Archive for the Year 2004

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Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 1

January, 2004
New Year’s Resolutions for CMC

CMC Staff

·  John Doggette, Exec. Director

·  Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

·  Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

·  Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

·  Kathleen Thomforde, Office Assistant

·  Meredith Adams, VISTA

·  Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.

Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

New Year's Resolutions
Volunteer of the Month

Peer Mediation Update

Our Mediation Community

Mediator Spring Training

Accomplishments and Kudos

Monthly Calendar

New Year’s is a holiday celebrated in numerous cultures, at several points throughout the calendar year. Whenever it is celebrated, however, the day often carries with it themes of renewal and rebirth, fresh starts and new goals.

     According to my research of new year’s websites and articles, many Americans seem make New Year’s resolutions only a part of the celebration, making lofty goals they don’t intend to pursue, or heavy promises that are virtually impossible to keep.

     Volunteer mediators in the CMC family, known for commitment, are most definitely the exception to this theory, and the Neutral Zone wanted to know what some of the goals are for our volunteer mediators in the next year.

     Volunteer mediator Carol Scott would like “to have a stronger

commitment toward making Knoxville a better and safer place for ‘ALL’ people.”

     Kim Deaton says an important goal for the next year is to be mindful of the place our clients are in, and to work on meeting them where they are emotionally, instead of bringing them to us. Deaton also would like to gain a stronger understanding of the Tennessee law and court procedures.

     General Sessions mediator Richard Gombert says, “the kind of mediation we do is empowering. I tend to be a little overbearing at times and I want to work on not leaning on the clients, and really letting them reach their own agreement. This is different from past work I’ve done.”

    All of CMC staff looks forward to 2004 with our volunteer mediators.



Volunteer of the Month

By John Doggette

January’s volunteer of the month is unknown to most of our Board members and volunteers. However the product he provided while serving as a summer intern with CMC has been appreciated by many.

     Mark Adams created two peer mediation videos for CMC; a step-by-step training video, and program promotional video which coins the phrase, “peer mediation: a tool for life.” Mark began compiling footage during the April 2003 Mediation Fest. He extended his completion time into October to gain additional footage, including student interviews, to ensure the products met both his standards and those of CMC.

     We thank you Mark, for both your creative and productive assistance. Mark is married to CMC’s VISTA Meredith, and their partnership is most definitely an asset.

Peer Mediation Update

     As the peer mediation program moves into 2004, “progress” and “future” continue to be the buzz words around Knox County middle and high schools.

     The second quarterly peer mediation advisory council is scheduled to meet Monday, January 5th at 5:30 pm. The meeting will again include students, school coordinators, parents and volunteer mediators. The continued planning of the second annual Mediation Fest will be a major topic of discussion.

      Additionally the second quarterly student peer mediation newsletter is due to be printed this month. Last quarter’s writers, Briana Bilbrey, Alana Simmons and Jared Spoons are anxious to complete the next issue, as well as gain additional student writers.

     Four Knox County middle school students will join CMC staff at the January 7th School Board meeting to present the recent events and progress of the program. The students attending include Alison Foster, of Vine Middle Magnet School; Kristina Karluski, of Karns Middle School; Allison Fitch of Halls Middle School, and Devon Wadley of Carter Middle School.

     Two Knox County middle schools are scheduled to have trainings this month. Halls Middle School will have their second training of the year, with a new group of sixth graders ready to replace the outgoing eighth-grade mediators.

     Similarly, Holston Middle School’s eighth grade peer mediators have finished their fall refresher class, and are ready to assist CMC staff in training a new class of sixth and seventh grade mediators. The eighth graders plan to serve as mentors for the remainder of their time at Holston.

     Finally Carter High School’s principal, Cheryl Hickman, has contacted CMC staff about beginning a peer mediation program this semester. Many of her students, who are former Carter Middle School peer mediators, have requested a program be started at CHS. Hickman, happy to oblige her students, has asked for a meeting with CMC as soon as the second semester begins. This will make CHS’s program the first ever student-requested program.

“Our Mediation Community”

By John Doggette

     The Community Mediation Center will open 2004 with a weekly television program on Knoxville’s Community Television. The goal of “Our Mediation Community” is to inform, entertain and engage those watching, about the CMC and the importance of peaceful alternatives to conflict within the community we serve. The program will be aired each Saturday evening at 7:15 pm, first airing on January 3rd.

     My weekly guest will be either a volunteer, client or sponsor, or an individual with other ties to peaceful conflict resolution. January guests include Sam Fowler, volunteer and retired board chair; Dale Robinson, volunteer and Tennessee Human Rights Commission mediator; Dave Rupert, volunteer and Human Resources Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Bob Swan, General Sessions Court mediation director.

     The program’s format will be a kitchen table conversation with the invited guest on a specific topic of interest. A staff member or guest will then present a mediation tool that might be used by families in mediation. The closing will be a snapshot of our volunteers explaining why they believe in volunteer mediation.

     The mediation “concept” will be selected from a quality tool-box constructed by volunteer mediator Pete Mahoney. For those of you familiar with CMC, our dragon –Truth, and Gay Street mascot – Ears, will both be making their debut this month.

Mediator Spring Training

     The next volunteer training class, which will be held this March, is quickly approaching. Planning for the training activities is already underway, along with new recruiting avenues.

     We as staff, however, realize that many of our quality mediators joined the CMC family as a co-worker or friend of another volunteer mediator. We are most appreciative for all of your referrals.

     We are hoping to exceed the last training class in size, adding particularly to our General Sessions teams. If you know of anyone who is retired, or available in the daytime, we will be conducting interviews in February. As usual, all potential volunteers can visit our website, www.2mediate.org, to print out an application, or stop by or call our Gay St. office.

     If anyone is available to help in any way with this spring’s training class, please also call our Gay St. office. Our fall training class would not have been possible without the help of our volunteer mediators. Activities such as applicant interviews and training role-plays were largely done by volunteers. Thank you, again, for giving your time not only to clients, but also to the sustainability of the CMC.

Accomplishments and Kudos

By John Doggette

During a Board retreat several years ago the discussion centered around whether the most important CMC goal was: 1) To ensure that the quality of staff, board, volunteers and services is maintained and strengthened, or 2) To ensure CMC’s financial viability, and develop new/additional sources of funding. Implicit in the discourse was the recognition that CMC receives many requests for assisting the low-income, as well as assisting other agencies that are unfounded.   Both goals have remained pertinent in 2003, and the following have all occurred within the year:

Two classes of volunteer mediators were recruited, interviewed and trained, receiving 40 hours of instruction and role-playing.

Three VISTAs were recruited to replace those completing their years of service.

The first peer mediation festival was held in April. The enthusiastic response led to a peer mediation summer camp and many Knox County schools requesting trainings in the fall.

The first draft of the juvenile court mediation manual was completed by former VISTA Susy Hayden.

CMC was funded by the Administrative Office of the Court to administer a nine-month pilot on dependency mediation, situations where children have been removed from the parents for serious reasons.

General Sessions mediators provided 465 mediation days during 2003.

Monthly Calendar

·          Executive Committee meeting, January 8th, 11am at the Court Top Café.

·          Board Liaison meeting, January 8th, 12pm at the Court Top Café.

·          Board meeting, January 15th, 6:15pm at Juvenile Court.

·          Peer Mediation Advisory Council Meeting, January 5th, 5:30 pm at the annex.

·          Knox County School Board meeting, January 7th, 5pm in the 1st floor boardroom, AJ building.

Community Mediation Center

      912 S. Gay St, Ste L-300,

Knoxville, TN 37902

Phone: 865-594-1879

Fax: 865-594-1890

Email: mediate@esper.com

www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 2

February, 2004
CMC TRUSTS IN MEDIATION

CMC Staff

·  John Doggette, Exec. Director

·  Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

·  Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

·  Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

·  Kathleen Thomforde, Office Assistant

·  Meredith Adams, VISTA

·  Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.

Greg Bascko, VISTA
Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

CMC Trusts in Mediation
Volunteer of the Month

Peer Mediation Update

Child Dependency Program

Volunteer Training

Change of VISTAs

Girls' Empowerment

Monthly Calendar

February is a month that is commonly known for celebrating love. We at the CMC however, would like to use February as a month to celebrate trust in mediation.

     In many cases people who are referred to mediation are ambivalent and/or scared to begin the process. Our practice is voluntary, and therefore we can only ask parties for their trust and open-mindedness.

     Because we ask this of our parties, the Neutral Zone asked two of our experienced mediators how they grew to trust in the process and in their co-mediators, as well as what makes them trustworthy.

     “Trust anytime is super important,” says Marsha Hupfel. She added that she has grown to believe in the process, “by doing it. I’ve seen [mediation] work in astounding ways.”

     According to Greg Davis, trust in the mediation process comes from “internalizing and embracing.” “Work the process, apply your skills and have the parties feel and know the results are theirs.”

     Hupfel feels that trust in a co-mediator occurs during “silence that

comes about when people are open. Active silence is the beginning of trust for me.”

     Hupfel further added that she works particularly well with a co-mediator who she can tell shares a similar interest in helping the parties to move forward. As an example she recalled a particular mediation she completed with Pete Mahoney. “We had never met before, but we just clicked.”

     Davis gave another example of a trustworthy co-mediator. “Dick Zivi and I were doing a mediation about ten years ago and we were both in the same mind set at the same time without saying a word. The outcome was unique and innovative for both parties.”

     How do Hupfel and Davis feel they are trustworthy mediators? “I open up and ask [a co-mediator] how they like to work. I try to show interest in who they are,” says Hupfel.

     “I try to stay open and fluid to the opportunity for personal growth and development. Everyone has a story to tell and if we listen we can learn,” adds Davis.



Volunteer of the Month

February’s Volunteer of the Month is Blount County mediator Terri Lyon. Terri has been a part of the CMC since April of 2002 and we are certainly lucky to have her.

     Terri worked for Alcoa, Inc for 16 years, however she recently left to pursue consulting opportunities. Terri also served as an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau. “I enjoy mediation and arbitration because they give the citizens of our community a way to resolve their disputes. I think mediation is a wonderful opportunity for people to resolve a dispute in a way that both parties are satisfied.”

     Terri is a licensed Industrial and Organizational psychologist in both Tennessee and Indiana. She also volunteers as a LEGO League robotics coach and serves as Director of Alcoa Tennessee Federal Credit Union.

     Terri lives in Blount County with her husband Pat, and two sons, JP (age 11) and Daniel (age 8).

Peer Mediation Update



     January’s efforts have led to February’s awareness of the peer mediation program. On January 5th, the Peer Mediation Advisory Council held it’s second quarterly meeting. Those in attendance include CMC Board members Lisa Carroll and Amy Goff, Assistant DA and Board member Del Holley, Cedar Bluff Middle School Assistant Principal and Board member Tim Wigeinstein, West High School social worker Katie O’Farrell, Halls Middle School 7th grader Jared Spoons and his mother Sheree Spoons, and Gresham Middle School 8th grader Briana Bilbrey and her mother Kathy Bilbrey.

     The second annual Mediation Fest was the major topic of discussion at the meeting. This year’s Fest will be held on April 16-17 at the new Knoxville Convention Center.

     The council discussed sponsorships, promotional activities, keynote speakers and workshop ideas. The Fest will include workshops for students, parents and school coordinators, from 20 Knox County Schools.

     Knox County middle and high school coordinators Bobby Gratz and Donna Wright continue to show their support for the program. They have agreed to once again include CMC staff at the March principals’ meetings to inform principals of peer mediation progress, as well as to promote the Fest.

     On Wednesday, January 7th, four middle school students attended a Knox County school board meeting with CMC staff. These students include Allison Fitch of Halls Middle School, Allison Foster of Vine Middle Magnet School, Kristina Karluski of Karns Middle School, and Devon Wadley, also of Vine MS.

     Knox County Program Director Sharon Upshaw addressed the board and presented CMC’s peer mediation promotional video. School Board Chair Sam Anderson responded to enthusiastically to CMC and invited the four students to the center stage of the meeting. Additionally School Board Representative Robert Bratten requested that peer mediation programs be introduced at all Knox County schools, beginning with South Doyle middle and high schools.

     Holston Middle School 6th and 7th graders completed their peer mediation training on January 12th and have already begun contributing to Holston’s program. Holston has the largest peer mediation program in Knox County, and spent the first semester of this year reviewing and refreshing. All peer mediators, along with coordinator Tracy White, are currently visiting classrooms with role-play demonstrations to promote awareness of their program.

     Halls Middle School continues to grow, and CMC staff is scheduled to train a second class of peer mediators this March. Finally, in addition to South Doyle, CMC is still hoping to begin the first-ever student requested program at Carter High School.



Child Dependency Program

by Lisa Beckman

CMC was recently selected by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to administer a mediation pilot program involving child dependency and neglect cases.

     The AOC is funding the pilot through a Byrne grant, and CMC is responsible for the development and implementation of the program procedures and protocol. As administrator, CMC has organized a pilot committee consisting of representatives from Knox County Juvenile Court (KCJC), the Department of Children’s Services (DCS), the Foster Care Review Board (FCRB), additional child welfare agencies, and private attorneys. The goal of the pilot is to offer mediation services to families whose children have been removed by the state due to alleged abuse or neglect. The services will also be available to families in immanent danger of losing their children due to abuse or neglect.

