As this is my last time I will be writing in the newsletter as your President, I cannot help but exude a large amount of pride.

First, I’m very proud of the outgoing Board of Directors. Board members put in enormous amounts of work and commitment. They worked through change, they worked for change and they worked with change. Change is never easy, and they have handled it extremely well.

The Board approved updated mission and vision statements for ADRIA, to better serve its members, and through which a new strategic plan was formulated. The strategic plan encapsulates the new direction we are taking as a society.

Vision Statement:

ADRIA is the strongest, most vibrant Appropriate Dispute Resolution membership organization in Canada - recognized for advancing excellence in the profession and its professionals.

Mission Statement:  

We serve our members by providing leadership in appropriate dispute resolution in the areas of Negotiation, Mediation, and Arbitration and addressing harm through processes like Restorative Justice.     We do this through:

·        •   Maintaining accreditation standards and designation for the Appropriate Dispute Resolution profession

·        •   Excellence in  Appropriate Dispute Resolution  training and education

·        •   Promoting the ethical use of Appropriate Dispute Resolution processes

·        •   Supporting the  viable practice of Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Alberta

·        •   Exemplifying healthy dispute resolution principles

The Board worked incredibly hard to fortify, yet simplify a strategic plan to ensure ADRIA’s quality and sustainability well into the future. Hence our Strategic Plan has four key directions:

1)      Enhance the Awareness, reputation of and access to ADR  services

2)      Strengthen our Profession

3)      Increase the number of ADRIA Members across Alberta

4)      Strengthen the long term sustainability of ADRIA as an organization

From a powerful yet straightforward strategic plan evolved our most aggressive operational and organization restructure ever. More is explained further in this newsletter.

ADRIA staff rose to new levels when it comes to dedication, belief in the organization, long hours of work, loyalty, sticking together and always getting the job done.

There will never be enough I can say about Pete Desrochers and Erika Deines. Just listing some of their accomplishments seems like bragging:  an entirely redeveloped slate of updated courses, the course-writing agreement with ADR Canada, the private contracts program, a new roster program, the 30^th Anniversary 2012 AAMS Conference, the Violence in the Workplace tour through Alberta, the creation of Operational Committees, the vastly improved newsletter, far closer ties with our stakeholders than at any time I can remember, and many more.

But by far their biggest accomplishment was leading us through the transition. I’ve said it many times before and will likely say it a few more times. But without both Pete and Erika, we may not have been able to meet all our legal, regulatory and tax compliance requirements in transitioning from the old AAMS to the ADR Institute of Alberta and AAMS the charity.

We now have two strong and vibrant organizations – each charting new directions unencumbered by the obligations and regulations of the other, but committed to work in cooperation with each other.

Finally, my greatest pride is reserved for you, our members. You stuck by us, you showed the patience we asked for, you successfully transitioned with us, you stepped up and volunteered, you participated in events and supported your organization in so many ways.

An organization can only as strong as its membership; and that’s why ADRIA is doing as well as it is. So please forgive my pride.

Having now served two terms as President of AAMS and one term as Interim President of ADRIA, I will be stepping down at the AGM in June. Of course I’ll remain on the Board as Past President and am excited to see even more new changes take place.

The new Board will likely have a number of new and incumbent members, as Irene Bonifacio and Alex Paterson are also stepping down. On behalf of the Board and the membership I extend to them our gratitude for outstanding service.

It is pretty much common knowledge that both Pete and Erika are also stepping down as co Executive Directors and that we are reverting to a single Executive Director model. Fortunately, we get the best of both worlds, as Erika is staying on for a while in a purely educational capacity and Pete becomes the permanent Executive Director of AAMS the charity.

It has been my honour to be your President. My time in this capacity has been exciting and memorable in so many ways, and I am certainly a stronger, wiser man for the experience. My best wishes go to you, the staff and the new Board as the adventure continues.  

