What Motivates Spirit of South Carolina Volunteers?

 

Topic:  What Motivates Spirit of South Carolina Volunteers

THE Situation: Over the past 12 months,  and the dismissal of two Captains for incompetence, the abandonment by Board-level as indicated by failure to respond to communications of any kind, failure to reimburse for repair expenses, etc,, The directive to deliver Spirit of South Carolina to Shipyard at at Stephens’ Towing provided a hope that action was finally to begin for restoration.  However even after delivery, there appeared no evidence of financial support to get thru Shipyard.

Weekly Volunteer attendance dropped to zero. When it became apparent that the Owners would no longer fund the vessel, even in shipyard;  Volunteers stopped or drifted away. Understandably so; The objective of their motivation for volunteering, this schooner and all the things she represents, appeared to be dying off due to conscious neglect.

In November, that situation appears to have changed. New funding is standing by to be poured into the Shipyard Project. A new Board of Directors has been organized.  Financial structures and fund-raising strategies are in advanced planning stages, and people are stepping up to take on roles.

We Must Rebuild our Volunteer Crew.

One of those roles, regarded as crucial in most all Tall Ships organizations is that of “Volunteer.” Annually, at full throttle, volunteers can provide the equivalent of 2500 to 4,000 hours of free skilled labor.

With the schooner’s resurgence, the projected need for Volunteer help in a number of roles has also resurrected. But the pool of Volunteers has become an unknown. We have an extensive email contact list, but no idea of it’s validity.  Hence this Survey.

Friday morning, 23 January,  in an attempt to gauge the remaining level of Volunteer commitment to the schooner, Volunteer Coordinator, Bryan Oliver, transmitted a request to the 137 email addresses on his Volunteer  Contact List. In the format of a “Round Robin Brainstorm session”.   Addressees were requested to respond to one question:  “What motivates volunteers for Spirit of South Carolina?”.   Nineteen  people responded with an answer. After 24 hours, responses were fed back to the now, 19 participants, with a request to review all the responses provided, and based on that, respond again, a clarification, or another idea. The intent was to, on reading responses others and some cursory reflection. This time, only six offered a second response.  At this point, data collection ceased. 

The responses are depicted in the table below. In credit to the Volunteers who responded, they are listed separately, purposely disassociated from their particular response.

 

 

	VOLUNTEER MOTIVATION SURVEY Responses to the Question:   “What motivates Volunteers for Spirit of South Carolina to show up?”
1	The chance to be part of the grand dream of bringing the SPIRIT OF SOUTH CAROLINA back to life so that she can again sail the seas and positively affect the lives of students and adults alike.
2	To Deckhand a Tall Ship; being a part of a  larger community of shipmates
3	The opportunity to sail on the schooner every once in a while.
4	Camaraderie with fellow volunteers,  improve skills both shipwright and sailing tall ships.
5	To feel her alive again
6	The challenge of practicing good seamanship is a goal worth striving for. To sail and maintain a traditionally rigged wooden sailing vessel requires seamanship in its purest form. It sets us off from modern yachtsmen. From sailing conservatively, discipline of safe line handling, stowing properly, all the time, pitching in without being asked, always training someone else, etc.
7	So many cities can only dream of having the opportunity for an active working tall ship. For Charleston to have one already, that just needs some focus, time and attention, It’s the right thing to do.
8	I showed up to learn about tall ships and learn some new skills as a sailor. The camaraderie was an unexpected bonus.
9	Friendship, teamwork, the chance to be a part of something amazing (and to tell/brag to my friends about it)
10	The great people and stories. I also love the historical value and wooden boats in general.
11	We show  up because we love our ship
12	Love of the schooner, my deep roots there, and the opportunities to enrich the lives of the young.
13	The love of the ship and what it means to me and SC
14	love of the ocean, educating our young people, returning the history of sailing back to those who don’t have access and should, and freedom
15	The camaraderie,  and getting fed lunch was a help.
16	The thought of someday it will sail again with confidence.
17	Love of sailing and wanting to preserve the past history of sailing.. and share it with younger generations that have not been exposed or educated
18	Spirit isn’t a museum piece. She sails. She teaches. She represents South Carolina. Volunteers know that without them, she doesn’t move. That sense of stewardship is powerful. I hope she makes it back to the sea.
19	The allure of taking part in a traditional craft so very integral to human development with literally thousands of years behind it.
20	The promise of learning new skills and bettering yourself.
21	Desire to preserve sailing TRADITION for the Charleston waterfront.
22	Pride
23	Love of the program.
24	The ship itself and the experience, challenges and shared accomplishes with group of like minded crew.