     The mediators, a group of court-appointed Rule 31 attorneys, will assist the families, court-appointed guardians and DCS in developing permanency plans through mediation.

     CMC Associate Director Lisa Givonetti explains, “The plan may involve the establishment of goals that parents must meet in order to achieve reunification of their families, or the plan may deal with visitation and family involvement if the child is to be placed in foster care.”

     Cases will be ordered to the Child Dependency Mediation Pilot Program directly by the Knox County Juvenile Court, and Program Coordinator Meredith Adams will be responsible for scheduling the mediations.

     Says CMC Executive Director John Doggette of the pilot, “This is a unique opportunity for CMC to work in partnership with AOC, KCJC, DCS, FCRB, and several other agencies in order to administer a program that will serve as a state-wide model for child dependency mediation.”



Volunteer Training

     The spring training class for volunteer mediators is once again approaching. The training will be held on the weekends of March 19-21st and 26-28th.

     VISTA Greg Bascko is currently in charge of promoting and recruiting volunteer applicants. Advertisements will be displayed in an upcoming Sunday issue of the News Sentinel, as well as in the Metro Pulse and the Halls Shopper. Greg has also distributed several fliers throughout Knoxville.

     As reported last month, we are hoping to exceed the fall training class in size with the full 24-person occupancy. Greg and fellow CMC VISTA Lisa Beckman will be taking the class, along with three or four people from TCAC, but that still leaves at least 18 open spots! We are grateful for all of the references we have gotten from volunteers in the past. If anyone knows of someone who would make an excellent volunteer mediator, please continue referring them!

     Applications can be downloaded at www.2mediate.org and may be submitted to the Gay St office or directly to Greg.

Change of CMC

VISTAS

By Lisa Beckman

CMC would like to welcome Greg Bascko to our community. Greg is originally from Pigeon Forge and is a psychology major at the University of Tennessee. Greg is hard-working and self-confident and we are certain he will make a significant contribution to CMC.

     February also marks the end of VISTA Meredith Adams’ term with CMC. She has been an unfaltering and conscientious VISTA, managing case work and peer mediation tasks with equal skill. Meredith’s fellow VISTAs agree that she is proficient and competent, professional and friendly. Fortunately, Meredith will remain a part of the CMC family until June, serving as the Child Dependency Program Coordinator.

Girls' Empowerment

     This month CMC will host the first ever Girls’ Empowerment lock-in for teenage girls living in Johnson City Housing. The lock-in will be held on February 20-21, at the Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church, on Market St.

     The goal of the lock-in is “to provide skills in handling conflicts peacefully, in learning to mediate in real situations, and in modeling leadership qualities to girls in their communities.” The weekend is being coordinated and led by Program Director Sharon Upshaw, along with VISTA Lisa Beckman.

     The lock-in will include games, workshops, and group challenges addressing themes such as peer pressure, discrimination, depiction of girls and women in the media and future goals. There will additionally be a showing and discussion of the movie Erin Brokavich, and a self-defense class. The event is free and will be open to 25 girls.

Upcoming Events

·          Executive Committee Meeting, 12 pm, February 12, Gay St

·          Board Meeting, 6:15pm, March 18, Juvenile Court

·          Girls Empowerment Weekend, February 20-21, Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church

·          Spring mediator training class, March 19-21, 26-28th

·          2nd Annual Mediation Fest, April 16-17, Knoxville Convention Center

Community Mediation Center

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

·          www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 3

March, 2004

Public Views of Mediation

CMC Staff

· John Doggette, Exec. Director

· Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

· Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

· Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

· Kathleen Thomforde, Office Assistant

· Meredith Adams, VISTA

· Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.	Greg Bascko, VISTA Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

Public Views of Mediation

Volunteer of the Month

Peer Mediation Update

Bullying and Peer Mediation

Law Students Join CMC

Girl's Leadership

Spring Training

Monthly Calendar

For those readers who are unfamiliar with “Our Mediation Community,” the Neutral Zone wanted to share some of our favorite quotes about mediation, from our recent guests.

     “Very often the issue that gets tried before a judge is not the real issue of the case. In mediation we can get to the real issues.” Sam Fowler

     “Some of the skills I really use are my active listening skills. I really like to pay attention to what people are saying. And silence doesn’t bother me. Silence is actually a very effective tool in terms of listening to people, and enabling them to speak for themselves.” Dale Robinson

     “I really believe mediation is very beneficial to clients. The mediators in General Sessions Court provide clients with a safe, secure, and neutral environment to resolve their disputes.” Bob Swan, Knox County General Sessions Court Judicial Clerk and Mediation Director.

     “Each mediator, they bring to that process [of mediation] a set of skills, or tools….you have a toolbox that you bring with you...and you will take whatever tool out of your tool box that works best for you towards meeting the objectives of the process.” Dave Rupert

     “An important part of what I do in the DA’s office has to do with dealing with persons who have been victimized by criminal acts...having a person arrested and brought into court, required to post bond and

hiring an attorney; going through some expense and embarrassment related to the criminal process can be a very traumatic thing. And so if the DA’s office can provide people with an opportunity to resolve their conflicts without traumatizing one side or the other, I think that’s something that is beneficial to the community and those individuals.” Del Holley, assistant District Attorney.

     “In mediation, they [student peer mediators] get to solve their problem and work it out so that it doesn’t exist anymore. And they learn something in the process.” Katie O’Farrell, Knox Countyschool social worker and peer mediation coordinator.

     “Unfortunately we have hundreds of cases that come through juvenile court...with so many of these cases, if you do not get to the root cause of the problem, and the circumstances and the issues that have brought them before the court and have led to some kind of charge against a young person, then you’re really not going to resolve the issue on a long term basis.” Darryl Smith, Assistant Court Director, Knox County Juvenile Court.

     “I’ve found it to be a real gratifying experience...I enjoy sitting across the table from the litigants...and they seem to know that you’re neutral and that you’re there to help them. It’s sort of fun to lead them through their problem.” Don Ferguson





Volunteer of the Month

     CMC has a rule that to be selected as a volunteer of the month a person must have mediated for at least one year. The staff and VISTA schedulers began several months ago asking to waive this rule for Pete Mahoney.

     Pete has been everything a CMC scheduler could hope for. He is an excellent mediator and works well with all co-mediators. He takes mediations in advance and he tries to be responsive to last-minute volunteer cancellations. Pete has also been patiently and conscientiously involved in mediations that have lasted several months. And when the inevitable problems occur during an evening mediation, Pete is an effective problem-solver.

     Finally, without Pete CMC would be without its well-known mediation tool box, which was designed and created by Pete. CMC is honored and grateful to have Pete Mahoney as one of our family of mediators.


Peer Mediation Update As the peer mediation program moves into the month of March, the second annual Mediation Fest is the major area of concentration for students, coordinators and CMC Vistas and staff members. This year’s Fest is scheduled for Friday, April 16 at Knoxville’s Public Defender building. The goals of this year’s fest are to celebrate the many successes of the program, and further expand peer mediation into more Knox County middle and high schools. Peer mediation has become widely accepted by both school officials and court officials in Knox County and their support is what will keep the program going for hopefully many more years. An additional goal of the Fest is to continue to increase the awareness of peer mediation into the general county. The CMC staff members are working to include potential student peer mediators and coordinators from ten new middle and high schools in this year’s Fest. Of course all current peer mediators will also be included, hopefully serving as role-players, helpers, and Question and Answer Panel members. CMC Vistas are holding meetings with each school’s peer mediators asking for continued input on the Fest. The current peer mediators have also indicated their desire to promote the peer mediation program and the upcoming fest around the county in their own way. Mediators and coordinator Sharonne Shavers from Vine Middle Magnet school, for example are holding a student creative art exhibit. Vine is known for students who excel in artistic, musical and dramatic skills. Some of Vine’s peer mediators have also recently participated in a school-wide Black History gala. As they promote the program Vine students are also holding several role-play practice sessions to fine-tune their mediating skills in between scheduled sessions. “It’s fun to help people out with their problems. They feel comfortable talking to me,” says Jacorey Smith. “Sometimes they [the disputants] don’t want to come to a solution,” he adds. “But we try to make [the sessions] fun for them to get them to talk.” Karns Middle School students are also holding an artistic display, with the theme of “masks of many emotions.” They will be creating masks that depict depression, excitement, frustration and other emotions. Karns’ mediators are also working to continue to expand their program around their school. They’ve made poster advertisements, visited classrooms, (a popular awareness exercises with our schools), and are working to be part of the Karns Middle School website. Vista Lisa Beckman is the CMC liaison to both schools. In other peer mediation news, the new class of Halls Middle School peer mediators is scheduled to be trained at Halls on Friday, March 12. Additionally HMS’s Coordinator Sue Clapp will be appearing on “Our Mediation Community” next month.	Bullying and Peer Mediation by John Doggette Erin and I gave two interactive presentations at the February 16 Knoxville’s Promise Youth Summit on the combined subject “Bullying and Peer Mediation.” The first principal of America’s Promise is – For each child to have one non-parent caring adult, (may be a volunteer during a mediation). Another, is for the child to have a safe place (perhaps during the mediation). We asked participants whether youth could be capable of mediating disputes between other kids and we would like to share some of the responses. To our volunteers who mediate disputes involving youth- we hope you reflect on how their thoughts could become part of your mediation process. · All kids get bullied, that’s part of life, and it’s painful. I would like to fight back but I can’t. · Adults believe that they know how we feel because they were kids once, but things are different now and they don’t know. · Some kids, not all, can keep information on other kids confidential. · Teachers frequently label kids and never change. Kids as mediators only deal with the issues of today. · If adults don’t think we are mature, how better to learn than to be mentored as peer mediators. · Peer mediation would be a valuable way to learn. Each of these statements could become the source of an open-ended question by a mediator to learn about the youth, the background of the issue and hopefully to further the process of a problem-solving solution. Law Students Join CMC If anyone has stopped by General Sessions Court during the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed an increase in the number of mediation teams. This is because CMC is currently working with eleven UT law students who are participating in a mediation clinic. The mediation clinic, taught by visiting professor Deborah House, who is an attorney and mediator herself, is an elective class in the larger, Advocacy clinic. In the Advocacy clinic, law students learn about the representation of indigent persons, (persons who cannot afford attorneys), in cases such as landlord tenant, employment and juvenile cases. These are also some of CMC’s most common cases. House believes in the mediation clinic because, she says, it is part of “zealous advocacy.” Zealous advocacy means trying to give a client absolutely every possible alternative to help themselves. House believes that because mediation offers a win-win solution, it compliments law, rather than take away from it. Most of the students in the mediation clinic are third-year students, and may be considering becoming certified as family mediators and/or rule 31 mediators. Cassandra Henley, is one of these students. Henley has been observing general sessions and visitation mediations and is interested in pursing public interest law after she graduates this spring. Henley says after observing many mediations that she is surprised at how many clients have more interest in the background issues in mediation, rather than the logistics of settling and resolving the said dispute at hand. Is it difficult for law students to change hats to mediators once a week? Henley admits that it is difficult at times to let the parties do the work and not interject with legal facts or advice, however she does believe in the process. The law students will be working with CMC mediators until the end of their semester in late April. Look for them to begin mediating in the upcoming weeks.
Girl's Leadership By Lisa Beckman Last weekend, February 20-21, CMC staff members Sharon Upshaw, Erin Corcoran and Lisa Beckman conducted a leadership lock-in for 18 teenage girls living in three Johnson City housing complexes. Tennessee Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC) Ross Program Coordinator Barbara Horton and Americorps Vista Dorothy Smith also attended the Friday evening session of the weekend. The participants were selected by their resident or recreation director as possessing those skills to be positive role models to other girls in their neighborhood. The purpose of the lock-in was to build leadership skills and empower these young women to better deal with conflicts using mediation skills, and to be role models for youth in their respective communities. CMC conducted a series of workshops and activities during the two days consisting of themes such as portrayal of women in the media, dealing with peer pressure, self-esteem, future goals, and self-defense. The self-defense portion of the evening was a class on personal security and moves of personal protection, taught by a Knox County Police Officer. Additionally much time was spent covering conflict, its causes, and how to cope with and/or avoid those causes. Even meal times were used as opportunities to address subjects like discrimination and food shortages. While the girls were neighbors, many of them were strangers to each other, and through group challenges and shared discussions, they were taken outside of their comfort zone. Out of these experiences came discussions on racism, discrimination, aggression and daily defense mechanisms such as rebellion or acting out. CMC staff members were glad to have had the opportunity to work with the girls in Johnson City and to share some of the values of mediation. Several participants asked CMC staff members to return and do more activities on a weekly basis. Spring Training One final reminder, the spring training class for volunteer mediators is scheduled for the second and third weekends of this month, March 19-21 and 26-28. We should be having close to a full class this month, with several enthusiastic volunteers. We wanted to thank all the volunteer mediators who have agreed to help with interviewing the volunteer applicants on March 7. Again, CMC would not function without all of our dedicated volunteers! If you know anyone who would be interested in becoming a volunteer in the last few days before the March 4 application deadline, please let Greg know.