Respectfully Submitted, Chuck Smith President

Erika Deines
Executive Director
Education

Education Report from the Desk of Executive Director, Education

King Whitney Jr. once said, “Change has considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

Let us then be confident that change is inspiring -

Change is inspiring because the challenge exists to hire competent staff to make things better. You may have wondered about the ‘new voice’ at the front desk? Please welcome Sherry Fulton to our team. Sherry has been quick to learn and her friendly personality has made her a welcome addition and true asset, albeit on a temporary basis, to take over reception and membership duties from Duncan McGregor.  Welcome Sherry!
Change is inspiring because the challenge exists to move to modern offices and classrooms to make things better.
Change is inspiring because the challenge exists to make the Conference in Calgary interesting to all members of ADRIA to make things better.
Change is inspiring because the challenge exists to offer appropriate Professional Development to members to make things better.

We plan to host an open house at our new facility in the Fall – stay tuned for further information.

On behalf of the Education staff and contractor, I thank you for your continued support and confidence in our organization. We are here to serve you and appreciate your active participation in helping us improve our services. Hopefully we will see many of you at the conference in Calgary.

Erika Deines

Executive Director, Education

From  Pete Desrochers / Executive Director - Membership

So Long But Not Goodbye

Funny thing, I often wondered what I would write in my last newsletter as Executive Director, Membership if and when that time came. What would be my starting analogy? Would it be funny? Would it be anecdotal? Would it even be relevant to what I wanted to say?

I had given this a lot of thought, and there were a few I thought would do nicely. Then my girlfriend, Pam, who works in the medical profession, sent me a little story that was too good to pass up.

From Don Goodfellow - AAMS President

I had the privilege of chairing AAMS’ second Annual General Meeting last month, when we welcomed new Board member, Noel Rea, Q.C. from Calgary.  Mr. Rea is a past ADRIC Director and has had considerable experience working with the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society in the past. We know that his experience will assist the AAMS Board of Directors in its deliberations.  

AAMS has a bright new logo, with new colour and totally new design.  Our own website is now under construction and we hope to have it up and running within a month or so. To that end, we have asked ADRIA to send a notice to all its members, asking if they want to remain on the AAMS mailing list as well.

While we are all of one origin, it is only proper to check with you to see if you wish to be on two ADR mailing lists.  Our desire isn’t to compete with ADRIA, but rather to complement the information you receive from ADRIA. 

We will soon be sending out notices of fundraising efforts, grants we bestow (once we get to that level of stability), cooperative ventures we enter into, special events we put on, our work with ADRIA, rural community initiatives, and so on.

Both Jim Bancroft and I will be returning to the ADRIA Board, assuring strong ties continue between both organizations.

I’m pleased to report that Pete Desrochers now sheds the “Interim” from his title and is now the permanent Executive Director of AAMS. We’re also delighted that Irene Bonifacio, although stepping down from ADRIA, remains the AAMS Treasurer.

Sadly, Jim McCartney is retiring from the Board as well. He had promised himself to get off the Boards and actually have a life. However he did give us the wisdom of his experience for one year. For that, and for all the other work he has done for both AAMS over the years and for ADRIA, we are very grateful.  Fortunately, Jim will remain with the ADR Canada Board.

AAMS is proud to be a Gold sponsor for the ADRIA Conference and AGM coming up in June. We look forward to seeing you there. AAMS is equally proud to join both ADRIA and ADRIC as corporate members.

At our last Board meeting, we passed a budget based on limited funds. It is one that will see us beyond our first year of actual operation.  However the main thrust of what we do will have to be fundraising, fundraising and fundraising in that order.

Along with some advantages of being a federally registered charity, there are some obligations. We need ongoing funding from benefactors to sustain ourselves and meet these obligations.  As a charity, AAMS' focus is educating the public about arbitration and mediation, as well as helping those in need of such services.  AAMS is looking for and working with organizations to further our focus of education. Additionally, AAMS looks forward to working with ADRIA to assist in our Mission Statement. 
 

