Laumeier Docents lead the charge

Laumeier Docents (l to r) – Clara Coleman (Curator of Interpretation), Jahn Epstein, Jody Bailey, Janet Peterson,  Ferda Omurtag,  Wes Morgan,  Tim Reichman,  Mary Hanson,  Mary Drury, June Shaw, Sheila Hoffmeister, Pat Leigh, Barb Flunker, Nancy Linhares,  Mary Brauch, Sari Frieden,  Ann Bauer,  Kate Haggans. Photo © Wes Morgan 

The mission at Laumeier is to be a living laboratory where artists and audiences explore the relationship between contemporary art and the natural environment. Docents at the 105 acre museum – county park partnership are determined to deliver on this promise every day. There is a lot with which to work. This jewel, tucked away in the Sunset Hills suburb of St. Louis, has a committed docent crew who are enthusiastically engaged in nearly every aspect of this enterprise.

300,000 visitors come to this remarkable place annually. They come to be a part of scheduled tours. Many come again and again to enjoy the atmosphere. Residents of the Saint Louis region can take advantage of a range of activities: from Art Camp at Laumeier to walking the family dog and breathing some fresh air. The annual Art Fair, hosted on Mother’s Day weekend, attracts 15,000 to view the work of 150 artist-exhibitors who travel to display and sell their work. Docents are in the front lines and behind the scenes in all cases.

In our community, champions of art and culture actively contribute generously to Laumeier Sculpture Park’s legacy. Fundraisers in the Fall and Spring are part of the social calendar but accessible. On any give weekday, you might encounter groups of school children. They arrive in busloads. There is something here for kids of all ages. Open spaces, trails hidden away, a fully renovated estate house (originally built in 1917) and a new fine arts building (The Adam Aronson Fine Arts Center). Docent co-chairs are ex-officio members of the board of this nationally accredited Museum.   

On average 70 monumental works are on display. Some favorites are works by Tony Tasset, Richard Hunt, Mark di Suvero, Sol Lewitt, Dan Graham, Robert Chambers, Jackie Ferrara, Sam Durant, Geoffrey Krawczyk, Robert Lobe, Beverly Pepper, Ernest Trova, Alexander Liberman, Steve Tobin, Anthony Caro, Niki de Saint Phalle, Judith Shea, Donald Lipski and Donald Judd. Docent tours can be tailored by topic, artist or geared toward lesson plans.   

The park is family friendly but it is much more than a successful public space. Make plans to visit us as we approach of 40^th anniversary in 2016. A recent $10 million capital campaign which has made construction and renovation possible assures a quality experience for new visitors and plenty of delightful surprises for residents of the region. Docents are poised to help you orchestrate an ideal visit to Laumeier Sculpture Park.

Like docents everywhere, Laumeier Docents share a passion for the museum for which they have pledged allegiance. Like docents everywhere, they are good at communicating information tempered with the ability to facilitate further learning. Above and beyond that, the crew at Laumeier is committed to ongoing enrichment while adding value to the aforementioned mission to be a living laboratory. 

   

Wesley A Morgan (morganwes@aol.com) is co-chair of the Laumeier Sculpture Park docents.  Planning a trip to the St. Louis area? Arrange a tour led by trained Laumeier docents by calling 314-615-5267 in advance to reserve space for your group. For additional information visit www.laumeiersculpturepark.org

Marketing Advisory at UMSL

Professor Perry Drake started the formation of a digital marketing advisory group at the Universityof Missouri, Saint Louis three years ago. This board of professional marketers is composed of leaders from the business community in our region with ample representation of corporate and agency types. The meeting on February 6, 2015 is symbolic of just how much progress has been made. The meeting includes remarks from the College of Business Administration Dean Charlie Hoffman and is presided over by the board’s chairman -- Fleishman Hillard’s Matt Coble. The group has evolved to become the UMSL Marketing Advisory Board with many irons in the fire.

Curriculum, student engagement, and plans for the annual Digital Marketing Conference are top of mind but subplots include a show of force from the marketing faculty, outreach initiatives and development efforts. “The presentation  from the committee working on cultivating content and expertise from this board is very encouraging. I think all of us on the faculty recognize the study and practice of marketing is changing and this board is a great help. It is very much appreciated” says Professor Frank Fu.

Fu is not alone. The Marketing Department Chairman Haim Mano is enthusiastic on behalf of all faculty members. Board members include Graduate student Brianna Smith and Undergraduate Marketing Club President Patrick Eberle.  Both made presentations.  Anyone can see there is an incredible seamlessness happening even as the essence of what it means to prepare for a career in marketing in an age of digital disruption.

These are interesting and challenging times for marketers. The two and one half hour meeting seems almost historic, if not a bit chaotic. There is optimism as the group absorbs the inevitable politics of running a college of business and university.  Yet in the same room there are interested parties looking for ways to apply the principals of marketing at all levels of the student and community.

My two cents has to do with fortification of the collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association. UMSL has, in the midst of all these other initiatives, successfully met all requirements of becoming an active collegiate chapter – one of just a handful  in the State of Missouri to do so. This has been accomplished with an incredible partnership with the St. Louis AMA professional chapter.

UMSL St. Louis - Photos above (c) Wes Morgan (from l to r) board members Mark Sanders of Locker Dome; President of UMSL Marketing Club Patrick Eberle; board member and Graduate Student Brianna Smith. Marketing Faculty Gerald Gao, Michael Elliott, Marketing Chair Haim Mano and Frank Fu and a wide shot of the meeting room.       

Indiana Architecture Art Design 2015

They said it was risky to plan a trip to a sculpture park in January, so we built a few extras into the excursion to mitigate adversity. We were eight brave souls willing to make the trek on behalf of our docent corps from Laumeier Sculpture Park in a rented utility van from Enterprise Rent-a-Car on January 17-18.

In the process of planning the weekend we bundled into it a visit to Columbus, Indiana which has a rich history of architectural design innovation and excellence fostered by industrialist and philanthropist J. Irwin Miller. A tour of the house he and his wife Xenia Simons Miller commissioned in 1953 with the architect behind our iconic arch, Eero Saarinen seemed like a good idea. Indeed it was. The midcentury house and garden was stunning and we enjoyed VIP treatment as the visits to the property are limited to 13 or fewer people at a time.

The Columbus, Indiana Visitors Bureau suggested we stay at the Indigo Hotel and so we did. That decision permitted us to soak in the culture of a community inspired by quality art and design. Miller was a driver behind a foundation that gave the community an incentive to select from a list of architects with much success in executing some remarkable spaces. Around every corner in that small town there was another surprise of sculpture, landscaping and artwork. As a group we were satisfied that the effort to get up early on a Saturday morning and to drive four and one half hours to Columbus was well worth it. It was unseasonably warm with temperatures in the 50s.

On Sunday it was a bit cooler and the morning brought a little precipitation. Although we were almost reluctant to leave the town we had to get to Indianapolis – an hour away by car. Located on 100 acres adjacent to the Indiana Museum of Art main campus, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park consists of woodlands, wetlands, meadows, and a 35-acre lake. 100 Acres is one of the largest museum art parks in the country and one of only a few to feature ongoing commissions of temporary, site-responsive artworks. Naturally the docent corps from Laumeier Sculpture Park wanted to get a look up close and personal.

Docent Karen Bower was willing to step up in the off-season to lead us on a tour of the park – and before the museum even officially opened. In spite of patches of ice on the trials around the lake and some muddy places we navigated the grounds with pleasure. Karen’s guidance for nearly ninety minutes was a first-rate inspiration to all of us.

The visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art was a bonus if not only for the terrific works on view from the permanent collection but also for the special exposition of Georgia O’Keeffe which was FREE as a gesture to in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. 

Hank & Ann Bauer, Mary & Mike Drury, Shelia Hoffmeister, Clara Coleman, June Shaw (Photo by Wes Morgan - not in picture)

...and a group shot by Hank with me in it...(back)

         

Think. Feel. Do.

Harvard Business Review featured Marketing in its July/August 2014 issue this past year. In that issue an article entitled The Ultimate Marketing Machine. The subtitle – Most marketing organizations are stuck in the last century. Here’s how the best meet the challenges of the digital age. The Authors are Marc de Swaan Arons, Frank van den Driest, and Keith Weed. Marc and Frank are founders of a global marketing strategy firm, EffectiveBrands. Keith Weed is chief marketing and communications officer at Unilever. Keith Weed is also the chairman of the Marketing 2020 Advisory Board.