 

An Unscientific Analysis.

Though the percentage of responses, (from the population of 143 names on the Volunteer Contact Roster), was 17%, those respondents represented approximately 95% of active, involved volunteers over the past 3 years.

From Key words in each response, I intended to match responses into categories that  might represent “motivators”

While unscientific, and certainly not all an inclusive in-depth search for all the possible and potential motivators out there, (like a little lunch fer instance) this brainstorming session was sufficient to point to some way’s ahead in the way we structure recruiting, training, incentivizing, rewarding, all focused to retaining Volunteers.

The natural follow-on to an exercise like this will be a gathering of volunteer participants to turn these perspectives into specific action. Small or large groups taking on small to larger projects; some here on the dock, some at shipyard, as we get to know the policies, and project management priorities.   As an aside, to this, I”ll be attending, along with Dave Reed and Carin Bloom of our Board, the Tall Ships America Conference at Chula Vista in early February.  I plan on bringing back some constructive ideas from the other organizations out there.

As shipyard  project takes shape, and the weather improves jus a little bit, look to hear from us requesting your help, in recruiting, and  around repairing as prettifying Dory, with a proposed new name.   The Yokohama fenders, once and for all will get stabllized.

See you on deck.

 

Special Thanks  to the Volunteers below who took the time to respond and share the insights that made this good start possible:

Wayne Burdick	Todd Cole	Shawn Payment	Davd Brennan
Kevin Mirise	Doug Hartley	Ken Fonville	David Reid
Walter Barton	Wendy	Chris Sosnowski	Tony Marchesani
Ben Walker	Dan Maurin	Doug Faunt	Don Sparks
Danielle Feerst	Michel Evatt	Hank Hofford	Brandon Clark
Reg Brown	Sam Sablotsky	Alex Agnew

 

 

The Red Tape Phase, maddening, but its in a positive direction.

 The "patiently waiting" phase is upon us, but hopefully not to last more than a week. The wait, of course if for the legal paperwork to process-the documents that, legally signed, are the authority to pass the ship's title/deed, the related Insurance policies, 501(c)3, etc, away from the old, and over to the new. 

The remaining speed bump in the process is the situation initiated by the Shipyard that apparently began a legal process to "seize" the ship, putting it under control of Federal Marshals. That step elevated the situation out of the hands of the Shipyard, now requiring our Board of Directors to deal with that federal entity. I don't know how much power the Shipyard has to rescind their request, but I"m confident they are trying to do so.

Once that has happened, our major donor will electronically transfer his gift(in stocks)over to a new account, under custody of the Spirit of South Carolina Trust, the new LLC.

At that point we can legally step foot on her deck and getting to work. Shipwrights are standing by to go aboard and make their assessments for bills of materials.  The Bottom will be power blasted to remove all vestige of old bottom paint. 

And, Volunteers can finally get involved again. 

There will be a significant need for hands almost immediately. This is where the hours your give will earn you first billing when comes the time to choose crew for our first sailings.

To get the schooner cleaned up, below decks as well as above, everything below decks must be removed, inventoried,  and stored. Everything. That enables the wiping down, sweeping out, disinfecting cabins, berths, galley, stowage areas, and laying on a fresh coat of white as needed.  

At the same time, Shipwrights will need help in staging and sorting planking materials, staging tools. Volunteers will be asked to perform any number of  ship carpentry in support of the shipwright's work.

We'll be working on some kind of transportation cooperative, from some common parking/martialing area, shared rides and such. it's a 25-30 min drive from the Maritime Center to the shipyard.

And, also some kind of lunch arrangement.  Would be great if we get the galley operational.. but that's a big question mark.

I'm counting on a significant recruiting effort, not just for shipyard, but beyond, as we start operations.. There's gonna be plenty of opportunities in all roles. I'll need your help, in ideas, in seeking out, in managing this soon-to-be expanded part of Spirit of South Carolina's identity. 

Interesting Times May Call for Interesting Conventions.

Sorry, did that throw you? I'm trying to roll into this topic gently. 