How to Sabotage a Mediation - An Impractical Guide for Lawyers
By: Mitchell Rose

MEMO

TO: Very Junior Associate

FROM: Senior Partner

RE: Oil v. Water – Mediation

There is a mediation scheduled for this case next week. I believe that it is either mandatory under the Rules of Civil Procedure or, in a moment of rare weakness, I reluctantly agreed to it.  I would like you to attend at the mediation in my place. I’ll be golfing. Attached is the file comprised of ten banker’s boxes of documents for you to quickly review.

This case will never settle in a million years. I am absolutely certain. Therefore, I see no point in preparing for and participating in this mediation in earnest. In any event, we all know that, despite the obscene cost, the countless hours, the utter uncertainty of the outcome (not to mention collection difficulties and the prospect of appeals), a trial is the only sane method of resolving each and every civil dispute.

It has been a busy year for coaches and instructors and we are opening our roster again for anyone wishing to apply to coach or instruct the core curriculum of the Certificate in Conflict Leadership program. To apply please go to http://www.adralberta.com/membership.asp. Under “Become a member of the ADR Institute of Alberta” please click on the hyperlink next to the bullet

·       •  coach, roleplay, instruct, and evaluate for ADRIA training programs.

Please send your completed application forms and attachments to edexecutivedirector@adralberta.com by June 30, 2013.

On the Lighter Side - Indigo or Sushi ?
By: Erika Deines

Two years ago I was presented with a Mother's Day gift that was rather unique: a small bright blue fish in a fishbowl.  Since most of my time is spent away from home I decided that this fishbowl would be best placed somewhere in the office.  A naming contest resulted in our little fish being called Indigo.  Indigo adjusted wonderfully to the care and attention he (she?) received from everyone.  Even the slightest change in Indigo's behavior initiates a Google search and to our amazement, there is a lot of information available about this little fish on the net (no pun intended!).  In one blog it was suggested to change the location of the fishbowl near a window for more light and a happier fish.  This, however, resulted in a sun-heated pool for little Indigo.  This was noticed by Pete and he cheerfully announced to the staff that Indigo was now going to be 'Sushi".  From that day forth little Indigo has had to contend with the nickname Sushi. And while staff is truly sad to see Pete leave, we will probably never know how Sushi feels about it -

Exciting Changes Underway at ADRIA

Since September 2012, when ADRIA was born from AAMS foundations, a lot of careful and methodical planning has been occurring.  The goal is to create the most effective and efficient organization possible to achieve our new vision:

There's more to the life of an ADR professional than the mediation and arbitration work that they do.  Nobody proves that statement more than our own Steve Critchley !  Steve has taken on the challenge of helping our military veterans who are affected with PTSD.  Steve is working with an organization that helps veterans heal and learn to communicate their feelings by working with horses.  Sounds interesting ?  Read the recent Calgary Herald article about this innovative program below.  Want to help but don't have much time ?  Steve reports that they are looking for legal and bookkeeping assistance to set this up as a non-profit.  If you can be of assistance please contact Steve at:  steve@versatilitygroup.com and help prove once again that ADR professionals care about their community.

Mediation Shouldn't Endanger Anyone

TV viewers of a certain vintage will remember the hit show “Hill Street Blues,” a landmark serial police drama set in a gritty precinct of an unidentified U.S. city.  For several seasons, virtually every show began with a shift roll call, and Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would wrap up every roll call with his trademark admonishment to his assembled cops: “Hey (insert dramatic pause) ... let’s be careful out there.”  It was a paternal farewell and an ominous reminder of the grave danger the cops faced every time they marched off to wage peace on the streets.  Viewers knew what was coming, yet they waited for him to say it every time.

That warning phrase came bubbling up through my memory as I read about two people being shot and killed in Phoenix at a mediation on January 30.  According to news reports, the 70-year old gunman was a party to a garden-variety business dispute mediation, which was being held at a law office in a business park.  Sometime during the session, one of the parties pulled out a handgun and opened fire, killing the opposing party and opposing counsel and wounding one bystander before escaping and shooting himself dead.  The shooter apparently had no history of violent behavior, although he is alleged to have had a temper and had filed 10 or more prior civil lawsuits against various defendants.