What's Happening This Month · Executive Committee meeting, Thursday, March 11, 12 pm at Gay St office. · Board meeting, Thursday, March 18, 6:15 pm at Juvenile Court. · Spring training class, March 19-21, 26-28.	Community Mediation Center · 912 S. Gay St, L-300 Knoxville, TN 37902 · Phone: 865-594-1879 · Fax: 865-594-1890 · Email: mediate@esper.com · www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 4

April, 2004
TCAC and the CMC

CMC Staff

·  John Doggette, Exec. Director

·  Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

·  Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

·  Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

·  Kathleen Thomforde, Case Manager

·  Meredith Adams, Child Dependency Program Coord.

·  Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.

Greg Bascko, VISTA
Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

TCAC and the CMC
Volunteer of the Month

Welcome New Mediators

Mediation Day

Legal Language

Humanistic Mediation

Rule 31 Training

M.A. Thesis

Over the past two weekends, I had the opportunity to work closely with four intelligent and passionate women.

     Martha Burgin, Judy Guy, Maggie Inscho and Dorothy Smith participated in CMC’s spring training class for volunteer mediators as representatives of the Tennessee Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC). TCAC sends representatives to CMC’s trainings as part of the Ross Grant for providing conflict resolution training to residents of community housing.

     All four women say they recognized immediately how important the training is to their work. Burgin and Guy both live in community housing and serve on the resident council. They have ongoing projects with resident children, elderly and handicapped, such as after school programs, crafts sessions and holiday parties in the community center. Additionally they host monthly meetings for the resident council.

     According to Guy, there has always been a lot of conflict in the community housing, mostly centered around the holiday parties. For example, at the annual Christmas party, there is always an uneven distribution of resources, and the majority of the presents have to go to children who regularly attend the center. However there are always a number of children who can only come to the center during the holidays and the distribution of presents causes many disputes among resident parents.

     Both Burgin and Guy say the felt that were effective listeners and problem solvers before they took our training, but now feel much better equipped to handle conflict in the center.

     Inscho and Smith are both Americorps VISTAs working for TCAC. Smith works directly under Ross Program Coordinator Barbara Horton and will be spending her summer accompanying Horton to her summer day camp sessions. Horton holds week-long summer day camps at community housing community centers in Johnson City, LaFollette and Lake City. Smith looks forward to promoting conflict resolution skills to children at a young age.

     Inscho works in the LaFollette community housing and serves as a liaison between housing authorities and residents. She also works with resident children planning parties and summer events and works on programs that will give school-age residents necessary school supplies.

     I asked each of these women if they thought they were benefiting personally from taking the training class. Guy, says yes, absolutely she benefits from the class. She says she’s learned to remove her own emotions from the situations of her residents. Burgin says she’s learned to fine-tune her active listening skills. Inscho and Smith both say they’ve gotten a great lesson in self-esteem and have realized their personal potential. “I’ve learned that there really is so much that can be given,” adds Insho.

Volunteer of the Month

     April’s Volunteer of the Month is General Sessions mediator Lon Young. Lon completed the training class only a year ago and has already made a considerable contribution to the CMC. As a general sessions mediator, Lon has faithfully attended Tuesday mediation days, commuting 45 miles to do so, and currently holds the record of completing the most mediations in one day; four and a half mediations with co-mediator Julian Wick.

     Several of our new general sessions mediators and our seasoned mediators have told us how much they’ve enjoyed working as co-mediators with Lon, and have admired his commitment to the process. He has also offered his assistance to review or update the General Sessions manual. Thank you, Lon. We are certainly fortunate to have you as part of the CMC family.

Welcome New Mediators

     We have recently completed the 2004 spring training class. The class was held on the weekends of March 19-21 and 26-28 at the John Tarlton home. We are excited to welcome the addition of eight new volunteer mediators.

     Our new juvenile and visitation mediators are Oliver Keeling, Maggie Insho, VISTA Lisa Beckman, and Jonathon Gresham. Leon Baker, VISTA Greg Baskco, Sue Vaughn, Ron Potts and Julie Caldwell will be joining our General Sessions teams.

     They will be observing our seasoned mediators for the next few weeks before they begin working on actual cases. For those of you who haven’t met our new mediators, we have photographs of each of them in the Coat of Many Accomplishments! We will hopefully have those pictures on the website soon.

     Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped with interviewing, role-plays and Q&A panels. We could not survive without our volunteers!

Legal Language
by Don K. Ferguson

We are introducing a new feature titled “Legal Language” in this issue. It is written by volunteer mediator Don K. Ferguson, who writes the “Grammar Gremlins” column that appears in The News Sentinel every Sunday.

Interlocutory Appeal

An appeal that occurs before the trial court’s final ruling on the entire case; some interlocutory appeals involve legal points that must be resolved before the case can be decided, while others involve collateral orders that are wholly separate from the merits of the action.—Black’s Law Dictionary

Mediation Day

     Friday, April 16, 2004 is Mediation Day in Knox County. CMC, along with the Tennessee Valley Mediation Association (TVMA), are co-hosting a Mediation Luncheon and the second annual Mediation Fest.

    The luncheon will be held at 12:00 p.m at the Foundry on the Fair in downtown Knoxville, and is open to any of our volunteer mediators who would like to attend. We would like to celebrate the practice of mediation and the impact it has had on Knox County, as well as continue to promote mediation. For those who would like to attend, the cost is $20 per person. Checks may be made payable to CMC and you may register by phone, fax or email. (Contact information is on page 4). The deadline to register for the Luncheon is April 8.

     The guest speaker at the luncheon will be Ms. Barbara Simmons, founder and executive producer of “Peace Talks,” a radio program aired on National Public Radio, Public Radio International and local public radio stations.

     The Mediation Fest will be held at 5:00 p.m that evening at the Knox County Public Defender’s Building. 18 middle and high schools have been invited from around Knox County, along with Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens, Ms. Simmons as our keynote speaker, and Knox County Schools and Knox County Juvenile Court officials.

      We will also be including a panel of current peer mediators and coordinators to answer questions from prospective peer mediators and share their experiences with the group. Our current peer mediators suggested having the panel so they could share the ways peer mediation has benefited their schools and them personally. Our coordinators will be able to speak of how necessary peer mediation is in our schools.

     Each school will be represented by one faculty member and 3-4 students. They will participate in activities about identifying conflict as it occurs in school settings, as well as problem solving and leadership skills. This event will also be covered by the local media.

Humanistic Mediation - how similar is the approach to co-mediation?

By John Doggette

     The staff members of CMC often ask our volunteers who conduct civil or visitation mediations to reflect on whether the mediation process was effective in helping parties (who have on going relationships) to heal. I have recently been studying restorative justice mediation, which is philosophically based on being a “dialogue-driven” rather than a “settlement-driven” form of conflict resolution. There are some large similarities between this form of conflict resolution and ours.

     The U.S Department of Justice has published a brochure on humanistic or restorative justice mediation taken from the principal author Mark S. Umbreit, Ph.D. Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking. To quote, “it focuses on the importance of meeting with the parties individually and in-person prior to the joint mediation session to listen to their story, build rapport, explain the process and prepare them for engagement in a mediated dialogue.

    “It is a nondirective style of mediation in which the parties are primarily speaking to each other with minimal intervention by the mediator. The mediator maintains an attitude of unconditional positive regard and concern for all parties while remaining impartial (I.e., not taking sides)

     “The mediator works to create a safe, if not sacred, place to foster direct dialogue among the parties about the emotional and material impacts of the conflict. Written settlement agreements often result from, but are not central to, the process...Humanistic mediation emphasizes healing and peacemaking over problem solving and resolution.”

     Based just on the paragraphs above, a CMC volunteer mediator should be able to compare the six-step problem-solving empowerment model with the philosophy used in humanistic mediation.

Rule 31 Training



     Just a reminder for our first group of seasoned mediators that will be taking the 16 hour rule 31 supplemental training, that the training days are- May 14-15.

     This training will be an addition to the 40 hours of training you received when you began mediating for CMC, and will certify you to apply as a rule 31 mediator with the Tennessee Supreme Court.

     The training will be led by John Doggette, Lisa Givonetti, Harry Wiersema and Natalie LeVasseur. The cost of the training is $250 and the deadline to register for the training is May 1.

M.A. Thesis in Mediation

    The following email was received by CMC in the NAFCM list-serve.



“Dear Mediator,

I am a graduate student at the Warsaw University in Poland. I would like to invite you to participate in a research study of mediators with experience. It is part of my master’s degree in psychology under the direction of Dr. Elzbieta Czwartosz at the Warsaw University. I welcome you to forward this request to participate to anyone you know who may be interested in participating.

     The link to the online survey is provided below:

http://akson.sgh.waw.pl/~mlesni/survey.html



The title of the study is “The key factors of effective mediation in the mediator’s self-assessment.” It’s aim is not only to identify these of mediating strategies that are perceived as most effective, but also to point out non-mediating actions that mediators take up to achieve better results in their mediation practice.

     The success of this study depends upon your participation, and I sincerely request your contribution. In Poland, where tradition of mediation is not very long, it would not be possible to gather a sample of experienced and specialized professionals, therefore I need your help.

     If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey including questions on your experience with mediation and your mediator training. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

     Participation in this study is entirely voluntary and you may withdraw at any time. You may choose to not answer any questions in the survey. You will also be given access to the final survey results online. The records of this study will be kept private.

     For the purpose of this study, participants must be at least 21 years of age or older, and have served at least once as a mediator in any type of mediation. By completing and submitting the survey, you are giving your consent for the information you provide to be used in this study.

     If you have any questions, please contact me by email at turkowid@poczta.onet.pl or by telephone at +48 502 109 964. You may also contact Dr. Elzbieta Czwartosz at ela@ez.pl or +48 609 856 893.

Thank you for your participation in this study!

Sincerely,

Anna Turkowid

Master’s Degree Candidate

Warsaw University, Poland

The Faculty of Psychology

Advisor: Dr. Elzbieta Czwartosz

Monthly Calendar

Guests on CTV:

·          Van Brabson III, TVA labor relations and volunteer mediation.

·          Jim Owens, Public Defender assigned to Juvenile Court.

·          Grant Rosenberg, Office of Neighborhoods for Knox County.

·          Lisa & John, Introduce Stage One of Six Step Process.

**** “Our Mediation Community” can be seen at 9:45 p.m. on Thursdays and 7:15 p.m. on Saturdays.

·          Mediation Luncheon, April 16, 12 p.m., at the Foundry. Please feel free to arrive as early as 11:30.

·          Mediation Fest, April 16, 5 p.m., Public Defender’s Building.

·          Board Meeting, April 15, 6:15 p.m., Juvenile Court.

Community Mediation Center

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

·          www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 5

May, 2004
CMC Considers World Peace

CMC Staff

·  John Doggette, Exec. Director

·  Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

·  Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

·  Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

·  Kathleen Thomforde, Case Manager

·  Meredith Adams, Child Dependency Program Coord.

·  Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.

Greg Bascko, VISTA
Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

CMC Considers World Peace
Volunteer of the Month

Mediation Day a Dual Success

Summer Activities

Neighborhood Mediation

Legal Language

Check Out This Month

As the official Mediation Day keynote speaker, Barbara Simmons, founder and executive producer of the National Public Radio program PEACETALKS, had an effect on many of our volunteer mediators and staff.

Simmons’ speech at the Mediation Luncheon discussed mediation and conflict resolution on an international level, something with which many of us were unfamiliar. We asked some of our volunteer mediators to share their reactions.

“I thought she brought some excellent perspectives on how conflict is dealt with around the world. She challenged those of us who were there to go beyond our comfort zones of what we think conflict resolution is and what it could be if our culture was different. She spoke not just from a ‘community mediation’ perspective, but from a perspective that was, as she said, ‘beyond the Smokies and beyond the Cumberlands.’ ” Dale Robinson

“I thought she was really exciting to listen to, because of the quiet, consistent way she’s been getting involved (in conflict resolution) all around the world. I liked her honoring of the differences in conflict resolution in different cultures. I was also particularly glad to hear about conflict resolution in South Africa. I think it is such an amazing feat to have a nonviolent transition from apartheid and to know that it was done at the grassroots level.” Julia Malia

I really enjoyed hearing Barbara Simmons. I thought she was a very influential speaker, and I liked hearing about the mediators in various countries she visited. I shared the material with some of our peer mediators. I

loved how she talked about how respected mediators are. Hopefully we’ll be able to have that kind of respect for mediators at a school level and in general. I just really enjoyed seeing so many people who are in support of mediation.” Sue Clapp, coordinator of Halls Middle School peer mediation program.

“I thought the luncheon was fascinating because of Barbara and what she was concerned with. She broadened the scope of mediation. She indicated that mediation hasn’t caught on here the way it has all around the world. Mediation is done in different ways in different countries.” Julian Wick

“I sat and listened as Barbara Simmons conveyed how mediators in South Africa, at great risk to themselves, were on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, working tirelessly to facilitate resolutions between disputing parties. She communicated that these same brave individuals also continually trained others to resolve conflicts for themselves. She briefly informed us that there is a proposal underway to provide mediation services for troubled Iraq, and this was followed by a request for interested mediators to volunteer if they want to be a part of this worthwhile effort. And as I sat there and listened, heard something else -- a challenge for us as mediators to leave our comfort zone and join the countless unsung heroes around the globe who not only dream the dream of peace, but sacrificially labor to make it a reality in the lives of those around them. Whether here or abroad, peace is worth our sacrifice.”

