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transcripts
Transcripts
June 5, 2001
Host: Michael Grant
Topic: Civic Responsiblity
In-Studio Guests:
Xavier Brizar, community relations director for Pioneer Ford
in west Phoenix and a member of the Iaasic School Foundation;
Shana Ellis, assistant director of Tempe Community Council and
program co-chair for Tempe Leadership;
Gail Knight, director of Community Excellence Project in south
Phoenix and southwest regional director for America’s Charities
Guests on tape:
Rick Romley, Maricopa County Attorney
MICHAEL GRANT/HORIZON HOST: "Good evening and welcome
to HORIZON. I’m Michael Grant. Tonight we begin the Community
Roundtable, where local leaders talk about important issues affecting
our communities. This special series will air every Tuesday throughout
the summer.
Tonight we examine civic responsibility. Are we doing our share
to give back to the community? How does the new economy change
the role businesses play in civic leadership? And what are we
doing to develop our next generation of leaders?
Joining me is Xavier Brizar, community relations director for
Pioneer Ford in west Phoenix and a member of the Iaasic School
Foundation. Shana Ellis, assistant director of Tempe Community
Council and program co-chair for Tempe Leadership. And Gail Knight,
director of Community Excellence Project in south Phoenix and
southwest regional director for America’s Charities.
A major part of civic responsibility is the notion of giving
back to the community by volunteering. We asked some valley residents
whether they think the valley suffers from apathy toward volunteering."
AMBER DENNISON/Tempe resident: (on tape) "There isn’t
enough people involved. I think we’re raised in a very selfish
world—so everybody thinks about themselves. Me, myself and I."
GRACE CRUZ/East Mesa resident (on tape) "I feel like
there is time and I think we should offer or make it easier…or
put it out there in the community, maybe market it out to the
public a little more that there are opportunities and that there’s
need for help to volunteer."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Xavier, is it as simple as people being
too busy to volunteer?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "I don't think it is that they are too busy.
I think people don't know how to volunteer, who to meet, where
to go to volunteer, what they can do, so I don't think it is that
they are too busy. You do have people that are very busy and don't
have time to, but if you show them how to volunteer, they are
more than willing to do it."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Shana, is this a generational thing? Somebody
made a comment a while back that they felt today's generation
actually was a little more volunteer-minded than maybe the generation
right before. Are you finding a generational difference in volunteerism?"
SHANA ELLIS: "I think it will become a focus, especially
as the baby boomers get into retirement. On that end of the spectrum,
you'll see baby boomers pitching in. I think people in their 30s
and 40s now do have more time, maybe more time than when they
were in college and they were in their 20s trying to get their
careers off the ground. There are a lot of parents involved in
schools and churches. A lot of times the traditional volunteer
role of volume tearing at a non-profit has moved into other aspects."
MICHAEL GRANT: "What about young people themselves, Gail?
High school kids, junior high, college kids, do they seem to be
more volunteer oriented or not?"
GAIL KNIGHT: "Absolutely, because it is promoted so much
more now with national community service, volunteer organizations
that are out there, the Americorps program that was established
during the Clinton years. You have to remember that a lot of us
baby boomers were encouraged to volunteer through our grandparents
and what have you that were in civic groups reaching out to young
people saying ‘give back to your community.’ When we got into
the mainstream of working and developing our career goals, we
weren't as involved in the civic organizations as our grandparents
were. that's really where a lot of the promotion of volunteerism
started.
But we now have these new groups that are coming on line that
are focused on community service. College is the same now. We
want to see more community service, even in your application when
you are applying. High schools now are beginning to promote volunteering.
Society wants to see more community service to balance between
that and the academics as it relates to what their GPA is. They
also want to know that you are out there giving back. So, I think
we have these various units ought there that are making sure that
this new generation coming behind us are stay involved in their
community."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Xavier, you are nodding your head?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "The last couple of years I've seen a big
interest from high school students looking to volunteer. It is
part of their criteria to graduate. They have to volunteer 50
hours in community service. I'm proud for see that. Once they
have that experience and exposure, as they graduate and go to
school and college -- and I get a lot of college students that
call me to volunteer for a one-day project and get the experience."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Pioneer Ford was on board very early with
the graffiti removal project and I know it has been involved in
that for a long time and has done some great work. Do you get
a lot of volunteer activity?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "We do get a lot of volunteers. Our program
is based on a full-time employee of our dealership, but we have
individuals, groups that will volunteer, youth groups, boy scouts,
girl scouts, that will call us and do a one-day paint out and
see what graffiti is all about, how much work it is.
