaborative action. From farmers and electric cooperatives to barn raisings and
country schools, rural people have been innovators when faced with big or
expensive goals and the usual constraint of modest resources. Rural communities also face natural
challenges because of the distances between communities and from urban
centers. When pilots with surplus
military aircraft after World War I were looking for ways to match their
talents with people’s excitement about aviation, ‘barnstorming’ from community
to community represented a natural alignment of interests and
opportunities. Through barnstorming,
people across the nation learned about aviation, as Pilots provided short
sightseeing flights, aerial photography, advertising, flight instruction, air
racing and exhibitions.
Meeting
the many challenges of today’s rural environment depends on board members who
understand their roles and how to carry them out. But effective board education is expensive, often out of reach of
a rural organization’s budget.
Barnstorming can get board education to rural organizations, by using
rural strengths in resource sharing and regional cooperation.
Barnstorming
Board Retreats for Rural Organizations means getting several organizations within
one-day’s driving distance to chip in, then delivering two-day programs with
each by traveling from place to place.
Each organization bears a portion of the cost and coordinates schedules. A “Pilot”—a traveling governance education
and facilitation expert—buys one airline ticket, rents a car, and conducts
retreats with each of the boards in turn (two faculty can be arranged at
reasonable cost, too). The Pilot has
more than one program available, as the educational needs of boards differ to
some extent. Customization is based on
a phone interview with the CEO and the board chair. Materials are sent in advance for use in an agenda book that is
produced and distributed locally.
Additional services can be included as required, at a reasonable cost.
Sending
10 board members to a national governance institute costs at least
$25,000. Even sending all ten to a
regional or state trustee educational event costs more than $10,000, unless the
event is right down the road. It would
be impossible to deliver the same amenities and faculty as a national governance
institute through Barnstorming. On the
other hand, the Barnstorm model gives more value in some others ways:
·
A
Barnstorm is a two-day retreat, and therefore more useful for board work, like
discussion, problem analysis, evaluation, conflict resolution, and consensus
development.
·
Barnstorms
can include roles and responsibilities, mission review, self-evaluation and
other “must do” sessions, plus special topics like state policies, regulatory compliance,
and privacy or safety practices.
·
A
Barnstorm meets the customized educational needs of each board. If two Pilots are contracted more
customization and depth around special topics can be accommodated.
·
A
Barnstorm gets all the board members actively involved in their education, with
each other, and not just those who can go away for a few days.
·
A
Barnstorm can include staff or others on the agenda or in the retreat without
additional cost, except any meal and lodging costs of the host.
·
A
Barnstorm with one Pilot costs each of three organizations only $5,072.
BARNSTORMING
Three Organization
Barnstorm—1 Pilot
|
Expense, Unit Description |
Unit Cost |
Total
|
|
Air travel, roundtrip |
$800 |
$ 800 |
|
Auto rental, 2 weeks |
$250 per
week |
500 |
|
Fuel consumption, 300 miles |
.085 (per
mile) |
26 |
|
Lodging, 14 days |
$75 per
day |
1,050 |
|
Meals, 14 days |
$50 per
day |
700 |
|
Phone allowance, 14 days |
$10 per
day |
140 |
|
Labor, 3 days preparation |
$1,000
per day |
3,000 |
|
Labor, 9 days local |
$1,000
per day |
9,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Barnstorm costs |
|
$ 15,216 |
|
Split 3 ways |
Each |
$ 5,072 |
Four Organization
Barnstorm—1 Pilot
|
Expense, Unit Description |
Unit Cost |
Total
|
|
Air travel, roundtrip |
$800 |
$ 800 |
|
Auto rental, 3 weeks |
$250 per
week |
750 |
|
Fuel consumption, 400 miles |
.085 (per
mile) |
34 |
|
Lodging, 18 days |
$75 per
day |
1,350 |
|
Meals, 18 days |
$50 per
day |
900 |
|
Phone allowance, 18 days |
$10 per
day |
180 |
|
Labor, 4 days preparation |
$1,000
per day |
4,000 |
|
Labor, 12 days local |
$1,000
per day |
12,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Barnstorm costs |
|
$ 20,014 |
|
Split 4 ways |
Each |
$ 5,004 |
Three Organization
Barnstorm—2 Pilots
|
Expense, Unit Description |
Unit Cost |
Total
|
|
Air travel, roundtrip x 2 |
$800 |
$ 1,600 |
|
Auto rental, 2 weeks |
$250 per
week |
500 |
|
Fuel consumption, 300 miles |
.085 (per
mile) |
26 |
|
Lodging, 14 days x 2 |
$75 per
day |
2,100 |
|
Meals, 14 days x 2 |
$45 per
day |
1,260 |
|
Phone allowance, 14 days x 2 |
$10 per
day |
280 |
|
Labor, 3 days preparation |
$1,800
per day |
5,400 |
|
Labor, 9 days local |
$1,800
per day |
16,200 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Barnstorm costs |
|
$ 27,366 |
|
Split 3 ways |
Each |
$ 9,122 |
1 Travel to Area 2 Arrive at site of Retreat 1. Light evening session with Board 1. 3 Day 1 Retreat 1 4 Day 2 Retreat 1. Afternoon debrief with CEO/Chair. 5 Travel to site of Retreat 2. Write notes on Retreat 1. Refresh. 6 Light evening session with Board 2. 7 Day 1 Retreat 2 8 Day 2 Retreat 2. Afternoon debrief with CEO/Chair. 9 Travel to site of Retreat 3. Write notes on Retreat 2. Refresh. 10 Light evening session with Board 3. 11 Day 1 Retreat 3 12 Day 2 Retreat 3. Afternoon debrief with CEO/Chair. 13 Travel toward airport city (Or to site of Retreat 4). Write notes on Retreat 3. Refresh. 14 Prepare follow up reports. Travel out of Area. (Or Have a light evening session with Board 4). 15 Day 1 Retreat 4 16 Day 2 Retreat 4. Afternoon debrief with CEO/Chair 17 Travel toward airport city. Write notes on Retreat 4. Refresh. 18 Prepare follow-up reports. Travel out of Area. 19 20 21 22 23