Vanderbilt Brabson III



Volunteer of the Month

For those of you who are not familiar with May’s Volunteer of the Month, Emily Edler is most definitely a valuable contribution to CMC. Edler is a student at Maryville College who has been serving as an intern in the Blount County CMC. Due to the small staff in Blount County, Edler has regularly performed duties as second in command to Program Director Judy Toole in case-setting and office management.

Since it has been decided that the Blount County office will be closing, Edler has been staying late hours to guarantee all remaining cases are successfully closed and transferred to the Knox County office, and all Blount County clients are aware of the transition. Thank you, Emily, we are certainly fortunate to have you as part of our staff.

Mediation Day a Dual Success

April 16 was an important day in the Knox County Mediation Community. The 16th was officially proclaimed “Mediation Day” by both Knoxville City Mayor Bill Haslam and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, and successfully heightened both awareness and appreciation for mediation and its many benefits. CMC, along with the Tennessee Valley Mediation Association, or TVMA, celebrated the day by hosting two events, a Mediation Luncheon and the Second Annual Mediation Fest. TVMA, of which volunteer mediator Dale Robinson is President, was also the official sponsor of the Mediation Luncheon.

The Mediation Luncheon was held at 12:00 p.m. at the Foundry at World’s Fair Park. More than 40 of our volunteer mediators, Board members and Board liaisons attended the luncheon, along with representatives from the Knox County Public Defender’s Office, the Tennessee state office of Americorps VISTA and the Knox County School system. The keynote speaker for the afternoon was Barbara Simmons, who spoke about her experience with mediation and conflict resolution on an international level. In addition to her radio program mentioned on page one, Simmons has traveled to South Africa, Northern Ireland, Asia and the Middle East to study the differences in conflict resolution in various cultures. Her speech detailed the success of mediation in many of these areas and stressed the importance of this practice in our country, particularly at a time of “War on Terrorism.” Comments of some of our volunteer mediators are included in the article, “CMC Considers World Peace” on page one.

The Second Annual Mediation Fest was held from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. that evening at the Knox County Public Defender’s Building. The goal of the evening was to celebrate and continue to promote peer mediation in middle and high schools. Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens was very supportive of the event and says he believes in peer mediation after a personal experience with the program. Stephens shared with the students his belief in them and the benefits they are providing to their fellow students. Simmons was also the keynote speaker of Mediation Fest. She spoke to the audience about the power of young people possessing strong mediation skills.

In addition to the eight middle and high schools that currently have peer mediation programs, CMC VISTAs visited principals from 10 new schools this spring to invite them to the Fest to preview the peer mediation program. Students and school faculty from eight of these new schools were present at the Fest. Each school’s representatives enthusiastically participated in the activities. Immediately after the Fest, five schools’ faculty members approached CMC staff about beginning programs next year.

Guests participated in three major activities at the Fest. The first, titled “Crossfire,” was a group activity that explored both constructive and destructive communication techniques. In the second activity, a live role-play, students from Austin East High School (do not yet have a peer mediation program,) enacted a typical high school conflict for the audience, which was then mediated by two peer mediators from West High School. Finally, audience members had the opportunity to ask questions of current peer mediators and coordinators in a Q & A panel. Panel members were questioned until the final minutes of the Fest, and had to be cut short due to a line of parents waiting outside to pick up their children.

Sponsors of the Fest include the Knox County Public Defender, K25 Credit Union, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Brunswick Boat Group, The News Sentinel, First Tennessee Bank, Burger King, Home Federal Bank, Chick-Fil-A, Knoxville Police Department, Papa Johns, Subway, Dominoes and Mayfield Dairy Farms.

Summer Activities

Summer looks to be a busy season for CMC. In addition to the continuing caseload from Civil, Juvenile and Child Support Courts in Knox and surrounding counties, CMC VISTAs are coordinating four major summer activities.

Beginning June 2, CMC will be holding peer mediation training workshops for teens attending the Emerald Youth Foundation’s summer day camp program. The training will be held every Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. for five weeks. The workshops will include a variety of new activities to expand upon the normal training session given that the summer allows more time than the standard eight hours used during the school year.

Students will learn how to identify conflict, how to actively listen and effectively communicate, understand biases and stereotypes which block communication, and thoroughly learn the 6-step process. In the fall, several of the students who attend the Emerald Youth summer sessions are will also be attending the Knox County middle schools that have peer mediation programs.

The second summer activity, in compliance with the Ross Grant CMC shares with the Tennessee Community Assistance Corporation, TCAC, is a series of workshops in six different public housing communities. The workshops are designed to teach basic conflict resolution skills to resident children and teenagers during week-long summer camps held by TCAC. CMC will be visiting the housing complexes every Monday for six weeks beginning June 7.

At the same time as the other two activities, CMC staff members will be conducting workshops with the UT Upward Bound project. CMC will be working with a group of high school sophomores participating in a college preparation class. These workshops will be geared more towards teaching valuable conflict resolution skills that will help young people as they move out of their homes and enter college. They will be held during the weeks of June 13-July 9.

The final summer activity will be the 2nd Annual peer mediation day camp. The camp will expand on the themes of last year’s camp, such as problem solving- leadership and peer mediation practice, hopefully with a broader range of students. Dates, times and locations of the day camp are still to be determined. Most likely it will take place during the final days of summer.

Neighborhood Mediation

CMC has been forging ties with several Knox County organizations in the past year. Recently, we have established a partnership with the Blount County Habitat for Humanity. Habitat contacted CMC in April to discuss providing conflict resolution and communication workshops.

CMC’s Lisa Beckman gave a presentation to some of Habitat’s new clients on April 26. These men and women have recently completed an application process and are now very close to owning their first home. “There are always conflicts that arise in neighborhoods,” says Beckman. “David Bonewitz (Habitat) wanted the new residents to be equipped with the skills that will help them overcome the inevitable difficulties between neighbors.”

The presentation addressed typical neighborhood conflicts such as barking dogs or other noise disputes, fights between children, and property damage. Participants discussed the importance of seeing conflict as common and necessary and identified the “normal” negative communication techniques that many of us use when attempting to solve conflicts.

Residents learned constructive problem solving skills, such as active listening, identifying common values and goals, and using “I think, I feel,” statements to eliminate blame. They learned the importance of a collaborative, “win-win” solution and discussed how these techniques would apply in the various real-life situations.

Says Beckman, “Many people came up to me after the presentation and told me how helpful and practical these skills were. They all said they could really see using these skills any time they came into conflict over for instance, a barking dog, or a neighbor’s child hitting their car.”

Bonewitz was pleased with the response from his clients and would like these presentations to be ongoing. He has invited CMC to give another presentation on November 8.

Legal Language
by Don K. Ferguson

“Legal Language” is written by volunteer mediator Don K. Ferguson, author of the “Grammar Gremlins” column that appears in The News Sentinel every Sunday.

Summons

If you receive a summons, are you “summoned” or “summonsed”?

“Summoned” seems to be preferred by most word authorities, but the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition, lists “summonsed” as an acceptable form. If you have more than one “summons” you have “summonses.”

Check Out this Month!

Visit the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) newsletter of the Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts here: www.tsc.state.tn.us/geninfo/programs/ADR/Newsletter.pdf

CMC’s Executive Director John Doggette, and Associate Director Lisa Givonetti have submitted articles that are currently in print.

“I was dealing with a lady on the other side who was very upset. Mediation was just the right thing. It gave her an opportunity to settle down. And it all worked out fine.”

Anonymous Attorney, April 2004

Monthly Calendar

Guests on CTV:

• Chris Woodhull. Executive Director of Tribe One and City Councilman.

• Ron Hopper, Human Resources Manager of Viskasc.

• Representative from CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocate and Dick Zivi, CMC Volunteer Mediator.

• Carol Scott, Executive Director of Police Advisory and Review Committee.

“Our Mediation Community” can be seen at

9:45 p.m. on Thursdays and 7:15 p.m. on Saturdays.

• Executive Committee Meeting, May 13 at 12:00 p.m. at Gay St.

• Board Meeting, May 20, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at the John Tarleton Dining Hall.

• ***Next volunteer training class will be held on the weekends of September 10, 11, 12 and 17, 18, 19.

Community Mediation Center

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

·          www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 6

June, 2004

CMC Mediators take Supplemental Rule 31 Training

by Meredith Adams

CMC Staff

· John Doggette, Exec. Director

· Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

· Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

· Judith Toole, Blount Co. Prog. Director

· Kathleen Thomforde, Case Manager

· Meredith Adams, Child Dependency Program Coord.

· Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.	Greg Bascko, VISTA Erin Corcoran, VISTA, Editor

Inside this issue:

CMC Mediators take Rule 31 Training

Volunteer of the Month

Former Mediators Miss CMC

Join the Board in Strategic Planning

No Summer Break for Peer Mediation

Legal Language

Monthly Calendar

CMC recently offered Rule 31 Family Mediation training to our active volunteer mediators who have completed 30 or more mediations and were interested in becoming Rule 31 mediators. The training was a supplement to CMC’s 40-hour volunteer mediation training class and has been approved by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The training was held on Friday, May 14^th and Saturday, May 15^th at the John Tarleton activity hall.

Trainers included Executive Director John Doggette, Associate Director Lisa Givonetti, and attorneys and volunteer mediators Natalie LeVasseur and Harry Wiersema. Topics covered in training include divorce procedures, property division, custody, visitation, child support, alimony, domestic violence, parenting plan legislation, court rules, and Rule 31 ethics & legislation. Materials required for the course include The Divorce Mediation Answer Book by Carol Butler, Ph.D., and Dolores Walker, M.S.W., J.D., and the CMC Rule 31 Supplemental Family Mediation Training Manual.

When asked for comments on the Rule 31 training participant Frank Leuthold noted, “What strikes me is the comprehensive and extensive nature of what is required for divorce mediation. It’s almost overwhelming. As the mediator, you’re facilitating the division of everything including money, responsibilities, assets, and time with children.”

Participant Jane Peoples added, “One of the differences [between general sessions mediations and Rule 31 mediations] is that in sessions court, it can be a surprise mediation. You can go in blind. With Rule 31, it will be a transition to prepare before the mediation, and I’ve learned that you can have knowledge about the parties before the mediation begins and still maintain neutrality. It's just a difference in strategy.”

Doggette attended the first Rule 31 family mediator training offered by AOC in 1997. He commented, “What I realized during the 1997 training was that the legal content was not integrated as part of the discussion of mediation strategy. I wanted CMC to address this in our training.”

The result has been a careful collaboration between CMC staff and LeVasseur and

Wiersema. Says Givonetti, “We have a unique

format that combines lecture, discussion, and role play with the leadership of four trainers with very diverse backgrounds. We cover the AOC content, but we do it in such a way as to provide a dynamic, integrated, and exciting learning experience.”

During training Givonetti covered topics related to domestic violence, Rule 31 procedure, parenting plans, and issues of power and control during mediation, while Doggette led discussions regarding mediator ethics, attorneys in mediation, children and divorce, ex-spouse communication, bias, and cultural issues.

LeVasseur and Wiersema taught legal issues related to family law, including child support, alimony, property, retirement, taxes, and understanding the process of filing in court. When speaking to the trainees about legal issues and statutes related to divorce, LeVasseur said, “As a mediator, you don’t necessarily need to know all of the answers, but you do need to know what the questions are.”

After the training Wiersema remarked, “It was a great learning experience for me to teach family law during the training. I was pleasantly surprised at how much law the trainees knew, and their grasp of the issues that needed to be resolved was excellent. I hope I was able to clarify aspects of the evolving law for them.”

In addition to the trainers, ten CMC volunteer mediators completed the training session including, Leuthold, Peoples, Robert Cook, Ron Hopper, Lynn Kidd, Bud Muly, Carol Robbins, Kathy Theis, Conchetta Tuckson and Lon Young.

Theis spoke about her reason for attending the training and said, “I attended because I want mediation to be my career. I want to know and learn all that is possibly available in order to better serve the clients and to better myself.”

Hopper added, “I want to become a better mediator, and taking part in this greatly enhances that goal. Because of this training, the overall mediation picture is more in focus.”

All training participants who have completed the course are now eligible to apply for AOC listing as Rule 31 family mediators.



Volunteer of the Month

By John Doggette

      CMC has no opportunity to surprise June’s volunteer of the month for the outstanding assistance she has provided. Erin Corcoran, editor of The Neutral Zone, mediator, peer-meditation promoter and super all-around VISTA will complete her year’s service in mid-July.

     The voids left when Erin leaves will be many: three middle schools without a peer mediation mentor; a personal “get things done” contact for Knox County Schools administration lost; Neutral Zone leadership lacking; civil mediator gone, and another warm, competent, helpful person absent.