The study reveals that Marketers must leverage customer insight, umbue their brands with a brand purpose, and deliver a rich customer experience. BUT most organizations haven’t been able to pull all those pieces together. The Utimate Marketing Machine article suggests that the highest achievers in business are those that manage a sort of marketing orchestrator model that is comprised of: THINK – where the focus is on data and analytics; FEEL – where the focus is on customer engagement and DO – where the focus is on content and production.

In Saint Louis, professor Perry Drake is preparing for his third annual digital marketing conference in April. The conference is a forum that addresses meeting challenges of the digital age. Speakers are invited to participate in a robust discussion with an audience of more than 350 who assemble on the campus of the University of Missouri, St. Louis (UMSL). Perry’s Digital Marketing Advisory Board, of which I am a member, helps to orchestrate this annual event. Indeed this group mirrors the Marketing 2020 Advisory Board with representation from business, marketing and agencies. At the heart of it all is an earnest effort to understand the role, structure, cababilities and leadership of the marketing function going forward.

We all recognize the disruption brought on by technologies. Now it appears the attention is finally beginning to look at the mindsets, competencies and behaviors we must cultivate to compete as marketers in our changing world. Marketing 2020 is a comprehensive global marketing leadership initiative. Led by Millward Brown Vermeer in partnership with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), Spencer Stuart, and Adobe, Marketing2020 is focused on how to best align marketing strategy, structure, and capabilities for business growth.

Observing Parkway School Board

School Board Report

Name of School District: Parkway School District

Date of Meeting Attended: Wednesday August 27, 2014 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Brief Description of What was Discussed: Regular meetings of the board of education are held monthly at Parkway Central Middle School as designated in the board meeting calendar, They are open to the public.  In addition, all meetings are streamed live on Parkway's website. (I was able to get a preview of a typical meeting but technology prevented me from sitting through more than the opening remarks of an archived video of the June meeting.) Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified.

Public comments are welcome at each regular board meeting during the period designated for citizen statements.  To address the board, a sign-up sheet is provided between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the entry table.  Citizens will be called to the podium by the board president to make their statement.  Those who address the board are also asked to provide a written statement.  Those who do not wish to address the board may fill out the comment sheet located at the sign-in table.

The board consists of the following seven people: Beth Feldman, President (Term Expires 2015, appointed 2008, elected 2009); Chris Jacob, VP (Term Expires 2017, elected 2008); Kim Applebaum, Director (Term expires 2016, elected 2010); Tom Applebaum, Director (Term expires 2016, elected 2010); Dee Mogerman, Director (Term expires 2017, appointed 2004, elected 2005); Deborah Hopper, Director (Term expires 2017, elected 2014); and Sam Sciortino, Ph.D., Director (Term Expires 2016, elected 2010). Also present was Superintendent Keith Marty.

This meeting I noted was, somewhat predictably, efficient. This is clearly not the forum for debate as much as a public demonstration of the civilized and orderly bureaucracy of managing a district that includes 5 high schools and somewhere in the neighborhood of 17,000 students.

The agenda, neatly printed on two sides of a single sheet of paper included housekeeping items like call to order, roll call, pledge of allegiance; special recognitions for a group of boy scouts in attendance and efforts on behalf of the American Heart Association. A long list of action items were quickly voted on, such as board approval of minutes of past meeting, unanimous votes in favor of purchases of supplies, transportation and a variety of other items that seemed essential to the ongoing business of running the various schools.

The biggest items for the evening came later in the meeting: Approval of Comprehensive Assessment Plan; A preliminary discussion of Math Program Evaluation and an SSD Public Review Committee Report. Surely these topics represent highly charged issues for which there are widely divergent views.           

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this group, it seems, is a cohesive agreement to stay on a course forged by the creation of a comprehensive strategic plan. In addition to the plan itself, Parkway appears to have done a pretty good job of elevating their brand by communicating with stakeholders in clear, concise terms. As it happens, I am familiar with the firm UPbrand that proudly assisted in helping the Parkway School District. They described the assignment as follows on their website:

Parkway School District has long been viewed as one of the top public districts in the country. As part of their on-going evolution, they embarked on an ambitious strategic planning process that led to the re-conception of the core elements and process of delivering a top-notch public education.

