Participating are BEAHIVE (Albany and Beacon), The Purple Crayon (Hastings-on-Hudson) and W@tercooler (Tarrytown)

Coordinated Open House Events – Thu, June 7

A growing worldwide movement in collaboration called “coworking” — where people work in a shared space, alone and together — is growing in the Hudson Valley. Three local pioneers are collaborating to celebrate three years of the movement in the region: BEAHIVE in Beacon and Albany; The Purple Crayon Center for Learning and Social Innovation in Hastings-on-Hudson; and W@tercooler in Tarrytown.

The original coworking spaces were started by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffee shops and cafes or to isolation in independent or home offices. Common to larger metropolitan areas, the coworking movement is now a global community of people dedicated to the values of collaboration, openness, community, accessibility, and sustainability in their workplaces.

By Deskmag’s estimates, there are more than 1300 dedicated coworking spaces worldwide, having doubled each year since 2006. According to its “2nd Global Coworking Survey,” 80% of members of coworking spaces report a positive impact on their business network, 92% on their social circle and 75% a positive impact on their productivity.

BEAHIVE — the first such space in the Hudson Valley — celebrates its third anniversary this month. The original BEAHIVE opened in May 2009 in the heart of Beacon’s Main Street, a second swarmed to Kingston later that winter, and a third hive opened in Albany in March of this year. (The Kingston hive is closing this month.)

The Purple Crayon’s shared workspace, The Inc., and W@tercooler both turn one in June.

To celebrate these milestones, all three organizations will host open houses and happy hour networking at their respective spaces on Thursday, June 7 from 1:00 to 7:00 PM. Each space will open their doors to the public to introduce this new way to work, allow people to try out the space for free, and get a chance to know some of its members and programs and network with others in the community.

OPEN HOUSES
Thu., June 7
1 – 5 PM: free coworking day
5 – 7 PM: happy hour networking

BEAHIVE
291 Main St, Beacon, NY (event info)
418 Broadway, Albany, NY (event info)

The Purple Crayon
52 Main Street, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY (event info)

W@tercooler
21 North Broadway, Tarrytown, NY (event info)

Coworking spaces address the changing nature of work. Already, 42 million people, nearly one-third of the US workforce, are independent workers, according to Freelancers Union. And many economists agree that record unemployment and other factors will continue to drive more people into self-employment. Meanwhile, New York State already has one of the largest populations of microbusinesses (fewer than five employees) in the nation, according to statistics published by the Small Business Association (SBA).

Media sponsors: Green Guru Network, which promotes all things green in Westchester and the Hudson Valley, and Chronogram, a free monthly magazine that nourishes and supports the creative and cultural life of the Hudson Valley.

BEAHIVE is a new kind of collaborative space for work and community. With hives in Beacon and Albany, its ultimate aim is to support a Local Living Economy, one that is vibrant, sustainable, locally rooted and human-scale.

The Inc. @ The Purple Crayon Center for Learning and Social Innovation makes it easier to do the work you love and to grow the work you do, with a beautiful, professional, fully equipped space, many affordable working options, and a supportive, congenial environment for productive work.

W@tercooler is a 1650 square foot light-filled open-plan workspace located in the heart of downtown Tarrytown. With a variety of workspace options, members can choose from private desks, shared tables or hip lounge area to do their thing, and can opt for hourly, daily or monthly plans. Amenities include a conference room (with LCD and dry erase wall), WiFi, printing, faxing and scanning, a shared kitchen (replete with endless Fair Trade coffee), as well as an intern program, downtown discount card, lectures, workshops, and best of all, community!

Media Contacts:
Scott Tillitt, BEAHIVE – scott@beahivebzzz.com, 917-449-6356
Sarah Hinawi, The Purple Crayon – sarah@purplecrayoncenter.org, 646-325-0317
Jenifer Ross, W@tercooler – jenifer@watercoolerhub.com, 914-261-1470

Johnny LeHane
Co-founder and Director of Franchising, WAKA Kickball
Founding Member, Kingston
Lives in Rhinebeck, NY

Johnny is a founding member of BEAHIVE Kingston, having joined when we opened there in December 2009. WAKA Kickball is a nationwide sport and social club for adults.

Below the video is a transcript of the interview, condensed and edited for your enjoyment. (Lots of bzzz and gratitude to Rick Feltington for his direction and editing of the video.)

