Life on MV

With the island’s beautiful pastures, old barns and farmhouses, Martha’s Vineyard is truly a horse-lovers heaven. My girls, Aly and Rosie, grew up on island horses and in island stables - and I was the consummate ‘barn mom.’

One well-known island barn is Arrowhead Head Farm, which is owned and operated by the Douglas family, the family behind the famous Black Dog brand.  Located in West Tisbury, Arrowhead Farm is equipped with 36 acres of grass fields, a lighted indoor arena, lessons for all ages and levels, summer camps, regular trips to Ireland and more.

Other barns on the island that provide lessons and activities include Red Pony Farm (508.693.3788) and Pondview Farm (508.693.2949). Without fail, each island stable is surrounded by the island’s beauty. Breathtaking trailrides on the beach are common fare.

Of course, many private properties, both for sale and available for exclusive rentals, include stables and bountiful acres for roaming privately.

The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, located in Oak Bluffs, is building a new 90,000 square foot facility. It will feature two floors of state-of-the-art services and new technology. The new building is being built with the intention of careful focus on patient-centered care.

This display of new motivation for a healing environment with expanded services and increased possibilities shows the beginning of the next generation of health care on Martha’s Vineyard.

The innovative change is solely about addressing the growing and changing needs of the island community, and carries the Hospital’s intention to “build for the next generation” - making the health care compatible with the unique needs and circumstances of the island life.

On Wednesday October 15, Dave McMullen, foreman for Rose Steel signaled the crane operator to hoist the final steel beam, bearing numerous island and contributing signatures as well as an American flag, onto the frame of the new building.

The hospital CEO Tim Walsh looked on with a smile stating it was a big step for the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. The ‘topping off’ ceremony marks a milestone and a moment of pride for the workers, builders, hospital staff and islanders alike.

Besides the presence of Sovereign on the Vineyard, our banking system is very small and homegrown. It matches the island.You have the feeling that your money stays on the island, right here next to you as you eat and sleep. We don’t have BankNorth or Bank of America, we have the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank, Edgartown National Bank and Bank of Martha’s Vineyard (a Division of Sovereign Bank).

But, then the unthinkable. Apparently, fraud approached some Vineyard banking customers by making fake calls to islanders asking for specific information that would give them access to their accounts. Of all the slimey things.

There is heart in this story, though. The bank jumped into action, alerting its customers, and the community did so as well. The Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce sent a mass email to it’s members alerting them to the issue and providing instructions on what to do. Other agencies are following. But they can hardly catch up with the word of mouth warnings and camaraderie. In a small town, we all watch out for each other.

This past summer, and now this fall, have been especially full of political talk. The Vineyard has surely been a Democratic strong hold - known for visits from the Clinton’s and extravagant fundraisers. Perhaps because of the tight primary race, this August was the first in several years that the Bill, Hilary and Chelsea Clinton didn’t make their annual trip for President Clinton’s birthday bash, replete with gold and stop at the West Tisbury Ag Fair.

In the summer of 2007, Barack Obama enjoyed a fundraiser on his behalf, and there were strong rumors he would return this past summer. I received calls from his staff to arrange his lodging, but they changed their destination to his home state of Hawaii for the 2008 trip.

Interestingly, the political and election buzz, dropped down past the usual ‘adult’ suspects this year. College students were more eager to participate then I’ve ever witnessed, and they were busy trying to decide if they should register here or where they attend college, in an effort to pick the help their candidate. Many of these Vineyard kids are Massachusetts born and raised, and Massachusetts is a blue state, and these students, able to vote for the first time wanted to lend their vote to a swing state if possible.

Looks like it worked!

The Steamship Authority is having a wee bit of trouble. The Nantucket is having engine trouble and the Sankaty was brought from the Nantucket-Hyannis route to help out with MV-Woods Hole traffic. But then the Sankaty had trouble as well.

Generally, the Steamship Authority runs like a well-oiled machine with boats on time and reliable, but these little glitches can cause major hiccups, in this case, on both islands.

Air travel, particularly on private jets, afford total convenience and speed which is especially important for Vineyard home owners that shuttle back and forth between Boston or New York. But Cape Air and US Airways Express also offer a great commercial alternative.

But, there’s still something  about being on the boat…the extra time it take to cross the Sound offers time for the shift - from work, home, the busyness of life to the quiet, laid back island environ.

