LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lucille Arlene Harris, 74, passed away on May 2, 2016.

Her memory will live on in all who knew and loved her.

She will be laid to rest at Palm Eastern Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas, Nevada, alongside her mother.

No services have been scheduled at this time.

Arrangements entrusted to Jones Mortuary www.jonesmortuary.com FD311, Lakeport, Calif.

HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The Hidden Valley Lake Ladies 40-9ers Golf Club held a nine-hole game of “Jack and Jill” on Thursday, May 26.

The results are as follows:

– First flight: First place team, Tom and Deby Braun, net 33; second place, Eric Hill and Barbara Harris, 34; third place, Bob and Liz Cummesky, 35.

– Flight two: First place, Dennis Bero and Elaine Fauser, 33; second place team, John Gastineau and Floydean Greenlow, 38; third place, Mike Casolo and Darcy Miller, 39.

– Third place: First place, Pete Gascoigne and Carol Ellis, 33; second place, tie, Wayne and Diana Schneider, and Bob and Mary Schossler, 39.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Edward G. Hart, Jr, age 83, entered into rest in Saint Helena, Calif., on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.

A native of Lynn, Mass., Edward was a resident of Lake County for 15 years.

He served his country in the US Army from 1955-1957.

He is survived by his loving companion, Sharon Scrivner of Clearlake; daughters, Janis Hart of Seattle, Wash., and Donna Wholley of Beverly, Mass.; and son, Peter Hart of Clearlake. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Sharon McCabe. Edward also leaves behind eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Ed Hart lived life just as he pleased, without apology but with tremendous gratitude. He will be missed.

Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel.

Please share your loving memories of Ed by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .

Fourth grade students and teachers in Middletown Unified School District would like to thank the East Lake Resource Conservation District for the recent Field Days in the Creek event.

We would also like to thank Diamond D Ranch of Middletown for allowing us to attend the event on their land on Putah Creek.

This was a well-planned educational event, with presentations along the creek by Dr. Harry Lyons, who taught an engaging hands-on lesson on native trees.

Great “Geology of Lake County” lessons were given, by Dean Enderlin, Enderlin Geology. Also presenting was Joe Koschik, United State Forest Service and his team, and Department of Fish and Wildlife's Ben Ewing and his assistant who performed backpack electro fishing which amazed our students.

Students also learned about  the importance of keeping invasive mussels and plants out of our waterways from Carolyn Ruttan.

Thank you big time to the East Lake Resource Conservation District's president, Charlotte Griswold, Victoria Brandon and all of the others, not named, for the time and energy spent on this worthwhile elementary school field trip.

Kathleen Scavone, Allisun Moore and the fourth grade educators of the Middletown Unified School District in Middletown, Calif.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Come join the ever-popular First Sunday Fiddlers’ Jam at the Ely Stage Stop on Sunday, June 5.

The fun begins at the museum at 11 a.m. with the fiddlers playing in the barn from noon through 2 p.m.

The Ely Stage Stop has proven to be the perfect venue to foster community interest and appreciation for the California Old Time Fiddlers’ Association’s music.

Donations will benefit the Ely Stage Stop and the Old Time Fiddlers Association.

Come early and check out the latest museum acquisitions and displays. Take a stroll down the “barn trail” connecting the main house to the barn. Check out the new permanent outdoor stage that will be used to enhance future events on the property.

This free, family-friendly event can be enjoyed by all, young and old alike.

Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on one of the beautiful picnic tables. Enjoy the music with beverages and tasty treats provided by the docents. Bring your own wine and sip it in Ely Stage Stop wine glasses that are available for purchase. Come ready to clap your hands, tap your toes, and get up and dance!

The Lake County Historical Society’s Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum is located at 9921 State Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Highway 29-Kit's Corner. Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.

Fiddlers’ Jams occur the first Sunday of every month from noon until 2 p.m. Living History events are held on the fourth Saturday of each month, again, from noon until 2 p.m. Private tours and/or public events can be arranged by appointment.

Visit www.elystagestop.org or www.lakecountyhistory.org , check out the stage stop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elystagestop or call the museum at 707-533-9990.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016, marked the inaugural graduation of the class of 2016 when 13 local students were conferred their bachelor’s degrees by Marymount California University (MCU) at the Lakeside Campus in Lucerne. 

The graduates walked the stage to the applause of their families, friends and the community. 

I will remember that day always as I was fortunate enough to walk this journey with them the last two years: to know of their stories, their struggles, their challenges and their personal successes when they received their diplomas.

They were involved in the community before their graduation, and they are excited to move into greater roles of leadership and service out of their love for our community and a desire to be involved in our efforts to work together in many ways and across many fields.

I thanked our “village” in my commencement speech and asked the audience to stand to recognize themselves as that village.

We hear that said so often but the visual of all those people standing really brought home to me how vital our community has been in welcoming the Lakeside Campus and in supporting its growth by providing the academic opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in the county for the first time.

I’d like to congratulate the class of 2016 again and thank our community for all its support. None of this would be possible without the vision of the county of Lake and its partnership with MCU to create a campus here.

All of our employees are local and all but one of our instructors is, for a total of 16 Lake County residents employed across the year.

We have contracted with many local businesses as vendors whenever possible and that list includes JP Specialty Cleaners, Advanced Electronic Security, Nathan DeHart Photography, Lake Transit Authority, Uribe Landscape, N & A Electric, Bicoastal Media, Westgate Petroleum, Chic Le Chef, WeedTech, Pak N Mail, California Exterminators and more.