BEAHIVE:  Where did this idea come from for kickball?

Johnny:  For kickball, it was four guys in a bar. We were at our favorite bar in Washington DC. We had this other little club where we knew where $1 drinks were on any given night, but we were looking for something else to do that wasn’t always in a bar, though that’s a fun part. Somebody mentioned kickball, and why didn’t we play it anymore? Why does kickball get left off the playground? Another person said, “We should play a game. We should start a league. We should start a world adult kickball association,” which is where WAKA comes from.

Really, the big difference is that the guys that were in that conversation aren’t the kind of guys who will leave a bar conversation on a napkin on the floor. But we had a meeting the next day, and WAKA was born.

BEAHIVE:  What is it that you love about the work you do?

Johnny:  Well, we started as a kickball club for adults. What I really love about it is, A, the initial reaction that you get when you tell somebody what you do for a living, or what you’re offering, that you’re hoping that they’re going to join, which is kickball. They’re always like, “Really?!” You usually get two things: They think you’re kidding, and then they want to know where to sign up. So, that’s the first thing that I love about it.

But then, how much my customers love it, is really what I love about it. They look forward to it. You see on Facebook, “Hey I’m watching the clock the minutes are going by. I can’t wait for kickball. I can’t wait for dodge ball.”

And then, thirdly, it’s the outcomes, which are fantastic friendships, and great times. We have tons of kickball relationships, kickball weddings, and what we call, kickball babies. Literally, dozens of families have been started because they met through our network, which is just the best thing that you can have.

BEAHIVE:  Are there challenges to the work you do?

Johnny:  There’s a ton of challenges. One of the reasons that I’m in a coworking space is because we are a completely virtual company. We actually have 35 full-time employees from Hawaii to Maine, and they all work from home or coffee shops or coworking spaces. Working virtually has its challenges. A social outlet, and adult social outlet. I’m a parent of three young kids, is really something that somebody who works from home craves. I’ve heard it again, and again, from people in the BEAHIVE, and from my employees.

I was really happy to find BEAHIVE. I had actually been looking for coworking space for a while, and following the trend because it matches well with my past career in technologies, and was really excited when they brought it to Kingston.

BEAHIVE:  How has it been to be working at the BEAHIVE? Has it been helpful?

Johnny:  It definitely has. I’ve met some great people. I’ve gotten out of the house. I’ve gotten to know Uptown Kingston, and actually over the last few years, seen it really revive itself. A lot of small towns and neighborhoods had a tough time, as we all know, over the last few years. It’s been cool to think that BEAHIVE is a little part of that in bringing the neighborhood back to life. I’ve gotten to know people here in BEAHIVE, as well as people in the neighborhood, the other proprietors of businesses. I’m always looking to talk to other business owners, which is often a challenge especially in a virtual or isolated environment.

BEAHIVE:  What kind of business owners do you like to talk to?

Johnny:  I will talk to any business owner about anything. As an example, I know that there are software designers, and we started franchising two years ago, and we needed to set up a new franchise website. One of the BEAHIVE members actually happened to have experience with franchise websites, so I worked with him. I became good friends with him, and set that up. We talk shop as well as working on the website. We talk to each other about business. Another member is a real experienced business consultant. He’s worked with the really big guys, and the really little guys, and we also became really good friends. It’s great.

I know one of the things BEAHIVE does is the sounding board. It’s like that. I like the sounding board in its own regimented environment, but it’s also a sounding board every day. The people that I’ve met at BEAHIVE are people that I know I can call, or come into BEAHIVE and talk to whenever I am just struggling with something where I don’t have another business peer to talk to.

BEAHIVE:  What else is important to you about your work?

Johnny:  About my work, one of the most exciting things for me, and actually one of the really big challenges for me lately, as I mentioned, is that we have started franchising. That is just something that I have had a lot of fun with, and I look forward to working with franchisees of our process, of our concept in this area — up in Albany, in the Mid‑Hudson Valley area, and in the Westchester area. It’s a great opportunity for me to be close to franchisees. I’ve got them in other parts of the country, but, like my customer service reps that run our leagues out of Poughkeepsie, you don’t learn anything like you do when you get in front of the customer. Being close to franchisees in the local and surrounding market is something I’m really looking forward to.

BEAHIVE:  Nice. Do you guys have a five-year vision of where it’s going?