Former Mediators Miss CMC

June is a time of transition for CMC, as three of our valuable mediators have recently moved away. Karen Adams completed her graduate program at the University of Tennessee in May and moved home to prepare for her fall wedding in Georgia. Ennica Street also moved in May to pursue new career opportunities, and Pete Mahoney “drove out of town” on Sunday, May 30, to begin a Naval position at sea.

“This is far and away the number one thing I’ll miss about this community,” says Mahoney of his experience here. “I would recommend [mediation] most heartily. It's a great opportunity, where your efforts as a volunteer are valuable and immediately helpful.” Mahoney says he would definitely like to continue mediating in the future. Adams and Street were not available for comment, however Adams did inform CMC that she was looking for community mediation centers in her new city.

Whenever a quality mediator leaves CMC, they are difficult to replace. We caught up with two former mediators and asked how their experience with CMC has effected them.

“I think I can honestly say that I do miss mediating and the opportunities that it afforded me. I enjoyed the opportunity of having a positive influence on people and the community as a whole,” says Anne Van Breedam. “Being a mediator allowed me to be involved with a fantastic group of people who were of like mind.”

Van Breedam left CMC over a year ago to move to San Antonio, Texas, to be close to family. She says her area does not offer a lot of volunteer mediation opportunities to people without law degrees, but she still appreciates the benefits of her training.

“I felt privileged to be getting such an education. The training itself enabled me to see both sides of an issue while maintaining a neutral position in spite of any personal opinions or prejudices I might have had.”

Pete Seavor added, “I do miss the spirit of cooperation that develops with your co-mediator in a successful mediation. [Mediation]...provided the opportunity to experience situations that represented, for the most part, what many people face on a regular basis…” Seavor and his wife, Carol, also a former mediator, moved to Roanoke, Virginia in 2002 for career reasons. Like San Antonio, Roanoke does not offer many opportunities to mediate as a volunteer, but Seavor says, “The opportunity to apply the skills abound and I apply them often.”

Join the Board in Strategic Planning

By Kevin Jeske

At the most recent Board meeting (May 20), Board members took the first step toward creating an official organizational planning document to guide the organization during 2005.

The document, to be finalized by mid-November, will contain key information pertaining to established priorities, planned program initiatives and a comprehensive marketing strategy.

During the 3-hour meeting, Board members discussed factors to consider when prioritizing current and future CMC initiatives; related (or expanded) service offerings to stake holders (collaborators, decision makers, referring agents, funders, clients, volunteers, and the public at large); and the role of the Board in strategic planning, marketing and Board member recruitment.

At the conclusion of the meeting, three strategic planning committees were formed to further explore and develop specific parts of what will become the final planning document. During the next few months, committee chairs will meet regularly with people whom they choose to serve on their committees. They will also meet regularly with the Executive Board to discuss and further refine their input.

The three committees are as follows: Priorities, Initiatives and Marketing. Amy Goff and Jim Johnson have been selected as two of our committee chairs. The third committee chair will be determined shortly. If anyone wishes to participate in these committees your input is encouraged and welcome.

Peer Mediation will not "break" for Summer

Summer is not a vacation for CMC VISTAs and the peer mediation program. VISTAs began receiving requests from various organizations to provide summer training workshops related to conflict resolution and peer mediation around mid-April. VISTAs are now completely booked with engagements that began in late May and will continue through the end of July.

VISTAs provided the last peer mediation training of the school year the week of May 17-21, to students at Jefferson City High School (JCHS) in Jefferson County. JCHS is the first school outside of Knox County to partner with CMC in establishing a peer mediation program. The new peer mediators are part of JCHS’ leadership class, which teaches students the importance of service projects. They unanimously selected to begin a peer mediation program as their final service project of the year.

Beginning Wednesday, June 2, VISTAs will hold peer mediation workshops for middle school students attending the Emerald Youth Foundation’s summer day camp. The workshops will be held every Wednesday for five weeks from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. VISTAs have planned a series of activities that will teach problem solving skills and explain the six-step mediation process. Staff members from Emerald Youth have not yet decided how or when they will begin an official peer mediation program, however they wanted their students to be equipped with the basic skills.

Beginning Monday, June 7, CMC staff members and VISTAs will partner with the Tennessee Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC) to provide a six-week series of conflict resolution workshops to youth in public housing. This is the second year CMC staff members have done this. Workshops will be all-day sessions held at various day-camps in Newport, Lake City, Jefferson City and to three sites in Johnson City: Carver, Fairview and Keystone.

On Friday, June 18, VISTAs will deliver a 2-3 hour presentation on conflict resolution to the Knoxville Police Department Youth Academy. The academy consists of 20 students selected from Knox County middle and high schools. The students either applied for the program or were selected by Security Resource Officers at their schools.

Beginning the week of June 13, VISTAs will deliver four weeks of presentations to students in the University of Tennessee’s Upward Bound college preparation project on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. The workshops will focus on conflict resolution and problem solving skills that will be useful in a college setting. There are three separate classes of students who will be participating in the workshops.

The final summer activity will be the peer mediation summer day camp. Planning is underway for this activity and CMC VISTAs have already received addresses from over 50 interested students in Knox County.

Legal Language
by Don K. Ferguson

Volunteer mediator and author of the “Grammar Gremlins” column that appears in the Sunday News Sentinel.

guardian ad litem

Denotes a court-appointed guardian who acts in litigation on behalf of a minor or someone mentally incompetent. (The Latin term ad litem means “for the suit.”)

Monthly Calendar

Guests on CTV:

· Bobby Gratz, Director of Middle Schools, Knox County Schools. Sat., May, 29, Thurs., June, 3.

· Bill Swann, Judge, Knox County Fourth Circuit Court. Sat., June, 5, Thurs., June, 10.

· Dave Hill, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Sat., June, 12, Thurs., June, 17.

· Mary Lindsey, First Offender Program, Knox County Juvenile Court. Sat., June, 19, Thurs., June, 24.

“Our Mediation Community” airs at 9:45 p.m. on Thursdays and 7:15 p.m. on Saturdays.

· Executive Committee meeting, Thursday, June 10, at 12:00 p.m. at Gay St.

· **Reminder** The next volunteer mediator training class will be held on the weekends of September 10, 11, 12 and 17,18,19.

Peacemaking in South Africa

by Lisa Beckman

Barbara Simmons’ speech on Mediation Day brought the idea of peacemaking in other countries to the attention of many of us at CMC. I came across this opportunity while searching www.nafcm.org.

People to People Ambassador Programs is inviting professional mediators and all those involved in peacemaking to a delegation in South Africa from Oct 16-27.

Delegates will be traveling to Johannesburg, Kruger National Park, and Cape Town to attend a variety of meetings, presentations and round table discussions with their South African counterparts to discuss peacekeeping methods, conflict resolution programs, restorative justice and current issues which hinder peacemaking such as racism and AIDS.

The delegation will by led Ann Yellott, the coordinator of Peace Web. She has said about the study, “Delegates will play a definite role in refining the themes and topics for discussion, and defining the processes for sharing information and insights during this international exchange.”

The cost for the program is $4,990 and includes round trip airfare from New York, lodging, food and travel within South Africa. For more information about the trip or to request an application, call 1-877-787-2000 or visit http://www.ambassador.org.

Community Mediation Center

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

·          www.2mediate.org

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 7

August, 2004

CMC Staff

· John Doggette, Exec. Director

· Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

· Sharon Upshaw, Knox Co. Prog. Director

· Lisa Beckman, VISTA

.	Greg Bascko, VISTA Sarah Krivenki VISTA Lesley Rohrer VISTA

Inside this issue:

Recruitment of New Volunteers

A Mediation Center in Philadelphia

Family Referral Mediations - Ordered or Voluntary

Volunteer of the Month

CMC Receives National Mini-Grant

CMC VISTAs provide conflict resolution skills to Upward Bound

Volunteers to Notice

Welcome New Vistas

Legal Language

Monthly Calendar

Recruitment of New Volunteers

Time flies! John and Lisa will co-teach our 18^th class of volunteers beginning on September 10. And we need a full class of volunteers to help handle the continuing increase of referrals to mediation. This summer we compiled a listing of former mediators and the number was almost 350 dating back to 1992-3 when Julian Wick, Delores Mitchell and Dick Zivi completed training. Volunteers who continue more than two years are the strength of CMC. Had we not had 45 committed mediators either move from Knoxville or have health issues we would no longer need to train. Of those who have dropped out about 100 stayed about a year and found other interests; 35 didn’t complete the one-year commitment. CMC has trained students, VISTAs and interns knowing they would be with us for only a limited time.

Readers, we need you to promote to your friends and colleagues the challenges and fulfillment that mediation provides. Take the challenge to recruit one volunteer for the coming class; one volunteer that you might enjoy mediating with; one volunteer who will become a long time member of our CMC family.

A Mediation Center In Philadelphia
by Lisa Beckman

Our Mediation Fest Speaker Barbara Simmons came to us from Philadelphia where she worked with local voluntary mediation centers. I interviewed the Executive Director of the Good Shepard Mediation Program (GSMP) in Philadelphia to learn more about a large urban center.

According to Cheryl Cutrona, Executive Director of GSMP, the center is a public charity that was founded in 1982 by the Sisters of Good Shepard, with the purpose of serving two police districts suffering from “violence resulting from escalating, unresolved, disputes.” Today GSMP is the only neighborhood justice center to serve the entire city of Philadelphia.

GSMP collaborates with many local organizations in raising funds and providing broad-based conflict resolution services. GSMP does a wide variety of mediations, including family, special education, employment-related disputes, special mediations for the US Postal Service, and victim-offender conferencing, for which GSMP charges $25 per party, per session, and $5 per party, per session for welfare recipients. GSMP is also involved in unique programs, including the AIDS Mediation Project, which is designed for people who are HIV-positive to have a less stressful method of resolving disputes, and Peace Theatre, an improvisational youth performance team that works with acting out conflicts and creative solutions.
Family Mediation Referrals- Ordered or Voluntary

Our volunteer mediators have asked how the cases we mediate are referred to CMC. The Neutral Zone spoke with staff members from the Knox County Juvenile Court (KCJC) to explain the process for referrals concerning families with children who need parenting plans or improved cooperation and communication.

According to Kathy Garrett of the KCJC, Intake frequently refers “walk-in” parents to mediation when there is no allegation of child neglect or abuse. The referrals are voluntary and CMC contacts the other parent or custodian to arrange the mediation. In parenting or visitation cases, the parties are usually parents who have never been married, and one of them is filing for visitation of their child. Garrett says if the parent appears to be communicating with the other, she refers them to mediation.

The Intake department also hears where one parent is making allegations against the other of drug or alcohol use, or of abusing or neglecting their child. When this happens, KCJC appoints a guardian ad litem, or attorney representing the child, to investigate whether or not the allegations are true. The case is then assigned a case manager in the Family Services unit.

Once a guardian ad litem is appointed to a case, it is put on the KCJC court docket. In court, cases can be ordered to mediation by the judge or referee. The guardians ad litem or attorneys sometimes recommend mediation. When a judge or referee orders a case to mediation, he or she may immediately call CMC staff members to do an in-person intake, or the Family Services case manager in charge of the case may deliver it to CMC.

Parenting and visitation cases are also ordered from the Child Support Division of KCJC. Child Support Court is located directly across from the Gay St. office. When these cases are referred, the judge or referee orders parties to walk across the street to do an in-person intake.

In cases where parties have reached an impasse or where one party is unwilling to attend a voluntary mediation again, a judge or referee may refer them to further mediation. A parent may return to Intake with an allegation of contempt against the other parent for not being able to parent or visit the child. Unsuccessful mediations ordered from Child Support Division are frequently referred again from KCJC. In addition, CMC gets many repeat requests from parents who have attended mediation to voluntarily return to improve their parenting plan.

CMC prepares its mediators to begin stage two with the question, “tell me why you are here.” One important additional reason is to learn how the parties were referred to CMC and whether they were ordered or came voluntarily.

Volunteer of the Month

Our July - August Volunteer of the Month has become a valuable member and friend within the CMC family. Don Ferguson, no stranger to seeing his name in print, is the author of a Sunday column “Grammar Gremlins” in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Don has retired as the court clerk for the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee.

Don is a regular General Sessions mediator and a member of the CMC Board of Directors. He makes himself available for being an extra mediator or for another assignment. Recently he became a consultant to the VISTAs who were writing and editing the Neutral Zone. We are most fortunate to have Don as a part of our organization.