We know we have three hours of them painting and rolling, and
we talk about the graffiti and impacts of graffiti. Look at these
volunteers that do this day in and day out that will carry this
bucket into a field and paint for two or three hours. It is hard
work.
We started that, and I get a lot of students that call us, a
lot of individuals, and I've done community projects with businesses,
100 individuals and their families. They want to do something.
I'm very excited when I heard about "Make a Difference" and what
"Make a Difference" does and how they bring businesses out. I’m
very proud that they are able to touch those individuals."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Can organizations do a better job just simply
asking people to volunteer, letting them know what opportunities
are there? Those kinds of things?"
SHANA ELLIS: "Yes, and actually that's a great point. The
Points of Light Foundation has some statistics on their web site.
One of them was that 91% of people that are asked to volunteer
say yes to volunteer. But only 23% of people actually step forward
and volunteer on their own. So, one of the things that non-profits
do is ask. You need to ask people to volunteer. And they will.
They'll step forward."
MICHAEL GRANT: "You know Gail, if you've got three million
people in a metro area the way we do, the communication, the asking
part, I would think, would be kind of difficult?"
GAIL KNIGHT: "It can be from time to time. You have to find
those outlets and those opportunities to get that request out
there. If it is getting the opportunity to go to have dialogues
and donuts with the chamber of commerce to getting announcements
out to churches and talking to small business individuals, sending
out letters and what have you, you have to market what is your
desire and what your need is. Xavier mentioned Make a Difference,
and it’s a wonderful organization to assist you with finding those
volunteers.
United Way with their Community Information and Referral service
is another one that really helps identifying those volunteers
as well. But you have to know where all of those outlets are,
in order to secure, you know, your volunteers that you need. and
as it has been said here, if you don't ask, they don't know. Unless
it is a burning issue with an individual, something that's happened
to a family member, a friend or something like that, that's usually
what the motivating factor is for getting involved."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Is there a matching process on this thing?
I mean, are there particular personality types that are, you know,
more drawn to a particular volunteer subject than others or socio-economic
groups or whatever the case may be?"
SHANA ELLIS: "Well I think with volunteers, the whole nature
of volunteering, is that you have to let the volunteer choose
how they want to volunteer. The Volunteer Center of Maricopa County
is a great matching organization. Anyone can give them a call
and say, ‘I'm interesting in serving food at homeless shelters
in this neighborhood’ and they'll try to find an organization
that has that need. They know -- they work a lot with the non-profits
to find out what their needs are. Then when citizens call, they
can match them. it is very important, if it is not a good match,
they will not continue to volunteer."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Retirees were mentioned a few minutes ago,
Xavier. I would think with the baby boom generation getting older
and older and older -- I feel older just sitting here talking
about it -- but retirees have always been kind of a giant untapped
resource and that group is only going to get bigger?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "Uh-huh. I think, you know, they are a tremendous
resource. You drive through Sun City and look at all of the city
volunteers, and you see how clean it is and the pride they have
and that carries on. When you go into inner city neighborhood,
I think you need to have balance and in some of the neighborhoods
I've seen, you do have majority of the participation is retirees.
You have to have youth involved. and you have to enroll all of
those things and balance it out.
And you know, to me, it's great to see, you know, attendance
like that, but you have to have the balance. I think that's why
it is important. if you're going to be in the neighborhood, and
you're going to have a group, you need to balance it not only
with retirees, but youth and then have the baby boomers in between
and interact all of them. because we learn from experiences."
GAIL KNIGHT: "Yes, that's right. You said a mouthful Xavier,
because that's the best of all world. You have the blend from
the seniors to the young ones. Some neighborhoods have been able
to do that because you have the older seniors that have retired
and are still in the community and they are reaching out and a
lot of them within their community have relatives there as well
that are younger that are moving back to their old neighborhoods
and getting involved also, and developing partnerships with their
local schools, which bring those families even closer together,
and you begin to even have a larger pool and a much more diverse
group of individuals involved in volunteering also, because everyone
there is meeting a need, something that they want to be involved
with as it relates to that project."
