This week I finally felt like we had the pieces in place to reach out to the local Manufactured Home Communities. I was still annoyed that we didn’t have the flyers with pull tabs printed but all the other materials we had created were ready. When I arrived at N2N I was surprised to find the door locked. I had a key to get in but had forgotten it at home that day and felt rather stuck waiting outside. I knew I needed to start making phone calls to the park managers etc. and didn’t think that type of work was well suited to working in a coffee shop. Instead, I found a place to sit (in the parking lot next to our building) and started making phone calls there. I was tickled to find I could easily continue with my work with just my phone and the papers I carried with me. When I had finished with 1/3 of the calls I checked the door again and found it was open so I moved my work party inside.
By the end of the day, I had finished the list and shared information with ALL of the park managers in Linn County. I was grateful for my communication skills and quick thinking throughout the day as I was constantly having to tweak our message to best communicate with each of the people. I was also grateful for my determination and creative problem solving skills. In many cases, we were missing contact information. With a little creativity and determined Internet sleuthing, however, I was able to fill in the gaps.
I noticed myself making assumptions and judging some managers as I talked with them and was reminded of just how far I have to go in developing my skills of suspension. The image below was included in the packets we mailed out to each of the parks.
Learning Through Difference, LLC 