SD6 - Third Annual Executive Summary Commemorative Commission to Honor the Contributions of the Women of Virginia, January 11, 2013 – December 17, 2013


    Executive Summary:
    Creation and Charge of the Commission

    In 2010, the Virginia General Assembly established a commemorative Commission to honor the contributions of the women of Virginia with a monument on the grounds of Capitol Square. The charge of the Commission, as stated in the Joint Resolution was as follows: The Commission shall determine and recommend to the General Assembly an appropriate monument in Capitol Square to commemorate the contributions of the women of Virginia.

    The Commission shall seek private funding for the operation and support of the Commission and the erection of an appropriate monument. The costs of implementation of the Commission, its work, and the compensation and reimbursement of members shall be borne by the Commission from such private funds as it may acquire to cover the costs of its operation and work. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request.

    Members of the Commission

    As designated in the Joint Resolution, the commemorative Commission shall consist of a total of 19 members as follows: the Governor of Virginia who shall serve as Chairman thereof, the Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules, one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, the Clerk of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, one member of the House of Delegates at large appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the Clerk of the House of Delegates; eight nonlegislative citizen members of whom three members shall be appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and three of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. The Secretary of Administration or his designee, the Librarian of Virginia or her designee, the Executive Director of the Capitol Square Preservation Council, and the Executive Director of the Virginia Capitol Foundation shall serve ex officio with nonvoting privileges.

    Following the gubernatorial and legislative appointments, the members of the Commission are: Governor Robert F. McDonnell, Speaker of the House Bill Howell, Delegate Jimmie Massie, Clerk of the House G. Paul Nardo, Chair of Senate Rules Ryan McDougle, Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel, Clerk of the Senate Susan Clarke Schaar, Secretary of Administration Lisa M. Hicks-Thomas (ex officio), the Librarian of Virginia Sandra Treadway (ex officio), Executive Director of Virginia Capitol Foundation Alice Lynch (ex officio), gubernatorial appointees Mary Blanton Easterly, Jacqueline Cook Hedblom, and Rita D. McClenny, Speaker of the House of Delegates appointees, Mary Abel-Smith, Kitty Claiborne, and Mary Margaret Whipple; and Senate Joint Rules appointees, Lissy S. Bryan and Em Bowles Locker Alsop.

    Meetings and Significant Actions
    The Women’s Monument Commission (full Commission or Executive Board) met on the following dates in 2013: January 11, January 16, March 20, March 21, April 23, May 23, June 11, June 28, July 30, September 4, September 30, November 8, November 26, and December 17. The meetings were held at either the General Assembly Building or the Patrick Henry Building and were properly noticed and open to the public in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.

    The Commission, having voted in the end of 2012 to further 3 of the submissions on to the next phase of the selection process, creation and presentation of the scale models, delegated the task to the Executive Board to work with the 3 finalists in preparation of the final phase of the contest. Over the next two months the Executive Board along with their expert Consultants worked with the finalist to convey the comments of the Commission and to ask for specific changes that the Commission recommended for each of the submissions.

    March 21, 2013

    At the March meeting of the full Commission the members went into closed session to discuss the artists’ work and review the artists’ scale models pursuant to § 2.2-3711 A(3) and (6) and § 2.2-3712. After interviewing the artists and viewing the scale models the Commission members unanimously selected StudioEIS and The 1717 Design Group as the design team to build the Monument (Senators McDougle and Vogel by letter). Susan Schaar volunteered to call and check the winning artists’ references and Paul Nardo volunteered to draft the press release. On March 28, 2013, the Commission announced the winning submission at the Library of Virginia’s event to honor Virginia’s Women of History.

    The Executive Board of the Women of Virginia Commemorative Commission met at the General Assembly Building in Richmond on April 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Julie Whitlock and Elizabeth Latimer from the Attorney General’s Office were present for purposes of discussing the terms of the planned contract with the artist and his design team. The Board discussed an outline sent to Chairman Hicks-Thomas by Ivan Schwartz and his team to begin working on drafting a contract. Secretary Hicks-Thomas called on Dr. Treadway to update the Executive Board on where her group of historians was on researching names for the Monument and what women would be depicted in the sculptures.

    Alice Lynch updated the Board on fundraising efforts and stressed that any donation given should be in the interest of giving to the entire project (monument and educational components).