A huge special thank you to Pak N Mail for the beautiful job on senior Capstone and biography posters; Fresh and Bangin’ Eatery for their wonderful hors d’ouevres; Lake Event Services for making “the Castle” even more spectacular than ever; Patrick Fitzgerald for the first-ever playing of “Pomp and Circumstance” in the Castle; Nate Rogers, professional events security, for all of his care and concern for the students, staff and campus; Lake County Land Trust for partnering with us to present the first Distinguished Speaker Series; and the Lake County Office of Education for its ongoing support and partnership.

Lake County News has our gratitude and appreciation as they have been tremendous supporters of the campus in their advertising, taking the initiative to film all of our Distinguished Speaker Series and making this remarkable series on the natural history of Clear Lake and Lake County available on their YouTube channel. 

Great thanks to John Jensen who live-streamed the graduation ceremony, making it accessible to friends and family all across the world who were unable to attend and didn’t want to miss this special moment in their loved ones’ lives. 

I want to extend my gratitude, that of my staff at Lakeside and the MCU community to our greater Lake County community for the warm welcome and tremendous support. 

Michelle Scully is executive director of Marymount California University's Lakeside Campus in Lucerne, Calif.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Church of the Nazarene will hold its annual rummage sale on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4.

The sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the church, located at 15917 Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

Proceeds will support the church's children's ministries, including camps and curriculum.

Rose Nahmens McCarley
April 3, 1960 – April 26, 2016

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Longtime Lake County resident and business owner, Rose McCarley, passed away April 26, 2016, at her home in Lower Lake, after a long battle with cancer.

She was born April 3, 1960, in Redwood City, Calif., to Daniel and Nellie Nahmens. She was raised in Long Valley, Clearlake Oaks.

Rose graduated from Lower Lake High School in 1978 as salutatorian of her class. She went on to graduate cum laude from California State University, Sacramento in 1982 with a B.S. degree in financing and a minor in economics. She returned to get her second degree in accounting in 1984.

Rose worked as an accountant at Chevron headquarters during the largest oil merger in history. She returned to Lake County to marry her husband Chuck McCarley in 1989.

Rose worked as an accountant at Robertson & Associates until she she joined her husband to run Lake County Gas in 1991. After selling Lake County Gas, Rose pursued her lifelong dream of owning a western retail store and built CJS Ranch Supply where she has worked ever since.

Rose loved hunting, fishing, hiking and gardening, but most of all she loved her horses and barrel racing.

Rose continued to live her life, doing what she loved, despite her illness. She spent countless days driving her kids to rodeos and hours helping them in the practice pen.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, Daniel and Nellie Nahmens; brother, Daniel Nahmens; and husband, Chuck McCarley.

Rose is survived by her children, Christopher, Joseph and Samantha.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Rose’s life on Sunday, June 5, at 2 p.m. at the Clear Lake Riviera County Club, 10200 Fairway Drive, Kelseyville.

Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel.

Please share your loving memories of Rose by signing her online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .

New research from North Carolina State University finds that turnover among executive leaders at nonprofit organizations is often plagued by problems – with very few transitional periods mirroring the scenarios painted in the professional literature.

The study also found that most nonprofit executives do not leave their positions due to voluntary retirement, as previously thought.

“There has been very little empirical evaluation of executive turnover in nonprofits,” said Amanda Stewart, an assistant professor of public administration at NC State and author of a paper describing the work. “And, because executive turnover is inevitable, it’s important to pay attention to what organizations can do to limit any adverse impacts turnover can have on a nonprofit and its mission.”

To better understand the challenges involved in nonprofit executive turnover, Stewart interviewed 40 executives of nonprofit organizations about their experiences during their transition into leadership roles.

Many executives reported significant challenges when taking charge at their new organizations. For example, five executives reported having little to no support from the boards of directors who hired them. And many executives told Stewart that they had to clean up unexpected financial or administrative messes left behind by the previous executive.

“Listen, I think boards figure that if they give a recruit the total picture they might not be able to recruit someone,” one executive is quoted as saying in the paper. “The naiveté is the only way to get into the [executive] position, because if you knew, you would never get into it,” a second executive says in the paper.

“These findings tell us that the conventional wisdom in professional literature about nonprofit executive transitions is based on a best-case scenario,” Stewart said. “And only one or two cases of the 40 I examined were even close to that ideal.

“One of the things I learned was that nonprofit boards do not become more functional during times of turmoil – so if leadership turnover stems from problems in the board itself, a new executive won’t resolve that problem,” Stewart said. Support from the board, and transparency about management decisions, were key to turnover success.

Stewart said that the interviews revealed a “Goldilocks” spectrum of nonprofit boards, when it came to interacting with executives. “Too little” boards offered virtually no support or oversight to executives; “too much” boards tried to micromanage executives; and “just right” boards used the turnover to assess their organizational needs and hire an executive who was equipped to address those needs. Ideally, executives also wanted their boards to communicate effectively and to provide public support when needed.

The study also found that, contrary to expectation, most executives leave nonprofits for reasons other than voluntary retirement.

When interviewing the executives about why their predecessors had left their organizations, Stewart found that only nine of previous executives had left due to “voluntary retirement.” Other factors included eight dismissals for wrongdoing, six due to a mutual agreement between executive and board, five who left for “personal reasons,” and five who left for new jobs at other organizations.

“These findings are very different from the widely held idea that people leave nonprofit executive positions primarily because of retirement,” Stewart said. “And it also highlights the importance of having a good fit between the executive and the board of directors.”

Stewart is following up on this work to better understand, systematically, how the nonprofit community is developing – or failing to develop – a new generation of leaders.

The paper, “Turnover at the Top: Exploring Nonprofit Executive Turnover,” is published in the journal Nonprofit Management & Leadership. The work was supported by American University.