Distinguished Professor E. Scott Geller from Virginia Tech, Center for Applied Behavior Systems, came to Avalon Saturday to discuss bullying and how the community can help itself.
His appearance was timely, with reports of student bullying leaving some parents looking to homeschooling as an alternative to the worry of what potential behavior their child may face at public school in the future. These concerns were also the focus of the CHOICES Task Force meeting of May 2018.
Student issues like bullying and other unwanted behaviors stated as a lack of respect for adults are on the rise. Local behavior consultant, Jess Herzog, began the search to locate the foremost expert in the field of large-scale behavior enhancement, and was directed by her peers to E. Scott Geller, Ph.D. Dr. Geller and his colleagues have worked with numerous organizations, both public and private, to tailor training and implementation efforts related to the psychology of safety.
Past customers include both small and large organizations representing manufacturing, chemical processing, transportation, and service industries, including: Allied Signal, American Standard, ARCO Chemical, AT&T, Bayer, Bechtel, BF Goodrich, BHP Cooper, Cargill, Coca-Cola, Champion International, Chevron, Corning, ExxonMobil, Eli Lilly, Ford, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, Hercules, Hewlett-Packard, Koch Refining, Leprino Foods, Lockheed, Lucent Technologies, Monsanto, Pacificorp, Power Bar, Rohm and Haas, Solutia, Textron, 3M, Toyota, Union Pacific Railroad, Wal-Mart, Westinghouse, Westvaco, and Weyerhaeuser. Upon contacting him directly, a plan to spread the education of evidence-based practices to promote positive behavior using his Actively Caring for People framework was created for the Avalon community.
Their goal is to inspire the people of Avalon to join together, making a committed effort to collaborate and educate all residents for the benefit of their shared social and economic success.
Community leaders, Sheriff’s Captain John Hocking, Mayor Anni Marshall and Avalon Schools Principle Chris Lounsbery, attended the opportunities on Saturday to engage with Professor Geller. He delivered a lecture covering the history of the science that has blended together to create what he terms “humanistic behaviorism. … This special combination of the behavioral sciences has produced successful training manuals for teachers, police and industry safety to foster a caring culture and prosocial behaviors within each of the given environments. The Avalon community need only adapt these principles into their daily way of life to start seeing a change for the positive.
Be on the lookout for green Actively Caring for People wristbands as the process involves the acknowledgement of selfless acts of kindness with a sincere thank you and a numbered band that can be tracked through the main organizations’ website www.activelycaringpeople.org. Participants at the City Hall lecture received wristbands and offered their own creative ideas of how they might involve their guests and employees in the process.
One hotel owner suggested leaving two wristbands in each room with a note asking guests to thank someone for exceptional service while on the island and to take one home to further spread the movement in their own community. This highlights how such a movement will impact our local attitudes and can radiate off island to continue positive stories of guest experiences.
Avalon is a perfect environment for a movement like AC4P. There is a shared goal that every resident can identify with: to promote outstanding experiences to our visitors enabling the sustained economic success of Avalon, and thereby allowing all to continue their lives on this island paradise.
When asked about the experience leading up to this event, Jess Herzog said, “I have never been so honored to be so quickly accepted into the ranks of professionals such as Dr. Geller and his colleagues and I hope we all can appreciate that they are truly here to support us and see our community flourish from the benefits of their hard work and research.”
You can further support the Avalon-AC4P Movement with a donation of time or funds and by participating in the various opportunities to connect with those in your social circles to spread this valuable education and way of life. The first 75 donors to contribute $75 or more will receive a complimentary copy of 50 Lessons to Enrich Your Life, Proven Principles from Psychological Science by Professor E. Scott Geller. This book puts the power of Behavioral Science in your hand with common sense language that is easy to understand. Please visit www.avalonac4p.org and Take the Pledge to Take Action or call/text YES-612-AC4P for additional info.
