b"C H A P T E R T E NA relatively recent newcomer in ChathamJim and his wife, Jane, had moved to town in 1998Blankenship had the energy and the tools, literally and figuratively, to face off against the awesome need. (His basement had enough electronic gear for a modest computer store.) Its germane that, after his service in Vietnam, he put in 23 years in public relations, first in New York City, then in Boston. He started as a grunt, in his term; when he retired in '92, he had the rank of executive vice-president.But before distilling what his team and he did to buttress the Zoning Bylaw initiative, its relevant to explain a key facet of FCWs personality: its role as advocate.From the first, the organizationFCWs communications specialist pursued a course toward pleading a cause,Jim Blankenship, at right, with in the legal sense. A 1983 membership formexecutive committee member Kurt left no doubt about what its general aimsHellfach.Blankenship has been the keystone in carrying out FCWs were. FSHW was going to help develop usesdetermination to tell members and of the waterways compatible with theresidents where it stands on current protection of the natural resources and theissues and their background.character of the area.Inevitably, that hadGordon Zellnerto mean taking a position in favor of something, or against something else -in short, advocating. The same citation from the groups Purpose made this even more transparent: FSHWs responsibilities included initiating action on issues as determined and approved by the membership.Those with the long view of what the Friends continuing agenda has been know that the enterprise has been advocating ever since.Even so, the earliest board, through the voice of President Joan Kimball, had a certain worry: did the organization run the risk of lapsing from wholesome advocacy into lobbying? This has been a concern of mine since the beginning, Mrs. Kimball wrote to New York lawyer Rebecca Citron. At issue then was incorporating FSHWTo explain her doubts, Mrs. Kimball picked a situation of the moment. FSHW was engaged in asking Town boards to request biological studies of the harbor and surrounding ponds to see if the high coliform/fecal counts. found in scattered tests this fall [of '83] constitute a major problem. Then she asked: Is this lobbying? The consensus held that it wasnt. But what if it were to back a candidate for office? Very simply, there were no prospects whatsoever that the1 77"