    May 23, 2013

    Secretary Hicks-Thomas discussed recent conversations with the artists who were not selected. After discussion that the stipend and travel expenses given to each artist for their models was satisfactory, the Commission voted unanimously to decline the request for public display of models not chosen, stating it would create confusion.

    The full Commission proceeded to discuss the women to be featured on the Monument. Dr. Treadway handed out a first draft of suggested women taken from informal discussions with university historians from Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, Norfolk State University, Clemson University, and University of Virginia. She presented three options for the Monument. One option would depict specific women on the Monument. Option two would be to depict representational women. The third option would have a combination of the two, and that option was the professors’ least favorite given the possibility of confusion. She then presented a list of 12 women suggested. The Commission continued to discuss the pros and cons of depicting specific versus representational women.

    Ms. Karenne Wood, member of the Monacan Indian Nation and Director of Virginia Indian Programs at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, addressed the Commission on issues of representation. She said it is more important to represent the contributions of all the people and how community is more important than the person. She also highlighted the importance of Latina women and those women who stayed at home to raise their families.

    Discussion continued on the various options. Delegate Massie suggested waiting on making a decision. It was moved and seconded that the Commission would make a decision at the next meeting. Senator Whipple expressed the importance of including educators on the list. Mrs. Schaar brought up the importance of designing a way to leave room for new names in the future.

    Mrs. Lynch started the discussion on fundraising and presented the estimated cost for the Monument at $2 million. Factoring in the cost of educational programs, maintenance, marketing and fundraising, the estimated total cost would be $3 million. She also advised the members of the other Capitol Square fundraising efforts such as the Indian Monument, First Responders Memorial, and the First Lady’s projects. She suggested the Commission combine efforts with the Capitol Foundation and the Indian Commission under one umbrella under the auspices of supporting Capitol Square and interpreting Capitol Square in order to help with fundraising. She mentioned that the Indian Commission is on board and they would like to meet with members of the Commission to discuss. She encouraged the members to figure out how to move forward in the future. Senator Whipple expressed concerns that donors would receive a mixed message. Mrs. Lynch suggested that the joint efforts could be used for corporations and foundations while individuals would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Secretary Hicks-Thomas adjourned the meeting, with the next Executive Committee meeting set for June 11, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

    At the June meeting the Executive Board heard a presentation from Mr. Jeffery L. Wilk, principal and founder at the Monument Group, a 17-year old organization started with capital campaigns. Notable clients of the firm have included the Virginia Treatment Center for Children, Civil War Society, YWCA, Fan Free Clinic and Better Housing Coalition. Mr. Wilk then discussed what steps the Monument Group would take to assist the Commission with fundraising for the Monument. These steps included: developing a case for support statement, helping to test the support statement, once established, on potential investors, then help to manage the campaign. Mr. Wilk also stated that the Monument Group would help the Commission understand how to recruit, train, and motivate the fundraising team, understand the number and types of gifts it’s going to take to help reach goals and help to manage through the plateaus in giving.

    Following the presentation by Mr. Wilk, members of the Executive Board further discussed fundraising strategies for the Monument. Senator Whipple suggested the potential to hire a full-time fundraising staffer for the Commission. Alice Lynch noted that the benefit of using a consulting group for fundraising is that they are like a third party endorsement to donors.

    After the discussion regarding strategies, the board members decided to meet with the design team on June 28, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the next steps in the building process. That meeting commenced with a review of two letters to the Commission, one from the NOVA Coalition and the other from the Virginia Capitol Foundation. The Secretary explained that the NOVA Coalition submitted a letter of seven individuals who they believe have the attributes to warrant an honor on the monument. Alice Lynch then went over the contents of the letter submitted to the Commission by the Virginia Capitol Foundation. She explained that the board voted unanimously in favor of the design of “Voices in the Garden” as presented. Members of the foundation were also in agreement on the scale and low profile of the Monument, ability of visitors to walk among the statues, the virtual component to allow voices of women to be heard, representational women in the bronze figures and listing women of achievement on the glass wall such that additions can be made in perpetuity.