Johnny:  Yes. We work very hard on visioning at WAKA. We definitely do have visions. We have been perfecting “kickball” for the last 15 years. We just added dodge ball, and we really see great opportunities in adding a lot of high fun, low skill level, activities and sports into our offering. People can play kickball if they want to, but maybe they want to play dodge ball, maybe they want to play flag football, maybe they want to do bar trivia, or maybe they just want to go to the movies, or go skiing with people that they’ve met that have this same passion for fun.

BEAHIVE:  Do you think this helps people to be a kid again?

Johnny:  Absolutely. Over the past decade there’s been a lot of talk about the lengthening of childhood, and how people come out of college. Maybe it’s because of longer lives, maybe it’s because of the economy, all these things that people are looking to recapture their youth, or delay their adulthood. I like to think that we have a balance of that. We let you be a kid again, but we also provide you with some doorways to full adulthood in terms of, networking, business networking, relationship networking.

One of the other things that’s very important to us is charity. For a lot of our players, their first experience in charitable giving, or charitable actions, is actually with their league charity. Whether it’s Kick‑It, which is a great national charity that actually provides kickball tournament kits as a means of fundraising for children with cancer, or their local Boys & Girls Club, or their local SPCA.

We really encourage each league to adopt a local charity, and that gives our players a great opportunity to be exposed to charity, and to be in contact with people who are really making a meaningful change.

BEAHIVE:  Do you play?

Johnny:  I do play. We play in Poughkeepsie, we play at Casperkill, and then we all retire to Mahoney’s Irish Pub in Poughkeepsie. We have a great time there. We’ve been playing since I moved back to the area in, I believe, 2006. We’ve had a league there, we play three times a year, and we are looking to see if we can start some of the other sports in the area, as well.

BEAHIVE:  Awesome. Is it a weekly game?

Johnny:  It’s a weekly game. We run leagues that run about an eight-week season, and then they have a single elimination tournament to crown the championship team. We have registration open now or very soon actually for the spring league, and then they’ll play in the summer, and, again, in the fall. I know that BEAHIVE is also in Beacon, and Albany. We actually have the New York capital league up in Albany. They have only been around for two, or three years, but it’s a great crew.

BEAHIVE:  How much does it cost to participate?

Johnny:  Basic registration is by an individual, it’s $65 and up I say because it really depends on local field costs. In some areas, it’s a little more than that, but it’s about $65 for about three months. That’s kickball. Other offerings vary a little bit up and down from there.

BEAHIVE:  How do I sign up for kickball?

Johnny:  Well, it’s pretty easy. You go to kickball.com, and you can sign up as an individual, and we’ll place you on a team. You can create a small group and tell your friends to join that group, or you can bring a whole team. We highly encourage people to come out to our free pickup game so they can meet people that they might want to play with, and see what team will really fit for them.

Community catalyzed. Collaborations coalesced. Friendships formed.

It’s been a good run in Kingston. But it’s time for my partners, Jason and Amara at Chronogram, and me to redirect our energies.

We’re closing the Kingston hive, at least in its current incarnation.

The Beacon and Albany hives continue to thrive, of course. And I’m confident letting the Kingston hive go will allow even better focus on the other two (and potentially others yet to be swarmed).

That said, I haven’t lost interest in Kingston. I’d welcome any ideas for BEAHIVE to continue to have a presence there in any way, whether in a physical space or through events or collaborations.

Thanks to our Kingston-area friends for all the support these last two-and-a-half years.

To advance urban sustainability in the Hudson Valley region, Sustainable Hudson Valley is creating a new hub for fresh conversations and learning through its new Resource Center for Sustainable Communities. An Urban Forum series will take place on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM at BEAHIVE, 291 Main St. in Beacon. Presented in collaboration with the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the forum will provide an informal place to explore new connections between environmental and economic renewal.

The series is hosted by SHV’s board member Victor-Pierre Melendez, M.Sc., a graduate of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and Director of Clearwater’s Green Cities Initiative. Melendez and invited guest speakers will spark action-oriented conversations about the challenges of Hudson Riverfront cities, including jobs and the health of the river. How these principles interact in the emerging economic arena of sustainable water management will be the Urban Forum’s spring focus.