Having codified their new direction, it was time to generate excitement about the new approach among the community and their key constituents.

Personal Reflection on the role of the School Board:

Before attending the meeting, I was sure that I would feel like an outsider sitting in on a board meeting of the Parkway School District. Both of my children are graduate products of Parkway West High School (Classes of 2000 and 2004).

Parkway School District was my second choice for this assignment. I had hoped to attend a Special School District board meeting until I learned those meetings are scheduled on Tuesday nights in direct conflict with EDU 211 Foundation of Education with David L. Shields, Ph.D. Fortunately, the special  report on the partnership between Parkway and SSD was on the agenda that evening.

When we relocated to St. Louis at the end 1996 we, like so many others who move, were heavily influenced by the perceived quality and reputation of the public school where our kids would attend high school. It never occurred to me to get more involved than a typical parent attending periodic open houses, teacher conferences and athletic events. With this experience I am struck by the tremendous responsibility these seven school board leaders have in delivering on the Mission Statement spelled out in the well designed and crafted Strategic Plan brochure online:

TO ENSURE ALL STUDENTS ARE CAPABLE, CURIOUS AND CONFIDENT LEARNERS WHO UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGES OF AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD.

More than 400 Project Parkway volunteers helped develop Parkway's mission, vision and strategic plan, which will guide our work through 2016. We have also revitalized Parkway’s brand with a new logo and tagline to better reflect our mission and vision for students.(1)

(1) Parkway Schools. Higher Expectations. Brighter Futures. A printed copy of this brochure was available at the meeting and is offered as an exhibit.

(2)  The agenda for 8/27/2014 board meeting is also provided.  

This report was prepared by Wesley A. Morgan in accordance with assignment as described in the Syllabus provided by the professor on the first night of class August 18, 2014

Parker, Michael, and Daniel

Parker, with a rasp of red dirt, sings

The trio together in a psalm of a song

Michael the archangel strums base strings

Daniel in a den fiddles but remains strong

Audiences move about inexplicably

Pentacostal tongues - commotion in the aisles   

Pondering everlasting life and the trinity

Life on the road – another hundred miles 

Immersion. Investment. Inclusion.

Cultural Diversity 101

Community Relations and Program Development Supervisor Kelly Moore greeted our group in the lobby of the International Institute. She opens with a question, “Who is brave enough to tell the group the difference between an immigrant and a refugee?” There are, of course, important distinctions as the key difference is that a refugee is forced into circumstances as an immigrant is not. She offers an overview that begins with visual aids – a global map; a chart listing countries of which the Institute has seen and helped people; and lists of services. She encourages us to visit the website; look for information about the Festival of Nations and consider the website as a resource for learning about unique culturally diverse events.

Kelly’s tour showed us areas where classroom language instruction takes place. She showed us an area that focuses on employment. She even noted the Institutes work with small business loans/assistance for “New Americans.” The overview/tour she assured us would be more fully explained on the website but she reinforced the message about the The Institute’s highly-acclaimed programs are arranged in THREE SERVICE PILLARS: Immersion, Investment and Inclusion. The website offers the following information about the organization:

The International Institute, established in 1919, is a pioneer in the field of diversity. In all our comprehensive array of adjustment services reaches more than 7,500 immigrants and refugees from 75 countries, approximately 8% of the St. Louis City and County 2010 foreign-born population.

As a result, the Institute has important multigenerational ties to local immigrant communities. Our programs and services are locally and nationally-acclaimed. We also have deep knowledge of the state of the immigrant communities and population trends. We serve as key consultants on a broad range of issues affecting the social, cultural and economic health of our region. Our mission is to help immigrants and their families become productive Americans and champion ethnic diversity as a cultural and economic strength.

The Institute will be celebrating 95 years of service in resettlement and integration to nearly every immigrant population (Immersion). It offers a variety of business counseling and advice and facilitates business loans (Investment). It orchestrates an annual event, The Festival of Nations and promotes understanding of different cultures in a variety of other ways.(Inclusion).

Kelly Moore could not contain her enthusiasm for all the good work the International Institute does and assured us that she could talk about it for days. She made this statement, conveniently enough, in front of a bulletin board that outlined again for us the THREE SERVICE PILLARS…Immersion, Investment, Inclusion.

For more information visit www.iistl.org