In the early days, in March of 1987, the MEC consisted of an empty building at 106 W. Standley Street in Ukiah. Empty, that is, except for a card table and two folding chairs. A benevolent landlord had offered the space to be an environmental center with the understanding that if the place survived, the rent could be "settled-up" later. Another benevolent soul offered to put up the deposit so the building could have electricity and water.
With the first membership donation the MEC ever received (a $20 bill from the coast's own Charles Peterson), the MEC purchased its' first-ever telephone, a special $3 model on sale from a local discount store. Yet another generous individual put up the deposit required by the phone company and the new little telephone came to life. It wasn't long before the once-empty building was filled with desks, tables, chairs, display racks, file cabinets, more phones, and you-name-its. So, the second miracle occurred as the MEC went from being an empty building to a full one. And the third miracle occurred also, as the MEC survived its' first few fledgling months in business.
Through the years, the MEC continued to fill up. Partitions were built, and new offices sprang up in the back. Office equipment appeared on the desks. The reference library never stopped growing. More chairs, more tables, more shelves and more phones were needed and they materialized. Finally, after years of building towards it, the MEC even saw the day arrive when it was able to hire its' first-ever paid staff. In what seemed to be only a short time after that, the MEC passed an important milestone, its' fifth birthday. Unlike most new businesses, the MEC had survived the critical first five years in operation. By then, any number of miracles had occurred to bring the Center to that point in history.
This very day, as I sit in the office typing this article, the MEC is six years old and the miracles are still happening. It now costs $50,000 a year to maintain the MEC's present level of operation. According to our bookkeeper, this money comes from memberships. The rest of us, however, know that this money really comes from miracles. Each membership, after all, is a small miracle of its own. A miracle indeed, this day and age, considering the MEC has never employed any slick fundraising schemes, never hired a PR firm to help with promotion, and, in fact, has never maintained any sort of paid advertising campaign.
DO GOOD WORK AND THE MONEY WILL COME. This is the recipe the MEC has used to attract members and perform miracles. Yes, there have been some tough and lean times along the way, but overall this recipe works. MEC members now range throughout Mendocino County, from many other counties throughout California, from many other states beyond California, and there are even some MEC members who live in foreign countries. All this, and the miracles are only just beginning.
The MEC is in the planning stages for expanding its' paid staff, its' volunteer network and its' workload. This will likely require some support from grant funding. It will require a vastly expanded membership base and it surely will require more miracles. This May, the MEC will launch its' greatest-ever membership drive. If you would like to help make this membership drive a success, please contact the Center and say you want to be on the membership committee.
Singer and songwriter, Joanne Rand, likes to tell about a conversation she had with a man who has witnessed the massive destruction of his homeland's native rainforests. Joanne asked the man what he thought it would take to halt the world's environmental destruction before it was too late. The man replied, "At this point, it's miracles or nothin'." Fortunately, for us this is not a difficult choice. We'll take miracles every time.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited