Monday, April 29, 2013

News coverage

Local news outlets have been very interested in the initiation of the Elementary School Building Committee in Hopkinton, MA, and a related article on the agenda for Hopkinton Annual Town Meeting May 6th, 2013. 

Here's a list of related news items from MetroWestDailyNews:

 
 

 

 

Friday, April 26, 2013

Seeking to set a model for transparency in Town Government

Early on, the Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) set a lofty goal to achieve a level of communication, transparency and civic engagement that "far surpasses the minimum standards set by Open Meeting Law."

Formed in March 2013 through appointments by the Hopkinton Board of Selectmen, the ESBC has been assigned a mission to "facilitate development of a proposed solution to the operational and educational constraints of Center School that will be supported by the voters of Hopkinton, as well as the MSBA."

Since then, the committe has met weekly, and has launched several communications channels aimed at building civic awareness and community engagement.  All meetings have been open to the public, and meeting minutes have been posted rapidly, supplemented with additional communications to keep the community informed. 
Here are a few tips for community members navigating the ESBC website and Twitter feed:
  1. Navigation and User Interface - The navigation on the ESBC web site is now across the top in two tiers: The top tier reflects items to which the community may come back more than once for reference, the bottom tier reflects areas that might not be checked as often. A new addition to our site navigation is the "Action Taken" summaries. Following the model used by the Board of Selectmen, the ESBC now can quickly post actions taken against our posted agendas. A fast, efficient way to reflect progress made at our meetings prior to availability of full meeting minutes.
  2. Recent News - Items of interest (such as press releases, interviews, important documents), are posted in blog form. Every time an item is added, it is automatically replicated to Twitter to get the word out as much as possible.
  3. Get in Touch with the ESBC- Email addresses are provided for all ESBC committee members, along with a description of each members role and expertise. A more detailed description of the members can also be found on the Who We Are page.
  4. Twitter - Aside from just blog posts, the ESBC also posts directly to Twitter and our Google Group (independent of what appears on Recent News). This can be links to minutes, agenda links, quick recaps of meetings and decisions, or posing questions to the community.
All community members are invited to use and share these resources freely. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to reach the level of awareness and engagement needed to achieve our community goals for Center School and provide the best learning environment for our community's youngest students.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Boston Marathon 2013

My finishing time was 3 hours and 8 minutes.  Very happy with the results of the race.   Over the past couple years, I have read so much great advice from experienced Boston Marathon runners, about "how to run the Boston Marathon," and all of it helped.

First, I followed a rigorous training plan. While I ran the race, all the other advice ran through my head:

  • On the first few miles of down hills, I thought of Bill Rogers' advice about starting slowly
  • Got my stride going through Framingham and Natick
  • Didn't panic through the Wellesley Hills
  • Took the benefit of the steep downhill at mile 16 without going too hard down the hill
  • Made it over the hills and took advantage of the long flat mile half way up the heartbreak hill
  • Did a quick quad check at the top of the hill, and 
  • For the final 5 miles, I gave it everything I had left, picking up the pace and allowing the enthusiasm of the spectators to bring me in -- feeling great across the finish line.

Thank you to everyone who shared in my training, contributed to my fundraising, and helped make this possible.  See you at the 2014 Boston Marathon!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Pre-Marathon Weekend

Apparently I live closer to the starting line than any other entrant in this year's running of the Boston Marathon, earning me a runner profile on page 132 of the official Boston Marathon program guide, in which I reflect, "On April 15th we celebrate that single simple shared experience of running, which transcends all differences and distances." 


Walking down the street to check out the pre-marathon scene at the Common on Saturday, I was surprised to be greeted by this group of fans getting ready for race day:


The austere likeness of "The Starter," George V. Brown, was no match for the warmth of this marathon enthusiast:
 
 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Final Long Run Complete

I just ran 13.1 miles, which actually seemed pretty short, compared with the four runs of 20 miles or more, several 18 mile runs, and routine 15 mile runs over the past 17 weeks.  I think I'm ready.


Hope to see you at Cornell's in Hopkinton 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. today.  All are welcome to this informal get-together to support SPEAC's fundraising Boston Marathon runners Joe Markey and Jon Graziano. Saturday, April 6th, 4-7 pm at Cornnel's in Hopkinton - standard fare, plus pizza and soda for children. Hope to see you there!