MICHAEL GRANT: "The number of neighborhood organizations
in the city of Phoenix grew tremendously the past decade. At the
end of 19-90, there were 112- neighborhood groups registered with
the city of phoenix. Today, there are 843 community groups registered
with Phoenix Neighborhood Services, a fact not lost on politicians."
RICK ROMLEY/Maricopa County Attorney (on tape) "Neighborhood
activism is a -- it is a phenomena that has grown dramatically.
they are a true political force in today's politics, as well as
in the legislative agendas.
MICHAEL GRANT: "Gail, have neighborhood organizations been
a real cathartic kind of thing, at least in particular on certain
issues over the past 10 years?"
GAIL KNIGHT: "Oh, yes. I believe that before the former
councilman Calvin Goode left
city hall, he inspired neighborhoods, that real since of getting
back involved in your community. If you were going to make a change
with the issues going on at that time, and there were communities
that he was working with as it relates to crime and gangs and
graffiti, that it wasn't going to happen from just the city of
Phoenix, the staff and all doing it. It was important to get those
neighbors talking to each other and planning and getting more
involved in their communities.
So when they proposed starting fight-back organizations, when
you talk about the first 112, those were fight-back groups that
started around the city of Phoenix and looking at those needs
relating to how do we overcome the increase in gang activity.
How do we overcome what is going on with our youth and schools
with the balance among each other, as well as cleaning up our
communities and revitalizing our communities?
As they begin to have success, more and more neighborhood groups
came on line. It was through that – that specific development
that neighborhood services each was designed as well, because
neighbors started saying, we need a department that will focus
on the community, the neighborhood, being responsive to us, and
it was through that movement that they at that time established
in '99, '91. They have been totally focused on helping neighborhoods
resolve their problems in their community."
MICHAEL GRANT: "If you've got a community neighborhood group,
Shana, you're going to need -- I think you're going to need leaders.
You may sometimes you get too many leaders and you don't get enough
followers, but your theory is that leaders are not born, they
are trained?
SHANA ELLIS: "Right. Well, I think that there are certain
traits people are born with which help them become a leader, social
aspects and charisma—that kind of thing. But education is the
best tools a leader can have. With the population being so transient,
people moving in and people moving out, that has been a challenge
for some neighborhoods.
But we are finding that as the economy is growing and this is
becoming a more desirable place for people to live, that they
are staying in their homes and they are relating to their neighbors
more and they are jelling more as a neighborhood and leaders are
emerging.
I've seen most of the time that there is some kind of zoning
issue, or that type of thing that will bring a neighborhood together
and someone will step forward and say, we need to form a group
to do this. Usually they are designated as the leader, but you
know, I think neighborhood groups are just the grassroots of leadership."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Obviously programs like Valley Leadership,
which if memory serves, I think now is better than 20 years old,
and then following organizations like Tempe Leadership, designed,
both, I think, to pass along some leadership skills, as well as
simply to inform potential leaders about what are the issues?
SHANA ELLIS: "I mean, what's your community about, what
should you be concerned about. And Scottsdale also has a leadership
program as does Mesa. With the Tempe Leadership program, it is
a 9-month program that there is an interview process, we get quite
a few applicants every year. We try to make each class, we're
just recruiting for the 17th class right now, we work
to kind of make sure that we don't have the same people coming
in every year. We try to get a diverse background: age, ethnicity,
gender, and also occupation.
And we do have a few of the neighborhood group leaders step forward,
but there is also from schools to retirees, to people that stay
at home, college students-- its great when you have a group of
people that have all of this energy that want to do something
for the community, but they are not quite sure what it is they
want to do. And after spending two Fridays with us every 9 months,
they are just full of ideas."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Yeah, that's right. Burnout? Leadership
burnout? Xavier, you’ve noticed there is a three-year cycle?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "I call it the three-year cycle. When I first
started, I met individuals that started the same time I started.
They've got all of these ideas, they are moving and doing things,
they've tackled issues, they've done several different events
and functions. The second year you start seeing that chin down.