According to Melendez, “The life of any city is found in its self-organizing culture and conversations. Our population is highly educated, but we have too few opportunities for truly interactive dialogues on topics that matter, from environmental justice to civic engagement in local government. If ‘blue is the new green,’ then water innovation is an economic opportunity at least equal to energy as an arena for appropriate technology and policy development. From green infrastructure materials to smart irrigation technologies to water transportation to aquaculture, the water-related economy of the Hudson Valley is an under-explored arena full of promise.”

Drawing on SHV’s research and Clearwater’s collaborative design work with several riverfront cities, the forum will emphasize the importance of utilizing green infrastructure to revitalize the Hudson River’s Historic neighborhoods. These beautiful and cost-effective design strategies can enhance many of the planning, design, and demonstration projects already in the works including watershed planning, comprehensive planning, flooding mitigation, and smart growth strategies.

The spring Urban Forum series will map out these opportunities in 3 phases:

• April 11, Resilient Cities and Waterways: Understanding Green Infrastructure as Economic and Environmental Strategy
• May 9, The Blue Economy by Land: Economic Development Opportunities in Urban Water Restoration
• June 13, The Blue Economy of the Hudson River: Economic Development Opportunities in the New Maritime Economy

About Sustainable Hudson Valley

Sustainable Hudson Valley’s mission is to speed up the shift to a low-carbon economy with high quality of life for all, by bringing people together with knowledge and each other. Since 2004, the organization has been introducing new approaches to climate action and green development through summits, training programs, retreats, consultation to governments and regional agencies, and grassroots initiatives such as the 10% Challenge. The guiding principle behind SHV’s work is that resources may be scarce, but people power is not. To scale up its impact, Sustainable Hudson Valley has partnered with a national network of nonprofits that have helped thousands of communities to become more livable, walkable and vibrant, Livability Solutions. With these partners SHV has opened the Resource Center for Sustainable Communities in Beacon, New York as a replicable model of a self-help hub that any community can create.

About Clearwater

For over 40 years, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champion of the Hudson River, working to pass landmark legislation like the Clean Water Act, providing innovative educational programs, environmental advocacy, and musical celebrations, including the renowned annual Clearwater Festival, to inspire, educate, and activate millions of people. Founded by music legend and environmental activist Pete Seeger, the organization began with the launch of the sloop Clearwater in 1969 —a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 106-foot-long sloop is among the first vessels in the U.S. to conduct science-based environmental education aboard a sailing ship, creating the template for environmental education programs around the world. More than half a million young people and hundreds of thousands of adults have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard Clearwater. The organization’s strong connection to youth, environmental education, and its agenda to create the next generation of environmental leaders, are all part of building and strengthening a Green Cities Initiative for a green economy and a more inclusive and diverse environmental movement. Utilizing the greatest natural resource in the region, the Hudson River, Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet.

Contacts

Melissa Everett, Executive Director, Sustainable Hudson Valley — 845-384-1189, everett@sustainhv.org

Victor-Pierre Melendez, Clearwater Green Cities Initiative Director — 845-265-8080 ext. 7144, Victor@clearwater.org

Coworking is the growing worldwide movement in collaboration where people work in a shared space, alone and together. Common to larger metropolitan areas such as New York City, Silicon Valley and Austin, BEAHIVE is indicative of the increasing need for independent workers and start-up companies to have access to an affordable professional office environment to conduct and grow their businesses. Members of BEAHIVE can rent a desk by the day, week, or month and become a part of BEAHIVE community.

In celebration of the grand opening of Albany BEAHIVE an open house and networking event is scheduled for March 28, 2012 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. During that time BEAHIVE will be opening it’s doors to business professionals to network and tour the new coworking facility. More information about the event can be found on LinkedIn.

“A friend shared an article about a new concept in work space and it mentioned BEAHIVEs located in Beacon and Kingston,” recalled Metzger. Metzger, an entrepreneur who has lived in the Capital Region for many years owns property where BEAHIVE is located. She said, “I loved the idea of an open work environment where the intent is to meet new people, share ideas and build a new community. I already owned the space which was a former nightclub. It had a bar and fantastic lighting and I thought it would be the perfect place for this type of independent and interactive working community.”

Metzger spoke with the founder of the Hudson Valley coworking brand, Scott Tillitt, to learn about his concept. “We’re more than a shared office space, more than desks and wi-fi and printers,” said Tillitt. “We’re building a community of members from diverse backgrounds with a range of creative and technical talents and a desire to improve our professional and personal lives and our communities.”

Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings; Mark Eagan, president and CEO of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce; F. Michael Tucker, CEO and president of the Center for Economic Growth; Georgette Steffens, Executive Director of the Downtown Albany BID

BEAHIVE’s collaborative work space brand has been welcomed by city leaders who recognize the importance of serving the needs of professionals who can help improve the economy. Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings said: “I believe BEAHIVE will play a critical role in fostering growth in Albany’s diverse business environment. With more and more professionals securing independent employment, it is important to provide them with suitable resources and high quality office space to meet this growing demand. I am confident BEAHIVE will provide the opportunity for workers to be more productive, contributing to our region’s economy and accomplishing their goals.”

The excitement surrounding the opening of Albany BEAHIVE has already started to create buzz among local business leaders. So far, the coworking facility attracted eleven founding members including Amanda Kelly, owner and career consultant with Success On Deck, a consulting firm offering clients career transition services and job search coaching. Kelly said, “Becoming a member of BEAHIVE has provided me a professional work space to conduct my business. The membership flexibility allows me to pay for the amount of time I use each month and it’s a great place to network.”

Capital Region business leaders taking notice of BEAHIVE include F. Michael Tucker, CEO and president of the Center for Economic Growth. Tucker said, “It’s important to our upstate economy to accommodate the needs of entrepreneurs and businesses, who are interested in relocating to the area, with the kind of flexible office space offered at Albany BEAHIVE.”

Mark Eagan, president and CEO of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce agrees. Eagan said, “We understand the need for start-up companies to be cautious with their expenses, especially if they are in a pre-revenue stage.” The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Entrepreneur Boot Camp program that covers all the essential ingredients to starting a business. “The flexibility of BEAHIVE can also provide entrepreneurs a working environment that can serve as a bridge to a permanent office space,” said Eagan.

In addition to providing individual work areas, BEAHIVE is a venue for members to hold community networking events and meetings. BEAHIVE has already held events for Capital Region business and community groups and more will be scheduled in the near future.

Happy to oblige.

BEAHIVE gets covered by the media from time to time. Coworking is a hot movement —and I’m a PR guy! — after all. But I’m especially proud of that piece, “Coworking Offices Abuzz With Independent Workers” — for a couple reasons.

The award-winning bimonthly "draws on academic research and other definitive sources to provide reasoned policy options and solutions (to address pressing social concerns)."

First, Miller-McCune (soon to be Pacific Standard) is a serious, well-regarded, award-winning bimonthly that “draws on academic research and other definitive sources to provide reasoned policy options and solutions [to address pressing social concerns].”

The writer, Jonathan Lerner, writes on architecture, urbanism, art, design and travel for Metropolis, Landscape Architecture, Metropolitan Home, et al. (He was also a founding member of the Weather Underground!)

And the larger vision of BEAHIVE is larger than coworking. Ultimately we’re supporting a Local Living Economy, one that is locally rooted and human scale.

Second, it highlights a couple occasionally recurring themes that pop up in the global Coworking Google Group: coworking in rural areas; and getting the media to highlight the real value and experience of coworking through member stories, rather than just the physical aspects of the spaces and desks and wifi and printers.

It highlights 11 of our members (including me), mostly talking about the community aspects.

It’s also a beautiful 2-page spread centered around a really great schematic graphic of our building!

The intro text is below. Download the PDF to see the full spread, complete with the member profiles and some national coworking stats from Deskmag.

Working solo has its rewards. Still, we crave connections with other people. Which explains the rise of the coworking space, where “laptopreneurs” can drop in for a desk, a wireless connection, a productive atmosphere — perhaps even some collaboration. The idea took root around 2004, and a recent count tallied around 800 such spaces worldwide, 350 in the U.S.

A seemingly urban phenomenon, coworking is now in small towns like Beacon, New York, population 15,500, 60 miles north of Manhattan. In 2009, Scott Tillitt, a Brooklyn transplant, opened Beahive there. About 20 people at any given time — mostly newcomers to the area — pay to maintain relationships ranging from “community member” ($20 a month gets one day’s use), up to “resident desk” ($240 a month, 24/7 access, a dedicated perch and locker), or even “resident studio” (private space, higher price).

Every week, there is a “members’ lunch,” where people share the challenges of working independently. Frequent bonding events include film screenings, game nights, art shows, and benefit parties. “We’re more than a physical space to work,” the website declares.

"Coworking Offices Abuzz With Independent Workers," Miller-McCune

‘Open Hive’ Orientation Event – Wed, Feb 8

A new kind of collaborative space for work and community is coming soon to Downtown Albany at 418 Broadway. BEAHIVE is in part inspired by a growing worldwide movement in collaboration called “coworking,” where people work in a shared space, alone and together.

The original BEAHIVE — the first such space in the Hudson Valley — opened in May 2009 in the heart of Beacon’s (NY) Main Street and a second swarmed to Kingston later that winter. The Albany hive is scheduled to accept members by March 1 and is a partnership with real estate agents TL Metzger & Associates.

An orientation to introduce the space and the idea behind it to the public, dubbed “Open Hive,” will be held Wednesday, February 8.

OPEN HIVE / Orientation + Gathering
Wed., Feb. 8, 5:30 – 7PM
BEAHIVE
418 Broadway, Albany, NY
RSVP: (518) 426-5211, sam@tlmetzger.com
Details

The original coworking spaces were started by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffee shops and cafes or to isolation in independent or home offices.

At the most basic level, the membership-driven BEAHIVE provides a shared, creative work environment for entrepreneurs, the creative class, microbusinesses and consultants. Memberships start at $20/month and range to $350/month for full-time access and your own permanent desk. Non-member day passes are available for $25.

“Given the importance of small business in growing our local economy, I really wanted to create an environment where we can help each other grow our business, generate new ideas and build new relationships,” said Tracy Metzger of TL Metzger & Associates. “We expect to have members not only from Albany but also surrounding towns — Troy, Rensselaer, Colonie and beyond.”

BEAHIVE also plans personal and professional development workshops and social and cultural events to inspire, educate and bond members — and ultimately, contribute to the larger community. The space is also available to rent for events, parties, workshops and group meetings, with flexible rates depending on the use.

“We’re more than desks and wi-fi and printers,” points out BEAHIVE founder Scott Tillitt, who also runs Antidote Collective, a socially conscious communications practice. “We’re building a community of members from diverse backgrounds with a range of creative and technical talents and a desire to improve our professional lives, our personal lives and our communities in the greater Hudson Valley.”

“Expanding to Albany will grow our community of members and our physical presence, and allow us to better support the growing creative class and microbusinesses in the Hudson Valley,” Tillitt adds. “Ultimately we’ll play a bigger role in shaping a Local Living Economy in the region. Our members will collaborate on projects that will have some impact on our communities. Like an incubator with a social mission.”

The timing is right for such a space. Many economists agree that record unemployment has and will continue to drive more people into self-employment, as has happened during past recessions. Meanwhile, New York State already has one of the largest populations of microbusinesses (fewer than five employees) in the nation, according to statistics published by the Small Business Association (SBA).

Contact:
Scott Tillitt, BEAHIVE – (917) 449-6356, scott@beahivebzzz.com
Tracy Metzger, TL Metzger & Associates – (518) 426-5211, tracy@tlmetzger.com

This means we’ll begin our third year with three hives. This will grow our community and our physical presence, and allow us to better support the growing creative class and microbusinesses in the Hudson Valley. Ultimately we’ll play a bigger role in shaping a Local Living Economy in the region.

We’re aiming to open late winter. More to come once we actually sign the papers with our partner and make things official.

Our wings are just abuzz over this.

Below is a recap of the event, from co-producer (and Beaconite) Venessa Miemis of Emergent by Design.

About 15 or so people showed up from around the Hudson Valley to discuss our options for implementing local exchange networks at the community and business level. Our three speakers gave really interesting and valuable insights into the nature and history of money, as well as ideas of how we can create incentives via local/alternative/complementary currencies to help us unlock a lot of wasted potential within ourselves and our available resources.

The first speaker, Matthew Slater, is a software developer based in Geneva, Switzerland. He’s built a mutual credit system on the Drupal platform which powers many LETS and Timebanks USA communities here and in Europe. Matthew talked about the properties of money and why it’s both useful and healthy for local communities to have alternative to use for the purpose of not just exchanging goods and services, but building real trust and social fabric within communities.