There’s an energy that gathers speed as the ferry nears the Vineyard harbor with hundreds of excited people on board that just doesn’t happen on a plane filled with 8 passengers, tops. A certain nostalgia exists for some, the reminiscence of being on the water, of traveling over water to reach the island, of whalers and sea captains.

Still, the planes aren’t breaking down.

This is always a bittersweet time on the island. It’s the end for some, the beginning for others - a change for everyone. Perhaps it’s hardest on the summer people - they have to go back to their real lives once Labor Day passes, after all.

A client of mine, who has become a friend, remarked that this is the first Labor Day that won’t cause physical pain for her and her family in a long time. They usually rented for the month of August and so Labor Day was a big stop sign for them that meant they had to say goodbye to the island, their friends and this way of living until next summer.

But last winter, they purchased their own island home. They won’t be leaving until Wednesday, September 3rd…and they’ll be back most every weekend, until the winter, when their whole family will join them for their first Vineyard holiday season.

Of course, people that haven’t spent much time on the island have made comments about how there must be nothing to do here when it isn’t summer - but it isn’t true. The Vineyard community is so strong, the seasons are truly palpable. Sometimes it is a little quiet…but we think that, sometimes, that’s the point.

We’re full into autumn now at the beginning of October. As I sit on my back deck, and enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, dusk comes noticeably earlier and there’s a chill in the air. It was a mild October day today, but the warmth of summer has gone.

It was a monumental summer.

Two of the events that I co-chair raised close to two million dollars to support causes that are near and dear to my heart - affordable housing and the Vineyard’s first YMCA.

My daughter, Aly, is home and working by my side which thrills me to the core and highlights what I believe is at the heart of this island community - family.

Parties, events, friends, sailing and exquisite food have made the summer move quickly, easily and laden with satisfaction.

And, finally, I’ve gone out on my own. I took stock, and I made a decision. To remain small, personal and conscious. To give back to this Vineyard that I love. To feel good about what I do and how I serve my clients from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep. To create a new way. And to that, I say, Cheers…and thanks for being here with me.

Today a client asked me to name my favorite thing about owning a home on Martha’s Vineyard. Before I could even think, I replied, ‘Creating the ultimate island dinner in my backyard.’ Because I can live the high life, because the island makes it easy, because lobster tastes good everywhere.

Martha’s Vineyard has incredible food…and incredible chefs that use the island’s seasonal fare in ways that, to me, are often unimaginable. Morning Glory Farm gives me the freshest ingredients for salad, the Edgartown Seafood Market steams my lobsters to perfection, Great Harbor Gourmet & Spirits uncorks the best Chardonay, and Espresso Love’s brownies, cookies and pies end every meal perfectly.

There is something about enjoying all that the island has to offer in my own backyard, surrounded by my friends and family…breathing in the ocean air and living life to it’s fullest with a true Martha’s Vineyard meal…at home.

Central to my business and my life is the practice of responsible philanthropy. Active in fundraising for many non-profits on Martha’s Vineyard, the work that I do for the Island Affordable Housing Fund (IAHF) is some of the most rewarding. This summer marks my eighth turn at co-chairing their main fundraising event, Houses on the Tube, which brought in over $500,000 last year and has collectively raised over $1.5 million. To highlight the work that the IAHF does, I’ve asked the fund’s executive director, Patrick Manning, to engage in a tete a tete with me.

Suzanne: What is the Island Affordable Housing Fund and what does it do?
Patrick: IAHF is a non-profit organization that serves as both the fundraiser and the voice of the affordable housing movement on Martha’s Vineyard. It was understood several years ago that there would be a looming crisis where market prices of houses, especially in such a unique and popular venue such as MV, would continue to rise, while salaries of year-rounders would not grow at a comparable rate. The solution is to provide housing that will be forever affordable for the work force, the islanders.

Formed in 1998, the Island Affordable Housing Fund (IAHF) provides grants and loans to organizations, towns, developers, builders, or anyone with a proposal to create affordable year-round housing opportunities that satisfies our criteria. The Fund is also a catalyst and facilitator, providing funding to a whole host of projects that provide affordable housing opportunities to Island residents. Our work is designed to diminish or erase the affordability gap between what it costs to create housing and what year-round residents can afford to pay for housing.

