Mary Golden is the Executive Director of the Central Coast Natural History Association, a private nonprofit working in partnership with our local State Parks to support and fund science and nature education from Pismo State Beach to Harmony Headlands State Park. She welcomes stories and comments at MaryGolden@slocoastjournal.com. |
The Elevator Speech
by Mary Golden
When I first became the Executive Director for (big breath) "Central Coast Natural History Association," (drag in another breath) it took me about six months before I could say that in one breath. Many times, before I get to the end of it, I see peoples' eyes glaze over, and I know I'm in trouble. Even if I get past our name, I often have to explain what that means, and let's just say, "It's complicated."
Often times, I just say, "I'm with State Parks," and people nod and smile and I have their attention. But the truth I'm not "with State Parks," I'm an employee, I'm with State Parks as in "associated with."
Is my elevator ride over with you yet? If you have ever taken a speech, advertising or marketing class, then you probably know what the elevator speech is. When you finally get the ear of someone important and you need to get the point across, the exercise is to pretend you have just stepped on an elevator with this person, and you just have the ride to make your case. Why do this? The problems is if you are passionate about what you do (I am), it is easy to tell someone how to make a watch when they only asked for the time. An elevator speech makes you focus on the time, and addresses the fact your audience seriously has 30 seconds before he or she decides you are worth listening to, or tunes you out. So, here is the speech for floors 1 to 2: We are a nonprofit that raises money for interpretation and education in our local State Parks. It is important because interacting with nature is essential for the human mind, body, and spirit. Education equals preservation of tracts of nature set aside for you, as a California citizen, called State Parks.
Have I made my case before you step outside the elevator? May I now tell the inner workings of the watch?
Central Coast Natural History Association is one of 85 "cooperating" associations under contract with various parks throughout the State of California. Many of these associations began in 1976 when California State Parks recognized they could not pay for vital interpretative and educational programs. Many people say that these programs are not needed, that we "naturally" know about nature. But if you really think about it, who were your guides? Your parents, an older brother, a teacher, Muir, Thoreau? Yes, we do learn lessons directly from nature herself. I am thinking here when I learned about lightning when I was 9 years old. I was standing on top of a haystack when a storm moved in. I was folding up a piece of baling wire when it started crackling and turned blue. My hair stood straight up on end, and I dove off the haystack. Lesson learned. I'm also thinking of when European trappers and adventurers first started exploring the American West. Many of them starved to death or where saved by the generosity of Native American tribal people. It wasn't that there wasn't any food; the Europeans didn't know what food looked like in a new place. But if your teacher was someone like Thoreau, then you are asking fundamental questions, "Where is my place in nature? What is my relationship to nature?"
And here is even a more frightening question to many people under 30 years old. "What is nature?" Because they are of a generation who, for most part, grew up in an urban world without it.
But back to funding these programs. Do the cooperating associations then carry out the programs? While I spend a great deal of my time working with docents , the answer is no. This relationships is often referred to as a three-legged stool. Education happens in our State Parks with the cooperation of State Parks, the cooperating association, and a host of volunteer State Park Docents. Without one leg of the stool, the stool collapses.
So how do we raise money? In our case, asking people to become members, by selling merchandise in our nature stores, selling firewood in state park campgrounds, hosting special event fundraisers, and just plain asking.
April marks the annual California State Park League of Park Associations (CALPA) State Conference , which CCNHA is hosting in Morro Bay, April 8-11th. It is a time for cooperating associations to get together and compare notes, renew friendships, and learn new tools for our mission. If you would like attend or have questions about the program, please give me a call at 528.1397.
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