    Next Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Crank gave a presentation on the design team’s approach for the remainder of the project. The artist remarked that their teams will be involved with schematic design, design development, construction documents, production, bidding and negotiations, as well as construction administration. Susan Schaar inquired about the marketing materials that would be provided to the Commission from the design team. The artists remarked that their proposal was to provide the Commission with a schematic design plan – a bound document that defines materials, designs, characters, narratives, and other relevant information. Alice Lynch confirmed that while this document will be provided in a whole, the Commission can also pull out specific pieces to use as needed.

    Members of the design team then went over the implementation of the team’s two year schedule. Throughout the next two years, members explained the building process taking place in six phases. Phase 1 – Schematic Design, Phase 2 – Design Development, Phase 3 – Construction Documents, Phase 4 – Bidding & Negotiations, Phase 5- Construction/Fabrication, and Phase 6 – Figure Installation. The team then began to discuss the ideal revelation date for the monument. The Commission agreed that the ideal month to unveil the sculpture would be March because it is National Women’s History Month. Due to the current timetable the artist agreed the probable revelation date would be in March 2016.

    Members of the Commission then moved on to discuss the budget and fundraising efforts for the remainder of the project. The design team noted that the cost of the current design is right around $2 million. Mr. Schwartz explained that the exact cost of the monument will be hard to determine until the appearance of the bronze figures have been decided, as the cost will vary depending on height, size, and costume. Mr. Crank explained that as the process begins to unfold, the budget will be updated a couple of times a month, so the final number will be easier to pinpoint. The team also noted that the cost of the first phase will be about $75,000-$80,000 and that the completion of this phase will be crucial in helping to bring in money for the remaining phases.

    July 30, 2013

    Secretary Hicks- Thomas presented members with the Executive Committee Report on the two meetings of the Executive Board which had taken place since the last full meeting of the Commission. Alice Lynch reviewed the events of the June 11th meeting where members of the Executive Board received a presentation from Jeffrey Wilk from the Monument Group. Secretary Hicks-Thomas then provided the Commission with a summary of the Executive Board meeting on June 28th noting that Mrs. Alsop had requested the design team provide a design for an element of greater height to include in the Monument, to which the design team agreed to produce.

    Members of the Commission then moved on to discuss contract development including the six phases which will each be negotiated as funds are raised. During the 1st phase, schematic design, the design team will provide the Commission with a binder of detailed information for presentational/fundraising purposes. The total cost for Phase 1 will be $87,000 ($75,000 fixed design fees and $12,000 for reimbursable expenses – travel, printing, binding, and shipping). The Secretary clarified that the design team will be paid for each deliverable as they are produced.

    Discussion by the Commission moved to the decision of whether to use specific or representational bronze figures for the monument. It was noted that there will be a slight cost difference to include specific women, but it will not be much more. The Commission voted to move in the direction of selecting the specific women and representational women to be decided upon at a later date. After the vote, Alice Lynch presented Commission members with fundraising information she had gathered based upon recent discussions with donors. Mrs. Lynch noted that she had met with two major donors, one corporation and one foundation, and explained that both the corporation and foundation suggested the Commission allocate money for educational programs, for Commission members to make donations, and for the Commission to provide them with an overview of the monument to have something formal to present to their boards.

    The Executive Board of the Commission met on September 4th and 30th to work on details regarding fundraising in conjunction with the Capitol Foundation and to review the first two deliverables presented by the design team. The presentation included a layout of the schematic design objectives for the Monument and schedule through December. Members of the Executive Board also received a handout including key pages of the PowerPoint presentation, a discussion of drainage issues, utilities, obstructions to the Monument, granite sources, maintenance matters, accessibility, site drawings from DGS, issues of light, water and soil conditions, and design details. The team stated that they will need an engineer for some details involved with the sundial. A discussion was also held on whether the shrubs should be removed or a bas-relief should be used. The team also stated that they will need the list of the names of women to be named and featured on the Monument by the end of December.