After the third year, they are burnt out and they stop doing what
they are doing and they haven't built a foundation and dell grate
– delegated responsibilities.
I've seen two cycles in the seven years I've been involved. It
is sad, because you see some real successes and you see it really
drop really fast in a neighborhood because there is not that training.
If you deal with one of is individuals, we'll tell you that you
are going to do a neighborhood news letter, how we can help you,
where you can go to get a free web site, what information can
you have, and we can speed that process along very fast. Some
of these individuals don't have the opportunity to meet some of
us and they lose momentum. But one of the big things also, they
are not recognized. Sometimes they are not – they lose their motivation,
and we feel that our company feels that we should recognize those
volunteers, those leaders and support them in any way we can and
keep them motivated."
GAIL KNIGHT: "Leadership training and development is really
key to that group staying together and South Phoenix Village Neighborhood
Association, all of them have been together for the past 10 years.
And throughout the time they've been working that community. It
has been a plan that they have developed and they continue to
get training and sort of to build capacity and understand what
they are doing, what it is going to take to do that, and continue
to always reach out and bring others in the fold, not having themselves
constantly trying to do all of it.
If they recognize the area that they don't have the expertise
and the ability and someone else needs to lead that, they have
no problems with approaching someone getting recommendations and
asking individuals to come in. And so therefore, they have the
longevity and the burnout is not as great as we see with some
groups who did not do that in the beginning, you know, develop
the plan, have someone continue to give them training and understand
expectations and requirements of what they want to do."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Some people are going to get motivated because
of a particular issue motivates them. When that issue is perceived
as solved, they are going to say, ‘hey, I’m out of here, I really
wasn't in this thing for the long haul.’ I just wanted to get
that solved?
GAIL KNIGHT: "Exactly. They come for that one particular
item and then they are out of there. And you have the gung-ho
motivated leader that sees all of these people coming and they
will be there until the end and then they look up and they are
the only drum major and the rest have taken their tools and gone
home. ’I've got my part accomplished and I'm out of here.’ That's
what they need to be aware of as neighborhood leaders that not
everyone is there for the long haul. What you may see down the
pipe—‘whoa! Wait a minute, I didn't buy into all of that. I'm
only here for the immediate situation right here.’"
MICHAEL GRANT: "Well, You take your resources where you
find them…"
GAIL KNIGHT: "Exactly!"
MICHAEL GRANT: "I mean I assume you'll get your mix of people.
Now, what about the dark side to leadership and neighborhood groups
on the local level? And that’s maybe it’s NIMBYism—that’s ‘not
in my back yard.’ It’s very parochial. It’s focused on local good
to the exclusion of a larger societal good? Is that more prevalent
than it was 10, 15 years ago maybe or no?"
GAIL KNIGHT: "I don't think it is more of the NIMBYism than
just the skepticism of whether we can truly reach this goal. Or
having had desires and dreams not accomplished. Not believing
that those things will happen. And so therefore, individuals sometimes
will begin to become a bit apathetic and that apathy then passes
on to others and you begin to lose some of the individuals there
with you.
On the other hand, if you are able to accomplish and move to
the next level, then they are questioning your motive and how
did you get there because 10 years ago we couldn't do that, now
you are doing it, where are you getting it from, what do you stand
to gain for this?"
When you are standing in the leadership role, you have to walk
this balance tightrope to understand that you are damned if you
do and damned if you don't and be able to handle that in that
process as well."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Shana, sometimes these groups, though, are
really -- I mean, they have a very, very limited focus. And I
mean, I can understand, you know, self-interest and preservation
is fine, but sometimes, they are saying I'm really in this for
the square mile that surrounds my place, and even though you can
demonstrate bigger good, they are not for me because, you know,
it is kind of an immediate perceived bad?"
SHANA ELLIS: "Right, and one of the items that I always
bring up when that's mentioned is Tempe is always criticized because
they don't have a homeless shelter. I've been working with an
organization, the Tempe Community Council for 15 years and we
actually take in the grants from the non-profits that step forward
that want to offer services in Tempe, and I've never seen one
for a homeless shelter. There isn't a neighborhood that steps
forward and says we would like a shelter, but all of them think
that one is needed. so, I think that's a good case in point of
the NIMBYism. There are a lot of things that are needed but people
don't look beyond, you know, their own back yard to where some
of those services should be located."