CMC Receives National Mini-Grant The National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) has awarded a mini-grant to CMC to further its work in peer mediation. CMC and its assigned VISTAs are in our fourth year of developing self sustaining middle and high school peer mediation programs and the fund will help to support the many associated costs. NAFCM is interested in learning more about the relationships between voluntary mediation centers and programs to promote peaceful schools.
CMC VISTAs Provide Conflict Resolution Skills to Upward Bound by Erin Corcoran Anyone who has read the last two issues of The Neutral Zone knows that CMC VISTAs have been providing conflict resolution workshops to high school students participating in the University of Tennessee’s Upward Bound program. In recent weeks VISTAs have had the opportunity to work closely with 250 extraordinary students. Upward Bound is a college preparation workshop designed only for low income students with high academic test scores. According to the program’s director, Bob Baker, they may be the first in their families to attend college. The program is a four-week lesson on the entire college experience. Students live in the UT dorms Monday through Friday, returning home only on the weekends. While most of the students are from high schools in or around Knox County, they are paired to live with students they do not know. Each day includes a rigorous schedule of classes and activities beginning at 6:15 a.m. Misti Gibbs and David Jackson, Anderson County High School juniors, are two of the students participating in the program. “I like that [Upward Bound] shows you the responsibility that needs to be learned in college,” says Jackson. Jackson is taking classes in advanced algebra and trigonometry, physics, advanced English, French, Spanish and ACT preparation. Gibbs says the experience is exposing her to new people and forcing her to form new relationships. Her class load consists of biology, French, Latin and ACT preparation. After graduating from Anderson County High School next year, she says she plans to attend the University of Tennessee to study marine biology. The workshops CMC provided focused on conflicts that arise because of differences in background, economic status and education. In the first week, students were asked to examine and discuss their differences. Many shared experiences of growing up without mothers or fathers, being the only person of their race or culture in a class, and their fears about going to college with people they don’t already know. Other topics during subsequent weeks included positive and negative communication, exploring emotions and mediation techniques as they apply to daily life.
Legal Language by Don K. Ferguson Don is a volunteer mediator who also writes the “Grammar Gremlins” column that appears in the Sunday News Sentinel. Robbery; burglary; larceny; theft ”The exact definitions of these terms may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it is universal that people and institutions are the objects of ‘robbery,’ places are the objects of ‘burglary,’ and things are the objects of ‘larceny’ and ‘theft.’” -Garner’s Modern American Usage Robbery - the felonious taking of personal property by force or threat of force from the immediate presence of the victim. Burglary - the act of breaking and entering a building with the intent to commit a felony. Larceny - the felonious stealing of personal property; the fraudulent taking and carrying away of a thing without claim of right. Theft - the taking of personal property without the owner’s consent and with the intent to deprive the owner of its value.	Welcome New VISTAs CMC mediators will continue to receive positive calls from our scheduling teams even though Kathleen, Meredith and Erin have now departed. None of them can be replaced, however we have acquired in late July two new VISTAs. We wish to extend a warm welcome to Lesley Rohrer and Sarah Krivenki. Lesley comes to us from Otterbein College in Ohio with a degree in Communications and Broadcasting. She has great organizational and interpersonal skills, which we know will be an asset to CMC. Sarah has recently graduated from Youngstown State University in Ohio. She has been very active throughout her college years coordinating social events and volunteering. She also has extensive leadership experience in organizing community fundraisers. We are very excited to have these two, bright, energetic women joining the CMC family and the commitment to peaceful conflict resolution. Community Mediation Center · 912 S. Gay St, L-300 Knoxville, TN 37902 · Phone: 865-594-1879 · Fax: 865-594-1890 · Email: mediate@esper.com CMC Annex phone: 865-215-6570 New CMC annex email: cmcjuvct@esper.com · Website: www.2mediate.org
Monthly Calendar NEW TIME: “Our Mediation Community” will air on Sundays at 12:45 p.m. and Fridays at 9:15 p.m. Guests on CTV: Sun 8/1 Chris Woodhull, Ex Director of Tribe One and City Councilman. Fri 8/6 & Sun 8/8 Ginny Weatherstone, Ex Director Volunteer Ministry Fri 8/13 & Sun 8/15 Fr. Ragan Schriver, Ex Director Catholic Charities Fri 8/20 & Sun 8/22 Joe Hultquist, City Councilman Fri 8/27 & Sun 8/29 Deborah Oleshansky, Community Volunteer Executive Committee Meeting: Thursday, August 12 Reminder of fall training class for volunteer mediators: September 10,11,12 and 17,18,19. Applicant Interviews on August 22, 2004.

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 8

September, 2004

CMC Staff

John Doggette, Exec. Director

Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

Sharon Upshaw, Prog. Director

Lisa Beckman, VISTA

Greg Bascko, VISTA

Sarah Krivenki,
VISTA, Neutral Zone Editor

Lesley Rohrer,
VISTA

Inside this issue:

MediACTion Fest 2004
Neutral Zone Changes Hands

Volunteer of the Month

Summer Day Camp

Our Mediation Community

From New York to Knoxville

Legal Language

Monthly Calendar

MediACTion Fest 2004

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 13th (10:00am-6:00pm), when CMC will hold its First Annual “MediACTion Fest”. This fundraising event for CMC, to take place at Events at Sherlake (118 Sherlake, Knoxville) promises to offer a wide range of games & activities, food, prizes, special guests, and exhibits for the whole family.

The facility, Events at Sherlake, has been donated by Amy Goff to CMC for the day. It is located in West Knoxville, off Kingston Pike (between Cedar Bluff and Lovell Road). This private property facility, “For Kids and Unruly Adults,” features 10,700 sq. ft. divided into two play arenas and two refreshment rooms. Each arena contains large inflatable interactive games, including a 65 foot long obstacle course, a 22 foot tall slide, a bounce house, basketball goal, and more! All activities are appropriate for ages 4 through adult.

Essential to the success of this fundraising event will be the sale of tickets! So, please consider contacting CMC to find out more about the activities and festivities. Contact Jim Johnson, Lisa Carroll, or Kevin Jeske for more information about sponsorships or ticket sales. Contact Bud Muly, Delores Mitchell, or Amy Goff for more information about volunteer opportunities.

We certainly appreciate and welcome any and all help before or during the event. Hope to hear from you soon!

Neutral Zone Changes Hands

Hi! My name is Sarah Krivenki. I am from Mentor, Ohio (just East of Cleveland) and recently received my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Youngstown State University. I come to the Community Mediation Center as an AmeriCorps VISTA, along with my co-VISTA, Lesley Rohrer.

As Erin Corcoran, former VISTA and editor has left the CMC for a career in education (but has been helping the CMC since as a volunteer mediator), I have been given the opportunity to be the Editor-In-Chief of the Neutral Zone. I hope that in the next year I will be able to serve our readers well! I have some exciting articles planned, and some goals that I am very excited to see carried through!

I have been in the beautiful city of Knoxville for almost two months now, and I must thank everyone for your kindness and hospitality. It has been a pleasure volunteering my services to the CMC and I look forward to the coming months. During September I will be trained as a volunteer mediator, and I only hope that I can approach the skills and talents of our current mediators. I would also like to specifically thank all of our mediators here for your patience with me as I adjust. It really is a privilege to interact with you all on a regular basis and I feel so blessed to have already met so many wonderful people.

I hope you all will keep reading, and feel free to make suggestions as you see fit (see contact information at the end of the Zone). Thank you so very much for all of your support!

Volunteer of the Month: Lisa Beckman
CMC has been so very fortunate in the past few years to have a constant influx of outstanding AmeriCorps*VISTAs spend a year with us. Lisa Beckman, current VISTA, is in her final month with CMC, continuing to coordinate peer mediation programs and helping to operate CMC programs out of the Annex. All who have worked with her will remember her contributions and talents with a smile. Lisa’s year has been one of caring about CMC and of being sensitive to the needs of our volunteers and staff. Her enthusiasm for peer mediation was exemplified by her dedication to the individual school programs as well as during the successful Mediation Fest and summer mediation camp. Her presence has simply made CMC a better place. Thank you Lisa for your grace, your long hours and your many contributions.

Summer Day Camp

The last week of July brought together 10 middle school students (from Vine Middle Magnet, Halls Middle, Carter Middle, and Bearden Middle) with one common interest: conflict resolution. A Peer Mediation Day Camp was held by the Community Mediation Center for a select few middle school students who showed outstanding commitment to their peer mediation programs. The students were excited to spend a week with other peer mediators, practicing and refining their skills.

The students participated in many activities that helped them to hone in on their already exemplary mediation skills. These bright, caring, enthusiastic students provided the CMC VISTAs with a wonderful experience and the staff was taught as much as the students. Furthering the learning experience, 6-9 year-old youth from the Boys and Girls Club of Knoxville visited on the final day of camp, providing our middle school students an opportunity to “teach-back”. In addition to learning valuable information about cooperation, listening, and communication, the laughs and smiles that arose from this session were quite the indication that this was a very successful event.

Peer Mediation Day Camp provided opportunities not only for students to meet and form connections with other peer mediators, but also to compare the styles of programs in different schools. At the end of the week, each student completed a “business plan” to give to his or her coordinator as a suggestion for ways to create the best possible Peer Mediation program at each school.

The week was an excellent opportunity for peer mediators from across Knox County to come together and share one common goal – the goal to instill lasting and effective peer mediation programs throughout schools in Knoxville.

Our Mediation Community
For those of you who don’t know, “Our Mediation Community” is a fifteen-minute television program on CTV produced by the CMC. There are four programs each month, and each is shown twice, first Friday evening at 9:15pm and second Sunday afternoon at 12:45pm. Each program highlights an individual, organization, or topic in the Knoxville community that is related to mediation and conflict resolution. The monthly schedule will be listed each month in the Neutral Zone. The schedule this month is as follows:

9/10 (9:15pm) & 9/17 (12:45pm): Becky Hare (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program Director for CAC)

9/17 (9:15pm) & 9/19 (12:45pm): Ann Barker (Staff Attorney For DCS)

9/24 (9:15pm) & 9/26 (12:45pm): Jim Harb (Palestinian-Israeli Dialogue)

Legal Language
By Don K. Ferguson

(Volunteer mediator and author of the “Grammar Gremlins” column that appears in The News Sentinel every Sunday.)

Affiant (ah-FI-ant): An affiant is one who gives an affidavit, a sworn statement. The term comes from the Old French word affier, which meant “to promise.” Affiant began as an Americanism in the early 1800s.

Community Mediation Center
“Building Futures Through Problem Solving”

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

CMC Annex phone: 865-215-6570

New CMC annex email:

cmcjuvct@esper.com

·         Website:  www.2mediate.org
From New York to Knoxville
by Lisa Beckman
Most of you are aware that the perpetually young staff in the office are AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America). We come to serve for one year in the “domestic peace corps” to administer the CMC Division Street/Annex office, establish and support sustainable peer mediation programs, and do various leadership events. This year has been an unforgettable experience for me. From my initial overwhelming confusion upon arrival to becoming one of Tennessee’s experts on peer mediation, I have learned from and enjoyed every day here, and working with such a terrific supportive staff.

There are benefits and drawbacks to working at an organization for only one year. It forces you to keep focused and to accomplish as much as possible, and far more than you thought you could… I believe someone once said that to change the world, you need a good idea and a short amount of time.

I have been proud to work on such projects as Girls' Leadership Weekend, Summer Day Camp, Mediation Fest, the art contest, the Neutral Zone, presentations throughout Knox County, working with students from Upward Bound, Emerald Youth, LPD Youth Academy, and TCAC. It has been a privilege working with such bright, talented students. They are the peace builders of tomorrow and it has been an honor to use my time and skills to encourage and train them along their journey.

I had not had any prior experience in conflict resolution before CMC; however, I am now convinced of its ability to improve lives and heal wounds. I would like to find a career in conflict resolution to promote the values of empowerment and constructive conversation. I like to give a special thanks to all of our wonderful mediators who made the job so enjoyable. It is because of you that CMC exists. We, as well as our clients, couldn’t do it without your help.

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 9

October, 2004

CMC Staff

John Doggette, Exec. Director

Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

Sharon Upshaw, Prog. Director

Lisa Beckman, VISTA

Greg Bascko, VISTA

Sarah Krivenki,
VISTA, Neutral Zone Editor

Lesley Rohrer,
VISTA

Inside this issue:

What is a VISTA?
2004 Volunteer Mediator Training Class

Volunteer of the Month

CMC & Juvenile Court Special Programs

Tools to Enhance Your Mediation Skills

Legal Language

Monthly Calendar

What is a VISTA?

The CMC currently “employs” three VISTA volunteers: Greg Bascko, Lesley Rohrer, and Sarah Krivenki. For those of you who may have been curious, this is a quick introduction to what a VISTA is.

AmeriCorps VISTA is a program that was established in 1965 to encourage volunteerism. Some of you may not know that CMC Executive Director John Doggette was a VISTA back in 1967! In the 1990’s, the program was “adopted” by AmeriCorps. The plight of a VISTA is to provide indirect services in an attempt to alleviate poverty in the United States.

At the CMC, VISTAs work with low-income families to help settle disputes, as well as with setting up peer mediation programs in low-income Knox County Schools to help prevent violence and promote peace.

For more information, please reference www.americorps.gov.

2004 Volunteer Mediator Training Class

The 2004 fall volunteer mediator class was held September 10-12 and 17-19 at the Dining Hall at the John Tarleton Center on Division Street. Taught by John Doggette and Lisa Givonetti, with the assistance of VISTAs Lisa Beckman and Greg Bascko, the class elicited fifteen new volunteer mediators, all bringing something unique and valuable to the organization. The new volunteers are:
Andy Agnew, Gary Bopp, Jenny Burkemper, Lisa Carroll, Sarah Krivenki, Marsha Lehman, Melvin Luttrell, Reba Luttrell, Karen Nighswander, Stacey Odeneal, Andre Reynolds, John Riddle, Lesley Rohrer, Debbie Snyder, and Bill Toole.