 Y'all who have been following this Blog the past month or so, understand the interesting times we're experiencing. That is,, the reorganization of the Leadership.,the Transfer of Ownership of Spirit of South Carolina, the critical point of funding the continued existence of Spirit of South Carolina, and he restart in Shipyard, . 

 You probably know, that this Blog has been Public. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can access it, and contribute to it, comment on it, or forward it. Information published on this blog has been in the interest, I believe, of the Volunteer and professionals associated with the care, maintenance, operations, and support of this Ship. As such, these (you) people have an interest in that no harm come to Spirit of South Carolina, nor her mission. 

Unfortunately, there are elements out there who for whatever motivation may indirectly or inadvertently take what is published here and share it where misunderstandings can actually cause harm. 

 So, In the interest of keeping Volunteers, and those other's involved in the success of our schooner, well informed, I'm making a decision to limit access to this blog to Volunteers currently on the roles, and others specifically associated with the schooner. The switch-over will occur  not later than next Monday January 26th. 

 I'm asking readers to respond and confirm your interest in continuing to use this blog,  listing your email address in the Confirm Volunteer Status Box.  Lower Right column of the Blog Page. I'll compare it to my contact roster and Volunteer Log, to confirm your association, and reregister you on board.  If you're not able to access the blog, you can request access thru the blog face page.   The contents of that Comments Box, are NOT automatically posted, so it's a private conduit. '

The  public blog on the Spirit of South Carolina Website will take on  more active  and current role in communicating ideas, news and commentary to the public  as well as the schooner's  audience.  Either way, we'll keep you informed.

Much has happened in these past few weeks; All of it in the Right Direction

 Yes! the Transition to Shipyard Project is still moving along. Sometimes it slows as obstacles, legal/procedural technicalities appear; some anticipated, some not. The number of moving parts required to be orchestrated seems to expand weekly. 

The remarkable thing is, at all levels, at this point starting the New Year, the effort is being driven by Volunteers-people at all levels who are stepping up. Some Volunteers, like Hank Hofford, late of the Board of Directors (first organized in 2015, but largely defunct since 2020), has leveraged his connections, and his past 18 years of lessons learned in association with the vessel,  to set strategic direction, and immediate/longer-term priorities.  His direction has focused the rest of us into the important and urgent tasks; 

- Creating a new legal organizational structure; a corporation to take ownership and house the 501(c)3 LLC to operate the vessel.  Hank Hofford took this on himself, leveraging past experience, organized a three-member Board of Directors to initially oversee... everything. Done.

- Creating a financial apparatus for collecting, managing, disbursing funds against a budget. Again, Hank reached into his background to partner with select financial institutions, creating the necessary accounts for deposits, management, and disbursement.  It's done.

- Developing a Business Plan sufficiently detailed to  convince potential donors and sponsors to invest the funds to sustain the schooner thru shipyard and beyond. Sam Gervais, Carin Bloom, and Adam Reed have combined talents to compile models, research best practices, evaluate alternative approaches, to produce a robust model.  The writing committee is preparing to present the draft for a detailed review with several other subject matter experts in the industry this week on Jan 7th.  Almost Done

- Managing the delicate process of Transferring legal ownership of Spirit of South Carolina into it's new organization, under a new Board of Directors and Staff.  This is the final hurdle that will release a significant donation, launching the shipyard project estimated to cost over $400k. It seems to be the most difficult.  The vessel is currently in arrears for a little over two months of rent, occupying shipyard space. That situation would be still more costly in dollars and time lost.  Still in Progress.

So, what is ahead of us, near-term?

FUNDRAISING:  The urgent and important task, is the raising of at least $30-thousand dollars to cover the back rent, and assuage the Shipyard to reopen the vessel to begin work. We're looking for sponsors, innovative, creative ways of raising awareness, and fundraising to support the schooner.  If you'd be interested in helping out, organizing, or just giving.  Please contact  Bryan Oliver, 314-409-0433

SHIPYARD LABOR: Identifying, and bringing aboard the Shipyard project management roles, as well as skilled tradesmen-Shipwrights, Electricians,  Diesel Mechanics, Riggers. Bryan, other old salt volunteers are out making calls and recruiting. If you have candidates in mind. contact Bryan

VOLUNTEERS:  Rebuilding a Volunteer Program once decayed thru inactivity over the past several months,  will not be depended on for the majority of manpower aboard for a wide number of projects both on decks and below.  If you candidates in mind, have them contact Bryan, See contact info in right column.