MICHAEL GRANT: "Do you agree Xavier?"
XAVIER BRIZAR: "I agree. They don't have the regional idea
what's going to benefit the area, maybe what's going to benefit
the neighborhood. You know, it is funny. I've gone to some meetings
where we're talking about all of these serious issues. I mean,
serious crime issues, things, and I've gone to other neighborhoods
where they think they have a major issue and it is something that's
very minor. And you look at both of them and
you wonder, if you guys only had an idea what neighborhoods have
difficulty or inner city neighborhoods with serious problems.
You need to start looking at these things and find a way to resolve
these and not let that happen. Look at the future. Too many neighborhoods
look at only the current problems. what's going to happen at 5,
10,15 years from now, like regional transportation, that kind
of thing. You need to start planning for that now."
MICHAEL GRANT: I want to shift to the bigger issue, leadership
on a larger level at municipal or state or what have you. We have
a quote from Jon Talton, the business columnist from the Arizona
Republic:
"One truism of the New Economy is that the old civic paternalism
is dead. Another is that high-tech bosses are typically less involved
in the community." (Source: Jon Talton, Business Columnist,
The Arizona Republic)
MICHAEL GRANT: "You know Xavier, I think that's --- I think
that is one of the casualties of the new lean, mean, more productivity,
new economy phenomena. A lot of businesses are looking and saying,
we can't devote a department, we can't devote three or four people
anymore to a general societal agenda. It is not a profit center.
We can't afford it."
XAVIER BRIZAR: "Not so much a profit center, but businesses
have to focus on an operator being profitable. that's the main
focus thing to be profitable. From that they can make a decision
that they will designate that individual, but a long-term concept
of any business that will be successful, especially in Arizona,
is how involved they are in the community, and take responsive
to issues and things in that neighborhood where they are going
to do business in.
We look at businesses in our area and 15 years from now where
are we going to be at and we're going to be right here. If we
don't get involved now and be proactive, we'll be reacting later
and doing these things. Especially in our business, we don't have
the option of moving away. You just can't do that."
GAIL KNIGHT: "I just returned from the East Coast at a conference
that was focused on businesses getting involved in communities.
The thing that they were looking at is how to get involved in
communities that would be beneficial to their business as far
as marketing and how they could get that consumer base within
that community looking more to their company to not being a support
system to then, but then turning around and giving back by investing
in their product.
You know, how do we get our product out there in front of them.
As we get involved in communities looking at a way in which whatever
that effort is in that community, it relates to what our product
or service is about as well. Because of the fact that they are
not having the big community relations and marketing and PR departments
anymore, but we still don't want to lose sight of the fact that
these are the very people that we need to keep our businesses
going, too.
So how do we bridge the gap? And there was a lot of dialogue
going on between those businesses. A lot of them were the high-tech
big businesses because they were concerned about how do we factor
into communities beyond doing tutorial programs. How do we factor
in the community so we are seen as one of those friendly entities
within communities as well..."
XAVIER BRIZAR: "Seen as a neighbor."
GAIL KNIGHT: "Exactly, right."
XAVIER BRIZAR: "That’s what we want to be seen as, a neighbor.
That's very important. If they that they really believe they are
a neighbor, not just a business in this community, but a neighbor…"
MICHAEL GRANT: "Sort of build a reservoir of good will in
case things turn down in whatever way they might turn down. I
know the point has been made, Shana, one of the things Arizona
has lost is a lot of its local institutions and, banks are most
frequently mentioned. It kind of pulls out of the community at
large, some of the key leaders?"
SHANA ELLIS: "Well, it does. A lot of the technology firms,
I think we read in the paper every other day that the president
or CEO of a certain organization has left and someone else has
come in. I think that a lot of the business leaders of the past
have led by example. They are out there. Their names are out there.
They are attached to a certain cause, and I don't think that a
lot of the major companies that come in here have the time to
establish that before somebody else comes in."
MICHAEL GRANT: Shana Ellis, we have exhausted our time, believe
it or not. It goes quickly. Thank you for joining us. Xavier Brizer,
good to see you. Gail Knight, thank you as well.