These enthusiastic trainees partook in six rigorous days of skills training and role-playing. Special thanks go out to Judy Toole, Delores Mitchell, Jim Johnson, Erin Corcoran, and Karen Doggette, all of who volunteered their time to help out with the training. Also, thank you to students from the following schools: Halls Middle, Whittle Springs Middle, Bearden Middle, Carter Middle, and Karns Middle.

Congratulations and best of luck to our new volunteers! You are entering a gifted and supportive group of “seasoned” volunteers who are ready and willing to help you become practiced and confident in your newly acquired skills.

Volunteer of the Month

Carol Robbins is our volunteer of the month. Carol completed her training in March 2000 and has spent many evenings mediating in the Annex. She works for the Tennessee School for the Deaf assisting both students and their parents but she has continued to have time available for CMC. Her positive attitude and warm smile are available to all; the clients, her co-mediator and CMC staff. We never get tired of saying thanks, Carol, for being a valuable member of our family.

CMC & Juvenile Court Special Programs

Recently, George Gorghes, director of the Status Offender Program, and Mary Lindsey, director of the First Offender Program, answered some questions for the Neutral Zone to better explain what their programs are set up to do, and how the CMC affects and helps them.

The Status Offender Program handles all status offenders (i.e.: truancy, runaway, curfew, and all other crime that can only be committed prior to turning 18). In his position, George’s goal is to resolve family conflicts so as to prevent youth from coming into State custody. The First Offender Program handle just that: first-time juvenile offenders. They attempt to enable those youths so that they will not commit further crimes. Mary handles, on average, a caseload of 400.

Both George and Mary feel that mediation services are extremely helpful in the Knox County Juvenile Court. Mediation helps free up much needed space, helps families to communicate better, gives victims the ability to express their feelings to their offenders, and provides a new and, often, better way of dealing with what are often major issues.

When asked about how peer mediation programs may be most helpful, both agreed that such programs encourage more constructive and effective communication, and provides a venue to keep smaller disputes out of the courtroom.

Thank you to George and Mary for your input. Your support and encouragement is appreciated!

Tools to Enhance Your Mediation Skills

By John Doggette

“There is a drawback with ‘mediation technicians’ wearing the techniques of mediation a foreign appendage. One must make the skills one’s own; light your own torch from others’ candles, but make the skills fit your person….Try to be whole.” – Patrick Davis from When Talk Works- Profiles of Mediators.

The words “its all about me” are familiar to all volunteers who have completed our two-weekend mediation training. From a lifetime of involvement in training and education activities I now focus on enhancing the skills and abilities of the participants to become co-mediators. By the end of the two weeks each of our new volunteers has begun to fit the requirements of being a good mediator within her personality and way of being that has made her successful.   The mediation process, the six steps to follow, the team of two mediators all allow for and encourage the volunteer to be natural throughout the process.   CMC emphasizes the importance of the volunteers talking prior to the mediation about their mediation “styles” and what they want to emphasize. Similarly mediators should openly consult with their co-mediator during the mediation using techniques to model constructive conversation.

A good mediation team may by choice be excluded from the constructive conversation between the clients. For most mediators the asking a carefully worded open ended question followed by the patience to sit quietly while the parties talk to each other must be learned. The mediators must self-remind that the mediation “is about them,” the clients. Mediation is about “whole-body listening,” grasping the important issues between two or more disagreeing parties and then ensuring they are written in the words of the clients.

In the CMC mediation toolbox we have included many items to enable the mediator to grow better in the field. Up until now we have never included the candle to remind all volunteers to borrow from the experience of other mediators while remaining personally fit.

Legal Language
By Don K. Ferguson

(A volunteer mediator and author of the "Grammar Gremlins" column that appears in The News Sentinel every Sunday.)
Nonsuit: A plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of a case or one of the defendants in a case
Noun: “The attorney filed a nonsuit.”
Verb: “The plaintiff nonsuited one of the defendants.”

Community Mediation Center
“Building Futures Through Problem Solving”

·          912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

·          Phone: 865-594-1879

·          Fax: 865-594-1890

·          Email: mediate@esper.com

CMC Annex phone: 865-215-6570

New CMC annex email:

cmcjuvct@esper.com

·         Website:  www.2mediate.org

October Event Calendar

Our Mediation Community:

Sunday, October 3, 12:45pm: Jim Harb

Friday, October 8, 9:15pm—Izetta Slade

Sunday, October 10, 12:45pm—Izetta Slade

Friday, October 15, 9:15pm—Shelly Wascom

Sunday, October 17, 12:45pm—Shelly Wascom

Friday, October 22, 9:15pm—David Keith

Sunday, October 24, 12:45pm—David Keith

Friday, October 29, 9:15pm—Adrinne Dressel

Sunday, October 31, 12:45pm—Adrinne Dressel



Meetings:
Monday, October 11, 6:30pm—
Peer Mediation Advisory Council Meeting (Annex)

Thursday, October 14, 11:00am—
Executive Committee Meeting (CMC Gay St. Office)

Thursday, October 14, 12:00pm—
Liaison Meeting (Court Top Café)

The Community Mediation Center is a not-for-profit organization that has served Knox and surrounding East Tennessee counties since 1994.

We provide mediation services to courts, schools, businesses, community groups and individuals using volunteers who have been specially selected and trained as mediators. We also offer facilitation services, conflict management training, and educational presentations provided by a trained professional staff.

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 10

November, 2004

CMC Staff

John Doggette, Exec. Director

Lisa R. Givonetti, Assc. Director

Sharon Upshaw, Prog. Director

Lisa Beckman, VISTA

Greg Bascko, VISTA

Sarah Krivenki,
VISTA, Neutral Zone Editor

Lesley Rohrer,
VISTA

Inside this issue:

Givonetti is Leaving CMC
Mediation Question

Volunteer of the Month

DCS Attorneys Learn about Mediation

Peer Mediation - the Fall Update

Our Mediation Community

THANK YOU to our supporters

Monthly Calendar

Associate Director Givonetti is Leaving CMC
Lisa will depart from the Community Mediation Center in late November leaving behind her many contributions in our training and mentoring of volunteers, CMC’s support to clients who fund us and in the warm and professional manner that she assists the parties seeking help. The CMC Lisa will leave near the end of 2004 is not the organization she joined in 1998 when she took responsibility for the pilot parenting plan. Lisa provided the CMC, and especially the Executive Director, with thoughtful and professional input on resolving the daily scheduling and case closure issues faced by volunteer mediation centers. The General Sessions mediators will miss their conversations with Lisa following a morning in court. New mediators in training will never experience the long-lasting role-play feud between the Italian woman who received inadequate service and the carpet store owner who overly claimed innocence. The CMC Board will miss quality and timely board minutes, service and reminders that are seldom so personalized in small not-for-profit organizations.

Each member of the CMC family has had the opportunity to work with and enjoy the professional and personal warmth of Lisa. I know I have greatly benefited from Lisa’s perspective and been honored to have had the opportunity to build the CMC with her during these formative years. I am sure I can speak for the entire CMC family in saying thank you to a special friend and much success in your life’s journey.
Mediation Question:
What is expected when one party fails to show but the other party would like to demonstrate to the court active good faith participation in creating a parenting plan.

Evening mediators have all too frequent situations when one party fails to appear at the scheduled time and does not inform the CMC. The volunteers may have completed the initial two stages with the party who did arrive. If the mediators believe that continuing a constructive conversation with the single party is beneficial they can continue a process of helping the party define the issues and possible alternatives. If the mediators draft the requests desired by the party the action is NOT creating a mediated agreement. The completed document will not be provided by CMC to the Court. The attending party will leave with the original “preference for a parenting plan” and can if desired request it to be reviewed by the Court at the next court date.

A recent example included a successful first parenting mediation session, but one party did not return as agreed to the second session. The attending parent had driven over two hours to attend the mediation. With the assistance of the neutral mediators a draft document was completed. The parent, but not the mediators, signed the document. CMC closed out the file with the case manager stating that one session had been completed and an impasse reached on the second. CMC made no effort to determine what the court did, but remains willing as always to reschedule if the court requests.

Volunteer of the Month
Our volunteer for the month is Lisa Givonetti in appreciation for all she has done to make CMC the best that she could make it. We'll miss you, Lisa!

Department of Children Services Attorneys Learn about Mediation

John had the opportunity to improve his own mediation skills during the three October Friday half-day sessions he conducted for the Department of Children Services (DCS) Attorneys. The objective of each session was to discuss positive participation of DCS attorneys in a mediation session. Each class consisted of one-third of the attorneys across the state. The sessions all contained active dialogue, positive exchanges, challenges and clarifications by participants.

DCS attorneys have the primary responsibility of ensuring that when children are removed by the state it is conducted in a legal manner and that the children are safe while in state custody. Their clients however are not the children, but the agency and all persons employed by the agency. The guardian ad litem serves as the child’s legal advocate. DCS attorneys primarily practice in a courtroom setting and as one attorney explained - “My job is proving why the child had to be removed and not saying anything positive about the abusing or neglectful family.”

The first discussion question presented to the group was “Would you sign the CMC agreement to mediate that contains a confidentiality statement.” The response was initially a strongly stated NO, but as they further discussed the issue in small groups most recognized they could sign the agreement because “new admissions” were reasons to report child abuse, and a mediated agreement would include the “how-tos” for the family members to properly parent if / when the children were returned.

Each class was structured around their “typical family case” scheduled to be mediated. Class participation demonstrated how all parties in the mediation: parents, extended family, therapist, DCS, and others could benefit from increased accountability and timelines. DCS operates under strict timelines for returning the child to the home or establishing a permanent placement, and the Courts require regular appearances to review progress.

The attorneys received one hour of “legal ethics” credit for attending the course. They internally discussed such issues as “what if the mediator is not competent”, “how responsible is the agency for offering services”, “can therapy for a child in state custody be continued when the child is returned home” and, “how would attorneys recommend holding the agency / the caseworker accountable for dates and deliverables.”

As the facilitator I benefited from listening to and being guided by the realities faced by the agency and DCS’s perspective on their responsibilities as court room attorneys. I have had many opportunities to work with groups on the topic of mediation and conflict resolution in the last seven and a half years. I left each of the three sessions having personally gained valuable knowledge. My hope is that conversation about the value of mediation as a tool will be continued by the participants.

Peer Mediation - the Fall Update
In early August when the VISTA team of Greg, Lesley and Sarah met for the first time to discuss peer mediation the initial question was, “how many schools will we be able to train?” November has arrived and the three VISTAs have demonstrated their team and individual competencies to serve seven schools in peer mediation instruction. Sarah and Lesley revised and personalized the 2004-2005 student manual.

Halls Middle School and their active program remained the catalyst for the VISTAs to learn and interact with Sue Clapp and students. Holston Middle’s new coordinator requested immediate assistance. Greg’s visits during the Spring semester with the principals at Whittle Springs Middle and Austin East resulted in CMC training quality students at both schools. Vine Middle, another active program, welcomed the VISTAs back to train additional students. Karns Middle and Gresham requested our assistance and provided youth eager to learn and apply the principles of peer mediation.

Using its VISTAs, CMC has provided the foundation training to seven schools and several more have expressed real interest. The youth are committed and eager to demonstrate the value of peer mediation and to increase their skills. Sarah, Lesley and Greg, who will leave in January, will be providing monthly refreshers to each class while supporting the mediation coordinators in promoting mediation throughout their schools.

Several of our volunteer mediators have expressed interest in assisting or adopting a school peer mediation class. Because our great VISTAs are with us for only a year CMC would welcome and benefit from having such support. Please contact Lesley or Sarah if you are interested in working with a particular school or helping to plan our Spring Mediation Festival.

Television Program - “Our Mediation Community”
November marks the twelfth month of the Community Mediation Center’s program on Knoxville Community Television. The purpose of the television program is to promote mediation and to demonstrate that constructive conversation for change has application in many areas. The program has given CMC the opportunity to engage the television audience, but more importantly to interview and talk with known leaders and change agents in our community. The guests have included elected officials, directors of not-for-profit organizations, business leaders and advocates for resolution and improved community efforts.

Each program is aired twice in the same week: Friday evening at 9:15 p.m. and on Sunday at 12:45 p.m. The guest appearing for Nov 12 & 14 is the new Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen; Nov 19 & 21 will be District Attorney Randy Nichols; and Nov 26 & 28 will be recently elected School Board member Indya Kincannon.

The program is taped once a month on Wednesday morning at the Knoxville Community television studio located in the Andrew Johnson building. CMC family members are welcome to be part of the “studio audience.” Guests for the November 17 taping will be the editor of the News-Sentinel; a social worker working with veterinarians on the relationship between animal abuse and child-abuse; the Lady Vols softball coach, and the manager of the O’Conner Senior Citizens Center.

Announcement From Tennessee Valley Mediation Association (TVMA)

Please join us for these exciting TVMA November events!

The first event will be a Simulation Saturday on Saturday, November 13th starting at 9:00 am and ending at 12:00 PM. It will be held in room 338 at the UT Law School on 1505 W. Cumberland Ave, Knoxville, TN. The program will be "How to Stay Neutral in A Seemingly One-Sided Case"   (If you would like to stretch your mediation skills, volunteer to be part of the role play! Email Becky at Jacobs@libra.law.utk.edu)

The second event will be our monthly meeting on Tuesday, November 16th. It will be held at Pellissippi State at the Division St Campus in Room 140.

The evening will begin with a social from 6:30 - 7:00 pm. The program will be from 7:00 - 8:00 pm. The speakers will be Natalie LeVasseur and Harry Wiersema; both are seasoned Mediators and family law Attorneys. They will speak about the upcoming changes in the child support law that will go into effect in January. If you mediate court appointed or voluntary parenting plans between disputing parents then this program is a must! The changes in the law will affect how these plans are written! CLE approval is pending. If you would like a copy of the law please email me (Jane Peoples) at jpeoples27@comcast.net.

See you at these two exciting events!

Community Mediation Center
“Building Futures Through Problem Solving”

912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

Phone: 865-594-1879

Fax: 865-594-1890

Email: mediate@esper.com

CMC Annex phone: 865-215-6570

New CMC annex email:
cmcjuvct@esper.com

Website:  www.2mediate.org

Thank You!!!
The CMC would like to thank VISKASE Corporation and Waterman Associates for their generous donations to the programs of CMC.

As the new year nears please consider an end of the year donation to CMC. If you have friends or associates who you believe might be interested in supporting our efforts the CMC Board will provide you with their fund-raising letter for you to send with a personal note. The increasing number of individuals and organizations requesting problem solving assistance has made it more difficult to meet our financial needs.

Community Mediation Center

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Volume 4, Issue 11

December, 2004

CMC Staff

John Doggette, Exec. Director

Sharon Upshaw, Prog. Director

Greg Bascko, VISTA

Sarah Krivenki,
VISTA, Neutral Zone Editor

Lesley Rohrer,
VISTA

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Summarizing 2004

Volunteer of the Month: Marsha Hupfel

CME Training Course

Johnson City Workshop

“Our Mediation Community”

“Good-Bye” from Lisa Givonetti

Spring 2005 Mediator Training

CMC Fundraiser & "Thank-you"s

TVMA December Meeting

CME Training Course

On Tuesday, December 14^th, the Community Mediation Center is offering a three-hour Rule 31 course, “The Uniform Mediation Act, Rule 31 Requirements, and Me,” for Rule 31 mediators. The course will fulfill the annual continuing education requirement and ethics hour for mediators. Attorneys can also get CLE credit. The interactive training will be at the John Tarleton Center off Sutherland Ave. from 3:15 - 6:45 pm. All materials will be provided. Cost of the training for those not affiliated with CMC is $75. There is a discount for volunteers. For more information or to register, call 215-6482.

"Our Mediation Community"

“Our Mediation Community” currently airs Friday evenings at 9:15 pm, and Sunday afternoons at 12:45 pm. The program features guests who help to promote peace in our community. The schedule this month is as follows:

12/3 & 12/5: Elizabeth Strand - a social worker working with veterinarians on the relationship between animal abuse and child abuse

12/10 & 12/12: Betty Wilkie - the manager of the O’Conner Senior citizen’s center

12/17 & 12/19: Coach Karen Weekly - the Lady Vols softball coach

12/24 & 12/26: John McElroy - the editor of the Knoxville News-Sentinel

Volunteer of the Month

The Community Mediation Center selected Marsha Hupfel as the Volunteer of the Month early this year; however, CMC did not publish an edition of the Neutral Zone that month, and therefore there was an oversight in recognizing Marsha.

Marsha has been a committed volunteer from the day she originally applied to become a volunteer mediator. CMC frequently calls on this talented mediator to “fill in” or co-mediate/mentor with a new mediator. All of our stories concerning Marsha demonstrate her competence and dedication to mediation and to CMC. To witness Marsha in her Pelissippi classroom or in her volunteer efforts with Habitat for Humanity is to hear a woman who cares about others. We are honored to have Marsha in our family and our clients are fortunate to have her as their mediator. Thank you Marsha! See yourself as twice honored and once published!

Tennessee Valley Mediation Association (TVMA) – December Meeting

"Setting Your 2005 Mediation Goals"
When: Tuesday, December 21st, 6:30 social - 7:00 - 8:00 program
Where: Candy Factory downtown Knoxville at the World's Fair Park

Experienced mediator, planner and instructor, Marcy Meldahl will lead us through the process of setting our goals as a mediator for 2005.   It is promised to be a fun and relaxed time to think about you and your goals for 2005!

Questions? Contact Jane at jpeoples27@comcast.net

Summarizing 2004

The Community Mediation Center will close the 2004 year with pride. We remain true to our 1994 Charter. Listing the accomplishments fails to adequately describe the commitment of our volunteers, the hours involved in completing each task or the "positives" that result from well-performed mediations and projects. The statistics of 2004 mediations will not be available until January.

Mediators: CMC ends the year with 93 active mediators. Twenty-two volunteers trained in March and September classes are actively practicing their skills and assisting clients.

Board: The CMC Executive Board comprised of Chair Bud Muly, Vice Chair Delores Mitchell, Secretary Kevin Jeske, Treasurer Lynn Kidd, and Lisa Carroll met 16 times during 2004. The full Board met seven times and four luncheons were held for liaisons and guests. Besides providing professional guidance and wisdom, the Board made significant progress on the CMC business plan with committees drafting three sections focusing on Priorities, Initiatives, and Marketing. The Board implemented a 2004 fund-raising campaign and developed a fund-raising project for 2005.

Mediation Day: The fourth Mediation Day was held on April 16^th in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Mediation Association. Our guest speaker was Barbara Simmons, the Director of Peace Talks. Sixty-eight guests attended the luncheon.

Mediation Fest: The second Mediation Fest was held the evening of April 16^th. It included 85 representatives from 14 schools. Public Defender Mark Stephens hosted the event at his new facility and was a featured speaker. The project was planned and implemented by our three AmeriCorps*VISTAs. Dr. Jerry Herman, the State Director for the Corporation for National and Community Service and coordinator of our VISTA programs, was also a guest.

Peer Mediation: Programs in middle and high schools in Knox County continue to proliferate. Markedly, the new VISTAs take over the foundations laid by their graduated VISTA peers and expand peer mediation to additional schools while mentoring their previous schools. Whittle Springs Middle, Karns Middle, Holston Middle, and Austin East High School received first-time training this fall.

VISTAs: CMC graduated three VISTAs who completed their year with us in 2004. One paragraph cannot describe the many contributions of Meredith Adams, Erin Corcoran, and Lisa Beckman; however, they have been followed by three excellent young adults: Greg Bascko, Lesley Rohrer, and Sarah Krivenki.

Rule 31 Family Mediation Course: CMC taught its first Rule 31 family mediation course. The course was designed to enable active CMC volunteers who wanted to be listed as Rule 31 mediators to complete the required instruction. CMC volunteers and attorneys Natalie LeVasseur and Harry Wiersema served as family law instructors.

Television Show: “Our Mediation Community,” the CMC weekly television show, hosted 45 guests who are positively contributing to make Knoxville a better community. Many represent organizations and groups that CMC currently collaborates with or will be working with in the future.

Blount County Effort Ends: CMC’s three-year effort to establish a self-sustaining volunteer mediation program in Blount County ended in July. CMC was unable to attract sufficient financial resources within the County to be able to make the program viable. A number of excellent mediators from Blount County continue to mediate with CMC.

Dependency Mediation Pilot Program: CMC administered the program funded by the Administrative Office of the Courts in agreement with the Knox County Juvenile Court. The pilot focused on learning about the advantages of using mediation for appropriate cases involving children removed from families and placed in State custody.

Outside Training: The Executive Director was invited to provide training to the staff attorneys of the Tennessee Department of Children Services on three Fridays in October. The focus of the workshops was on how attorneys could best participate in mediations. The Executive Director also provided three workshops to introduce mediation to the statewide staff of the Tennessee Division of Special Education.

Johnson City Conflict Management Workshop

A mini conflict management workshop was conducted by the Community Mediation Center (CMC) November 8-9 & 15-16 in Johnson City. The mix of participants made the course one of the most interesting of the hundreds of workshops offered by the CMC. The ten-member community-policing unit of the Johnson City Police Department, and approximately thirty-five resident council members from the seven different housing developments comprising Johnson City Public Housing attended the 4-day workshop.

CMC as subcontractor to the Tennessee’s Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC) has provided mediation and conflict resolution services to public and community housing residents in ten East Tennessee locations. The Housing and Urban Development grant awarded for three years by TCAC is focused on preparing residents to resolve issues peacefully in their community. Through this grant, we have also conducted summer workshops for youth from housing neighborhoods, mediation trainings for residents, and a teenage girls’ leadership weekend.

The participants named their workshop the Pugilist (sparring); however, the climate was always one of cooperative and lively sparring. John Doggette and Lisa Beckman led interactive events including role-plays, problem-solving activities, and collaborative scenarios on resolving common neighbor and family disputes, effectively cooperating to create a better community and assisting community police in reducing crime in the community. The resident council members and police officers discussed the benefits of a closer relationship and steps to take to share information. A key area of disappointment by all participants was the unwillingness of most residents to get involved in improving the safety of their community. The principles from the book A Courageous Messenger were introduced through discussion and mini role-play to illustrate the importance of directly voicing a concern to improve things.

The officers explained their approach for being visible on bicycles and on foot throughout Johnson City communities. A primary goal is to be known by the community and to know the residents they serve. By having the ability to talk with and to listen to residents they are able to identify situations where additional police intervention or services by other community services are needed. Officers regularly attend resident council meetings and other neighborhood activities. Throughout the workshop the officers were exhibiting their “community” commitment in interacting with the residents.

Elizabeth Grigsby, the new TCAC coordinator, participated throughout the workshop. She commented: “The trainings were lively and entertaining, as well as informative. The four days were packed with discussions and activities that gave the attendees much food for thought, and left them with techniques for preventing and resolving conflict within their communities. John and Lisa did a great job of conducting these trainings. I look forward to working with them in the future.”

“Good-Bye” from Lisa Givonetti

Dear Volunteer Mediators,

As most of you are already aware, as of November 19, I will no longer be working at CMC. I realize this comes as a surprise to many of you. Be assured, the decision to leave was not an easy one to make. After 7 years on staff (and 2 as a General Sessions volunteer before that!), I felt that it was time to make a change and to move on to new challenges.

I have often said that one of the best parts about working at CMC was having the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful people! I truly believe that I have learned something from each and every one of you, whether it be about mediation, life, or about myself and my own abilities. For this I am truly grateful, and I will always cherish my experiences with you and with CMC.

I’m not sure what the future will bring for me next. I will be taking some time off, and hopefully doing some traveling with my husband. After that, I will be in search of new challenges! My family and I will be staying in Knoxville, so I’m sure I will cross paths with many of you from time to time.

I wish all of you the best, including many great mediations!

Sincerely,
Lisa Givonetti

Legal Language

By Don K. Ferguson (A volunteer mediator and author of the "Grammar Gremlins" column that appears in The Knoxville News-Sentinel every Sunday.)

Garnishee: To "garnishee" is to attach money or property by garnishment, a court order. One referring to that money or property would say it has been "garnisheed." "Garnishee" can also be a noun referring to the person served with a garnishment.

Spring Volunteer Mediator Training

We are now accepting applications for the Spring 2005 Volunteer Mediator Training! The training dates will be March 4-6 and 11-13. Note: this is ONE class that meets BOTH weekends. The March 4^th class will begin at noon, and the 11^th will begin at 6pm. See our website, www.2mediate.org, for more information.

Community Mediation Center
“Building Futures Through Problem Solving”

912 S. Gay St, L-300

Knoxville, TN 37902

Phone: 865-594-1879

Fax: 865-594-1890

Email: mediate@esper.com

CMC Annex phone: 865-215-6570

New CMC annex email:
cmcjuvct@esper.com

Website:  www.2mediate.org

CMC Fundraising

The increasing number of individuals and organizations requesting problem solving assistance has made it more difficult to meet our financial needs. Board members Lisa Carroll, Amy Goff, Jim Johnson, and Bud Muly, as well as VISTA Sarah Krivenki spent the afternoon of November 18 preparing documents and stuffing envelopes for this year’s fundraising drive. Many thanks again to Lisa Carroll for her in-kind donations related to the drive. Thank you to the following people who have jump-started our campaign: Linda & Larry Blair, Peggy Comstock, Judith Fardon, Jean Hannan, Marsha Hupfel, Dwight Kessel, Bud Muly, Sharon Murphree, Robert & Wanda Olson, Dale Robertson, Darrell Smith, Mr. Ernie Weeks, & Marcus Weseman.

As the New Year nears, please consider an end of the year donation to CMC. If you have friends or associates who you believe might be interested in supporting our efforts the CMC Board will provide you with their fund-raising letter for you to send with a personal note. If you or someone you know would like to make any donations, please call or email us. Thank you!

Also, thank you to volunteer mediator and former Blount County office director Judith Toole as well as VISTA Sarah Krivenki for conducting a class for new homeowners at the Blount County Habitat for Humanity.