Dear Friends,

I’m inviting you to join me in giving a gift that helps create a firm foundation for peacebuilding, and offers justice, healing, and hope in our community. That’s the mission of the Fairfield Center.

Let me tell you a personal story. On a recent dark day, I was discouraged by heavy rain, my first prescription for bifocals, and a clerical error that left me unlisted for insurance coverage. I’ll admit I was feeling a bit down about the marking of time emphasized by those bifocals.

Then I spoke on the phone with John Paul Lederach, my former peace-building professor. Our conversation reminded me that the marking of time is also good. Fairfield Center now employs three of John Paul’s former undergraduate students Tom Brenneman, Shannon Sneary and me – and we’re all still passionate about the work we do… not such a bad day after all.

Restoring Justice, Fostering Hope since 1982

2012 marks Fairfield Center’s 30th year of service to the community. We’ve been on a journey of peacebuilding since 1982. Our strong history has touched the lives of many children, families, and organizations throughout the central Shenandoah Valley. We continue to help hundreds of families navigate through crisis and transition. We continue to offer staff interns and training participants valuable hands-on experience and knowledge through our training and mentoring programs as we raise up a new generation of peace-builders. We offer a growing restorative justice program, discussion facilitation services and a variety of conference opportunities.

Building for the Future

In November 2011, the Fairfield Center Board purchased the historic Wampler Feed & Seed Building on Elizabeth Street in downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia.  The two-story building contains 18 thousand square feet with up to 40 parking spaces, will be co-owned and co-occupied by Fairfield Center and a diverse group of social service, cultural and educational agencies. The building will be a gathering space that offers operational efficiencies and amenities for a broad range of services for people in our community. Humbling yet exciting. Stay tuned for news and developments!

In this season when we celebrate light and love, I thank you for your care and support of the Fairfield Center. Please consider sending a generous contribution today as we head into our 30^th year!

Sincerely - Tim Ruebke, Executive Director

We are happy to announce that our 2012 Mediation and Communication Training schedule is finalized.  Please click on the link to the right to browse our offerings for the coming year. 

If you are a regular mediator or volunteer on Fairfield Center’s roster, please contact us about discounts we offer for advanced trainings. 

Any questions about our training schedule should be directed to Shannon Sneary at training@fairfieldcenter.org.

5th Annual  Valley Plane Pull

Save the Date!
April 14, 2012
Inclement Weather Date April 21

Join your Friends!

Join your Neighbors!

Join the Community!

More details coming soon!

Fairifeld Center is proud to be affiliated with the biggest international festival in the Shenandoah Valley: Harrisonburg’s very own International Festival!

The Harrisonburg International Festival is a free event open to the public. Join us for a day of family fun that celebrates the many cultures that make up our community. We feature international foods, music, dance, children’s tent with activities for all ages, a multi-language area, and a World Bazaar featuring traditional folk art. This is a rain or shine event. Please visit the official Festival website for more information and updates (http://www.harrisonburg-international-festival.org).

Hillandale Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia
September 24, 2011
12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

The Fairfield Center in Harrisonburg, VA, is offering any and all Virginia certified mediators the opportunity to complete the bulk, if not all, of their required continuing education units in just one day: the Fairfield Mediator Bonanza!

This bonanza provides a variety of general and family topics that provide Continuing Education by the Virginia Supreme Court credit (pending approval) for mediators.  Two hours of Ethics will be included.  Take advantage of this opportunity to complete required continuing education training to remain a certified mediator in Virginia.

Sign up today!  The Bonanza is June 27 from 8:30-5:00pm at Harrisonburg’s Fairfield Center.

Click here to register!  Contact Shannon Sneary via email for questions or special discounts for VACCR members (training@fairfieldcenter.org).

It was well worth the weather-induced wait: on April 30th, 2011, crowds gathered to see over a dozen teams grab on to the end of rope and pull – hard.  This tug of war wasn’t against another team, but rather a four-ton King Air Twin Turbo Prop airplane.  The competition was fierce, as sponsored teams competed for bragging rights while support Fairfield Center’s family mediation services.  The Shenandoah Valley Plane Pull is a major fundraiser for the Fairfield Center, allowing mediation services to be available and affordable in the Staunton/Waynesboro/Augusta and Harrisonburg/Rockingham areas.  

In the end, it was the Massanutten Resort team that pulled out (pun intended) the win with an impressive time of 32.21 seconds for tugging the 8,000 pound plane 150 feet – congratulations!    

The final scoreboard shows Massanutten Resort as the team with the fastest plane pull!

Fairfield Center extends a hearty note of thanks to all event partners and sponsors for their support.  For all those who pulled, we hope the legs and muscle burn did not last for too many days after!  Thanks also to all the volunteers who staffed the event, played music, crafted great food, and worked the event from the late days of fall 2010.  

Please take note of the following media pieces on the 4th Annual Valley Plane Pull – and stay tuned for next year’s event!

• WHSV TV 3 – Valley Plane Pull held at SHD
• Staunton News Leader – Pulling Planes for Peaceful Resolutions
  
• Daily News-Record (Link not public)

Special thank to these sponsors!  

  

http://ourcommunityplace.org/

A Special Thanks to Our  Event Partners

See you next year!

