Yesterday, I noticed a new feature on the Gensler website — Cabin Class. Then a name caught my eye: Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. And then the location: Southern California. I clicked through to the next page of the Gensler article, and sure enough, the project — EcoCabin —is "the initial step of a comprehensive master plan for Camp Emerald Bay, an 85-year-old campground on Catalina Island, 22 miles southwest of Los Angeles."

EcoCabin looks terrific, and what a wonderful opportunity!

As you may recall from a previous article, my father was a professional leader with the Boy Scouts of America, responsible for running the Sea Scout program, as well as construction of Boy Scout camps. Throughout the year, my dad would figure out what buildings they needed, as well as what needed repair, and then he would organize work crews of Scouts and Scouters (professionals and volunteers) to do the work. Think of it as the non-profit version of design-build.

75 years ago, my father was assigned to the Los Angeles Council of BSA, and my parents moved from San Francisco to Santa Monica. My dad was responsible for the 10-year-old Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island — the same camp for which Gensler is creating a wonderful, professionally and sustainably designed development program that will be enjoyed well into the future. So it's a double-wow for me!

More after the break.

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September 7, 2011

On March 20, 2011, I published my own tribute to Weld Coxe, shortly after I learned of his death. A few months later, I was honored to curate a special tribute to Weld Coxe for the August issue of Marketer — the journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

But I thought that I should tell one more story about how Weld changed my life.


Weld Coxe on his sailboat, Block Island RI, 1982.

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September 7, 2011

On March 20, 2011, I published my own tribute to Weld Coxe, shortly after I learned of his death. A few months later, I was honored when Randy Pollock, the Managing Editor of Marketer — the journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services — asked me to curate a very special tribute to Weld Coxe for the August issue.

It was truly a labor of love from so many people who shared their personal reminiscences about a man who has had so much to do with who we are today. I hope you'll enjoy the article.

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