Here’s an interesting video by Douglas Rushkoff that discusses the history of money and why it’s time to rethink how we create and exchange value:

The second speaker was Guillaume Lebleu, who came in from San Francisco. He’s teamed up with his local credit union in Bernal Heights, SF, to create a VISA debit card which offers rewards points redeemable at local participating businesses. (Imagine frequent flier miles that can be used at stores on Main St.) He explained how his pilot project has been received and the feeling of solidarity it is creating within his local community.

Here’s a video of a Bernal Heights resident talking about how she uses the Bernal Bucks card:

The last speaker was Amy Kirschner, founder of the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) Marketplace, a business-to-business barter network in Vermont. The exchange currently has over 180 businesses doing trade, with a goal of having over 1,000 Vermont businesses in the network by 2015. Amy told some really compelling stories about the exchanges being made between businesses in Vermont, and the steps we could follow for a Hudson Valley Exchange to emerge.

Here’s a link to video coverage by Channel 5 WPTZ featuring the VBSR marketplace on the news: “Online Marketplace New Form of Bartering for Local Businesses.”

Overall, it was a great, intimate conversation between a group of passionate and curious community members from across the region.

The currency implementation that was most appealing to me on a personal level was Amy’s b2b barter exchange, because it seems like it would have the highest impact on an economic level in the shortest period of time.

I emailed Amy to ask her what kind of next steps” we could take to continue the conversation amongst those with serious interest.

Below is the document she emailed back in response. For any of you who are interested in meeting again and discussing what’s next, please contact me at venessamiemis at gmail dot com.

Unmet Needs <——-> Unused Resources

At a basic level, that’s what money does. It connects needs to wants. So what happens when you don’t have enough money? Actually, you can make your own. There are hundreds of ideas-designs-possibilities. Finding a good idea isn’t the difficult part. The difficult part is figuring out exactly what you want to do, how you will measure success and how you will design an implementation plan that meets those goals. Then we match a tool to the job.

These aren’t test questions — there is no right or wrong. It’s a picture of where you are and where you want to go. If you don’t have an answer, that’s ok, we’ll figure it out.

• What is the specific, measurable outcome you desire?  (This is the most important question. Everything hinges on this.)

• What is the community you plan to serve? (More specific than ‘Waterbury’ is helpful. Can be more than one.)

• What new human behavior pattern are we trying to encourage? (A positive way of saying: ‘What isn’t working now?”)

• Who are your allies?

• Will the new system retire at a certain date or What is the exit/legacy strategy for the new system and for the administrators?

• How will it be funded?

• Do you have the support of your local government?

• Who are your allies with technical skills?

• What legal structures are available?

• Who will be the project manager? How many hours per day will they commit?

• How can you get people using it?  (“If you build it, they will come” is not a good mantra.)

For more information on possibilities, see this post from John Rogers: “Design Principles for Sustainable Local Currencies.” See his “Community Currency Design Manual.” You can download from the link. John has created an impressive piece of work and makes it freely available.

We found her: Sarah Womer of Beacon. She’s an ideal BEAHIVE member: smart, passionate, a true collaborator, and trying to impact our community in a real way.

That passion is directed primarily towards Zero to Go, an initiative educating the public on waste and recycling issues in the Hudson Valley by “bringing awareness to the resources we do have (i.e. reuse centers, where and how to recycle), and second, making more resources available,” as she explains it.

Sarah is a two-time AmeriCorps alumnus and lifetime volunteer. She has worked at sculpture foundry Tallix (formerly in Beacon) and in the alumni department of Outward Bound. She fell in love with reuse and upcycling while serving as the board secretary of the HV Materials Exchange.

Besides Zero to Go, Sarah is also helping her partner, Jon Miles, manage and grow his business (Peoples Bicycle) and volunteering with the League of Women Voters and the Sargent Downing Garden & Nursery (as board secretary). But wait, there’s more! She’s also working as a personal assistant to an art collector. “That’s a lot of hats!” she says.

In her application, Sarah wrote that what attracts her to BEAHIVE is, “I’m at a point where I really need to talk with brand strategists, marketers, PR folks, social media folks and web programmers. I want to learn more about these fields and how they can help my project but I don’t have enough access to them.”

In Twitter-speak she summed up why she should be the chosen one: “community-focused enviro entrepreneur needs a jumpstart + a place to get serious!” Start jumping, Sarah.