The Lost Treasures Steering Committee underwent considerable transformation over time, as teams learned they wouldn't qualify for grants and as the need for leadership changes became apparent. The first Steering Committee chair was an Imperial High School student named Nick Rigel, whose lack of communication with other members o tithe Committee resulted in election of anew chair by the time of the third workshop.
The Steering Committee actually got off to a fairly strong start, with development of a strong web site and lots of enthusiasm. But the first workshop went poorly, held in a non-air conditioned building on a scorching day in late June. Comments indicated it was too much for participants and the one trainer that had been contracted, even though evaluation scores were positive. Little interaction among participants was a complaint about the second workshop, and interest in continuing began to wane.
The Steering Committee met during each workshop, typically over lunch, and held meetings by interactive video or telephone conference calls on other occasions. Minutes were taken, but not always distributed, at least in the early stages of the program. Once Megan 0' Byrne, a Stratton High School Student, was elected Steering Committee chair, communications improved, as did meeting structure. She always came with a well-prepared agenda and conducted the meeting efficiently but made sure all voices were heard. Each team, in turn, was to plan and host a workshop as a way to distribute those tasks, but one result was that teams tended to focus on "their" workshop with lesser attention to attending other's planned events.
A major crisis erupted after the fourth workshop, however, when it became clear tha tfew teams would qualify for attendance reasons. At one point, it was assumed that no teams might qualify or, alternatively, that the teams that might still qualify would agree with others that the Cluster as a whole would "resign." Confusion about eligibility led to uncertainties and bad feelings among the group.
Finally, after several interventions by the program officer and the evaluator, the Steering Committee decided to proceed with the final two workshops to make it possible for three or four teams to qualify. These workshops
were well received, although most of the non-qualifying teams did not attend or sent token delegations.
With these transitions in place, the Steering Committee decided to assume the role of Grants Committee as well. The evaluator provided samples of team proposals from other Clusters and four projects were finally approved.
Clearly, Steering Committee members learned a great deal as they moved through periods of excitement, disappointment, conflict, and, finally, success. They learned a lot about the importance of committee leadership and organization, about constituency involvement, and about participatory decision-making. They also learned about the importance of attending to the rules of program participation and about the importance of using available external resource persons. One obvious way in which the Steering Committee improved its work was to seek advice from the evaluator about trainers to conduct the final two workshops so as to make those experiences as helpful as possible to the participants. The committee also worked hard at improving the atmosphere at the workshops, with decorations, door prizes and lots of good food and refreshments.
Another advantage of the Steering Committee process is that many young people learned a lot about other parts of the region in which they live and became better acquainted with other youth whom they may have known only on the athletic field or not at all. This may not have been unique to Lost Treasures, but, since this Cluster was so youth dominated, it may have led to some opportunity for learning at a critical age.