    The Executive Board met on October 21st and again on November 8th. At each meeting the Board considered various names of women representing the 17th through the 20th centuries. The names came from a list recommended by Dr. Treadway’s group of historians. The importance of representing a wide spectrum of races, occupations and geographic regions was stressed and a discussion began about each woman on the list. Members of the Board then decided to put together a large list of women to be discussed further by the Executive Board and then with the full Commission. After a vigorous discussion and debate the final list as voted by the Executive Board included the following names:

    Anne Burras Laydon – 17th century
    Mary Draper Ingles – 18th century
    Martha Custis Washington – 18th century
    Clementina Rind – 18th century
    Sarah G. Boyd Jones – 19th century
    Sally Louisa Tompkins – 19th century
    Elizabeth Keckley – 19th century
    Maggie Lena Walker – 20th century
    Adèle Goodman Clarke – 20th century
    Laura Lu Copenhaver – 20th century
    Mary Johnston – 20th century
    Virginia Estelle Randolph – 20th century

    November 26, 2013

    At the last meeting of the full Commission for 2013 Secretary Hicks-Thomas presented a report of the past two meetings of the Executive Committee. The Commission received the list of potential women to be featured in bronze as submitted to the Executive Committee by Dr. Treadway on October 21, 2013. Commission members also received copies of the shorter list presented to the Executive Committee by Dr. Treadway on November 8, 2013. Lastly, Commission members were presented with a matrix of the final 12 women that the Executive Committee voted to recommend to the full Commission. Members of the Commission also heard an explanation of the process taken by the Executive Committee to reach the final list. Dr. Treadway then gave a brief presentation of the biographies of the 12 women picked by the Executive Committee. Mary Margaret Whipple moved to adopt the list of women selected by the Executive Committee. The motion was seconded by Susan Schaar.

    Following the motion, Commission members held a discussion of other potential names that were not on the list compiled by the Executive Committee. A member of the public, Lynette Louise Alston, presented the Commission with the names and biographical information of four women from the Native American community to potentially be represented on the Monument. The names included Cockacoeske (17th century), Queen of the Wine Oaks (17th century), Queen Anne (18th century), and Edy Turner (19th century).

    A lively discussion ensued and the Commission heard public comment by Francis Crutchfield, speaking on behalf of the Pamunkey people and the Inter Women’s Tribal Council, who stated her belief that the Virginia Native American community would be ok with Cockacoeske as a representation on the Monument. Ms. Schaar added she hoped the Commission would consider adding additional figures once the original funds had been raised, if approved by the Commission, to represent Virginia women in politics, athletics, and music.

    The Commission voted on Delegate Massie’s motion to adopt the amended list with nine votes in favor (Senator McDougle, Delegate Massie, Lissy Bryan, Kitty Claiborne, Senator Whipple, Jacqueline Hedblom, Susan Schaar, Paul Nardo, and Secretary Hicks-Thomas) and two votes in opposition (Mary Easterly and Em Bowles Alsop). The final list of names of women to be depicted in bronze on the Monument as voted on by the full Commission includes:

    Cockacoeske – 17th century
    Anne Burras Laydon – 17th century
    Mary Draper Ingles – 18th century
    Martha Custis Washington – 18th century
    Clementina Rind – 18th century
    Sarah G. Boyd Jones – 19th century
    Sally Louisa Tompkins – 19th century
    Elizabeth Keckley – 19th century
    Maggie Lena Walker – 20th century
    Adèle Goodman Clarke – 20th century
    Laura Lu Copenhaver – 20th century
    Virginia Estelle Randolph – 20th century

    Countless other women of achievement will be listed on the glass panels that frame the outer boundary of the Monument. Secretary Hicks-Thomas noted that she would pass along the final list of names to the artist.

    Alice Lynch presented the Commission with a fundraising report. Ms. Lynch noted that the Capitol Foundation has a strong candidate for providing fundraising council and that the Commission had received a donation of $100,000 from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, which included a matching component. Secretary Hicks-Thomas requested that the new finance council attend the next meeting of the full Commission to present their fundraising strategy. Ms. Lynch agreed. A final announcement was made that beginning December 1, 2013, Kathleen Kilpatrick will join the Commission as the new Executive Director of the Capitol Square Preservation Council, as directed by the resolution. The Commission then thanked chair Secretary Hicks-Thomas for her hard work and dedication to the Commission.

    December 17, 2013

    The final meeting of the year was an Executive Board meeting. The Board received a presentation from the Design team on the progress of the first phase of the contract, the Schematic Design plan, and was told that the final version of the plan would be ready in January of 2014. Members of the public came to both speak in favor of adding Pocahontas as one of the bronze figures and/or to commend the Commission on the choice of Cockacoeske.