Those that came before me, not only predicted this trend, but were smart enough to set up an organization to raise money, educate the people and try to avert the problem before it really started. As a result, the crisis we are in now is not as bad as other places around the country. There are some spots that have to fly in their school teachers, police officers, fire fighters, waitstaff and tradespeople because they can’t afford to live there. The Hamptons, Nantucket, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley…they are all suffering this crisis right now, and this is what they have in common: a limited amount of land, they’re a popular vacation area, lower than average annual income and many second or vacation homes. IAHF is 10  years into saving the character of the island, Nantucket is just starting to grab hold of their problem, Aspen is ahead of us. Aspen is #1 in this field.

Suzanne: What is Houses on the Tube?
Patrick: Houses on the Tube (or HOTT as it is affectionately called in our office) is our main fundraiser and actually has it’s origins in the desire over the last few years to make our large events inclusive to everyone and unique. It was the hope by people like you, Suzanne, and your co-chairman, Kenn Karakul, that we get people excited to come and not have them dread ‘just another fundraiser’. HOTT has been our most ambitious and our most inclusive. It’s about community and whether you can give $10 or $10K - it all counts equally towards reaching our goal.

Suzanne: What is the event?
Patrick: It’s the classic telethon, similar to Jerry Lewis Telethons where you have continuous live entertainment, sponsors with big checks, the excitement of reaching a goal and watching the numbers rise over a 27 hour period. We have seen everything from the very generous, affluent individual donations to the local waitstaff who come in with their tips for the day to everyone in between. Anonymous gifts of tens of thousands of dollars and children calling in with $3 from their piggy bank. We never know how much we’ll raise, and it’s always been a pleasant surprise. Last year we exceeded our goal by several thousand dollars, and we have high expectations for this year.

You and Ken have come up with brilliant ideas. Before the telethon, our event was ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ and guests would pick a dinner with say 2 Harvard Law professors debating during the meal, the cast from Dream Girls providing the entertainment or having David Letterman valet park your car. Your idea to shake things up and try a telethon, which had never been done on the MV, was successful beyond our wildest dreams.

Suzanne: I mentioned the incredible $1.6 million that we’ve raised over the last 7 years. What is the direct impact on the Vineyard community?
Patrick: The inaugural HOTT enabled us to say ‘YES!’ to projects that are community oriented. Historically, we would build one affordable house at a time; now we’re able to build communities of several homes, pocket neighborhoods. Now, we are able to buy and build better homes, greener homes that use less energy - a contribution that will help make these homes more affordable forever.

This leap in our ability to help the community is very much due to you and Ken. You know that there are very few people who will walk the walk, and fewer who walk it on such a grand scale. This work does make a huge difference to so many people including those brand new home owners who just moved into their new affordable homes in Jenny Way. Jenny Way, in Edgartown, is the first pocket neighborhood we built and it holds the esteemed honor of being LEED platinum certified - the first affordable housing community in the U.S. to carry this highest green building rating from the Green Building Council.

Suzanne: Jenny Way is amazing. What are some other current projects?
Patrick: Again, due to the last year’s wildly successful Houses on the Tube event, we have several projects that we can now commit to. One example is Bradley Square, nestled in the heart of the Arts District in Oak Bluffs. We saved the first African American church on the island which was not only a safe worship haven for African Americans, but also served as a welcoming spot for the influx of Portuguese immigrants the Vineyard saw at the turn of the century.

We saved it from the wrecking ball, and the sanctuary is going to be restored as a community room, and the NAACP of Martha’s Vineyard will have it’s first permanent offices in their history within the space. Additionally, 11 housing units, including 4 live/work spaces for island artists will be created nearly doubling the size of the Arts Districts. In West Tisbury, we are building an 8 home neighborhood that we hope will be as close to zero carbonAlso 250 state road , west tis, 8 unit affordable housing community that we hope will be as close to net zero energy use as possible using alternative energy and fuel.

All of this was made possible by the generosity of those involved in HOTT and all of this makes the Vineyard a better place, a sustainable environment, a leader in so many ways and, of course, a strong, flourishing community.

Suzanne: So, when is this year’s event?
Patrick: July 26th and once again, Jim Belushi, the island’s blues brother will be hosting with us - back by popular demand, not to mention that he had such a good time last year, he asked us if he could join us again…

Suzanne: Who else is coming?
Patrick: Ahhh…wouldn’t you all like to know! Several, incredible hosts will be on hand, but I won’t give away all of our secrets…Come to Houses on the Tube! Support the island…that’s the only way to find out!

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: www.islandaffordablehousing.com