What is All Island Forum and what purpose does it serve that would be valuable to you? Is it a duplication of other efforts (the Vashon-Maury Island Community College, Welcome Vashon, Chamber of Commerce, to name a few)? Who is behind this effort and why? I’ve asked myself these questions, and I’d like to share what I’ve found out.

All Island Forum (AIF) was conceived as a result of the mass resignation of the VMICC’s board in 2010 in response to a threatened lawsuit. John Runyan, one of the original proponents of AIF, said he was frustrated by his and others’ inability to get the community to redress this wrong and to get the council back on a healthy track. He believed that the use of Robert’s Rules of Order and the council’s arcane bylaws thwarted any positive efforts toward change and was extremely damaging to the council’s viability and the larger health of our body politic.

Rather than fight for incremental change within the troubled council, John, along with former VMICC Board member Mary Shackelford, Doug Dolstad and others, decided to pursue an alternative forum to focus on issues that matter. Adopting rules that support what matters and more engaging processes, this group is working to create a forum that will better serve the Island’s needs. The efforts of this group are timely as King County recently revamped the way it is addressing the needs of its rural areas. The revision means that no longer will one group speak for the Island. Rather, there will be one point of contact within the county for any group to approach.

So what purpose does the AIF serve in the overall context of Island life?

Although we are blessed with dozens of volunteer groups with hundreds of volunteers working to better so many aspects of life here, we also sometimes follow parallel, redundant paths or work at cross-purposes. With the exception of specific, uncontested challenges like the Glacier gravel mine or the occasional bridge proposition, we tend to behave more like the proverbial “herd of cats.” Although we likely share a general desire to maintain the ambience of Vashon, there is quite a variety of specific values and activities that are of primary importance to each of us, i.e., gardening, schools/sports, wildlife, hunting, music, keeping horses, social activities, solitude, etc.

In a sense, we are a “community of communities,” and we only try to address the Island as a whole when our own toes are stepped on. We need a forum that fosters better communication and cooperation among our many parts. AIF offers a vehicle that serves this need.

Why do we need to improve our ability to communicate, decide and act? As the state threatens to terminate our Tacoma and Southworth ferry service and the county backs away from road maintenance and police surveillance, the need for an interactive and respectful forum that is able to respond to the needs of the moment and to generate imaginative solutions is an idea whose time has come. We need to grow and deepen our resources as a resilient community and enhance our ability to meet and navigate change, crisis and challenge. AIF seeks to do so in a way that strengthens our connections rather than divides us. That’s why I decided to join AIF in this work.

To this end, All Island Forum is sponsoring its second community gathering on Monday, entitled, “Vashon:  What really matters to you?”

We seldom have the opportunity to discuss our values, visions or differing perspectives in depth and in a fair and open manner. If you feel that your ideas don’t get a hearing, this is an opportunity for you. Working toward really understanding each other and building agreement takes time and commitment in an interactive setting. This forum is a continuation of the trajectory that was initiated with the first AIF community forum last October.   As AIF continues to evolve by stepping up to bring the broadest possible range of perspectives and experience to the table, we all learn the skills to move in directions that truly reflect the concerns of the greatest number of members of our community.

At the community forum next week, you will have the opportunity to articulate your own personal vision for Vashon, compare it with others, discuss those ideas in a small group setting, help discover commonalities and consider possible next steps. And, hopefully, we will all get to know our neighbors better and have a good time. I hope to see you there.

— Terry Sullivan is a longtime Islander, community activist, woodworker and musician.