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Great Lakes BIONEERS Conference
The Great Lakes Annual BIONEER Award:
Left: Tom Shea after giving a speech at a protest rally on the 3rd anniversary of the Iraq War. Shea was honored this year with the BIONEER award at the NMEAC awards. |
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Each year, the Great Lakes Bioneers Committee presents an award to someone in our community who embodies the Bioneers principles. This year’s Great Lakes Bioneers Award was presented to Tom Shea. Shea has such a long list of accomplishments that primarily being his leadership in the peace community in Traverse City for more than 25 years. He has helped to organize and facilitate countless meetings focusing on promoting nonviolence and peace; he has shown up at numerous gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, street theater, conferences, marches and educational events focusing on peace. It is fair to say, that his constant energy and presence is what has made our peace community the strong and effective force that it is today.
In addition, he, along with his wife, Darylene, helped to launch the Conflict Resolution Services, now called Community Reconciliation Services. He and Darylene run Shea and Shea, a private practice in mediator training, conflict resolution and organizational development.
One of the main Bioneer principles is the concept of cooperation, patience and understanding which we see reflected in nature; Tom Shea’s work for peace and conflict resolution embodies that principle.
Shea wasn't able to attend the NMEAC awards ceremony, but submitted these acceptance remarks
For the past 40 years I’ve tried to focus on the horrendous waste of money and resources spent on unnecessary weaponry, particularly nuclear weaponry. As Eisenhower said: “were not spending money alone, we’re spending the genius of our scientists, the sweat of our laborers and the hopes of our children.”
My other main interest is working with people to manage or resolve their conflicts through the use of mediation and facilitation.
For example, currently a group of government officials and civic leaders are using consensus decision making to build a citizen based process for dealing with local land use and traffic issues.
For me the Bioneers Conference offers that spectrum of alternatives that open up avenues for people to move beyond their special interests toward a common vision and plan for our future.
-Tom Shea, 2006
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