Fairfield Center is proud to announce that its executive director, Timothy Ruebke, is now a Federal Emergency Management Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist. This designation makes Ruebke available to implement mediation and other conflict resolution techniques in emergency and disaster-stricken areas anywhere in the nation.  He will continue to serve as executive director of Fairfield, and respond on an as-needed basis upon the request of FEMA.

FEMA describes the mediator role Ruebke will play: “The third-party neutral keeps the parties focused and constructive in their discussions.  Unlike a judge or jury, the third-party neutral does not have decision-making authority nor the power to impose a resolution on the dispute.  Rather, the neutral works with the parties to facilitate communication, identify underlying issues, explore options, and craft a mutually satisfying solution” (Source: FEMA).

This is natural work for Ruebke, who has worked at Fairfield Center since 1992 and completed over 1500 cases in general, family, criminal, and complex organizational / multi-party issues.  He is certified to mentor-mediate Virginia civil and family Virginia circuit court cases, and is an advanced practitioner member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and a previous board member of the Virginia Mediation Network (VMN) and of the Restorative Justice Association of Virginia (RJAV).  Ruebke has graduate degree in Conflict Transformation from Eastern Mennonite University.

Timothy Ruebke, Fairfield's executive director, is now a FEMA Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist.

FEMA cites effective results for using mediation.  ”Federal Agency results using mediation to resolve disputes have been phenomenal with impressive time savings, cost avoidance, and resolution and satisfaction rates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Treasury have experienced an overall dispute resolution rate of about 82% with 83% of the Treasury disputes resolved within 25 days. The Department of Agriculture estimated its savings attributable to ADR in staff resources and investigative and litigation costs to exceed $1,000,000 over the last two years. The Postal Service reported mediation satisfaction rates in the high 90s for both participants. The EEO Commission tracked 11,600 cases and reported satisfaction rates of over 90% for all participants” (Source: FEMA).

Fairfield Center is increasing Harrisonburg’s capacity to use Restorative Justice to address crimes and conflict that impact local people and communities.  In April, eight people completed the first round of training to become facilitators in a Community Conferencing program designed to give residents a way to constructively engage each other after a crime.  Renewed interest in Restorative Justice came last year when community leaders in the city’s North East Neighborhood Association (NENA) recognized the process as a possible tool to address nuisance crimes.

Restorative Justice focuses on the harm done by crime to people and relationships.  It involves meeting the needs of the complainant (victim), bringing the respondent (offender) to full accountability for their actions, and, to the extent possible, repairing the harm done.  This is accomplished through a collaborative, structured dialogue process involving all who have a stake in the incident.  Participants explore facts and feelings about an incident and work towards a mutually acceptable outcome.  The stakeholders of a crime are empowered to create their own justice.

“In a face to face encounter, both sides are able to recognize the humanity of the other side, give voice to their experience, have questions answered – as well as participate in deciding the outcome,” says Sue Praill, coordinator for Fairfield Center Restorative Justice.  Praill cites statistics from other similar programs indicate a high level of satisfaction and a sense of closure for all parties.  The proven method motivated financial and in-kind support from James Madison University, the City of Harrisonburg, and private individuals.

Eight people completed the first round of training for being a facilitator of a Restorative Justice process.  Four participants are from NENA, three from JMU, and one from the Fairfield Center.  ”We hope to give another training in the not too distant future, as we will need a much larger pool of facilitators once the program gets started,” says Praill.  The facilitators are trained to implement Restorative Justice in a timely manner after the referral, in a safe and convenient environment, and enable the parties to put the incident behind them and move on with their lives.

Suitable offences, at this time, for Harrisonburg’s Community Conferencing include, but are not limited to

• Minor property offences/theft
• Graffiti
• Disturbance of the peace
• Littering
• Vandalism
• Public drinking, urination
• Other nonviolent crimes of the kind, especially those involving juveniles

While Fairfield is assisting in designing a process for receiving referrals from the court system, individuals may inquire directly with Fairfield whether a situation may qualify for a Restorative Justice approach. Depending on circumstances, some individuals may refer cases directly to the Fairfield Center and in lieu of calling the police.  In such a case, the inquiring party would need to know who the other party is and how to contact them.  “It would be important to point out that we could not guarantee that the offender would participate, but that we could try to persuade them by pointing out the benefits of this approach rather than going through the courts.  Avoiding a criminal record could be a factor in pursuading them,” says Praill.

To inquire about the Harrisonburg Community Conferencing program of Fairfield Center Restorative Justice, contact Sue Praill at (540) 434-0059 or rji@fairfieldcenter.org.

Thanks to everyone who made the 2011 Valley Plane Pull a Success!

4th Annual Valley Plane Pull

Pulling Together for the Fairfield Center

In Partnership with Downtown Dining Alliance
bringing “ A taste of downtown at every event”

11am-3pm

Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport

Weyers Cave, Virginia

We Thank These Team Sponsors!

Support These Organizations!

Hess Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine



http://ourcommunityplace.org/

A Special Thanks to Our  Event Partners

How well does your office, team, or department communicate? How well are you able to cope with inevitable conflict that arises in working in team settings? Every group has strengths in these areas – and there is room to improve in other areas.

Managers and team leaders can take this quick 8-Question Self-Assessment on Communication in the Workplace – and a Fairfield representative will be in touch to discuss your responses. Try it out: