Showing posts with label chairperson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chairperson. Show all posts

Monday, December 3, 2018

Second Pride: Habemus Praesidem!

The LGBT+ residents and our straight allies of SecondLife waited with bated breath for the announcement from the Special Meeting that had been called on Saturday for the particular purpose to appoint a new Chairperson.

All eyes were fixed on the tiny chimney perched on the roof of the Meeting-skybox for a sign of either black smoke or white smoke. Then suddenly, at 1:40 PM SLT, the smoke appeared. And it was gloriously white! The board had agreed (6-0, with 1 abstention) on a Chairperson for Second Pride.

Sister's and brother's, sing out in joy and exultation, for we are no longer orphaned lambs shambling our way through the desert in disarray, facing the dangers without a leader to guide us. 

Please join me in welcoming our new shepherd, and leader, 
Lee McKay!!!

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Installation of SP New Board Today

In a notice in the Second Pride Festival Group, the chairperson Rez Vale-Starfall announced, that the new board members will be installed on the board on Saturday, October 6th, 2018 at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

At the event, Rez will also be announcing the candidates for Community Relations Director.

The event will take place at the Second Pride HQ (SLurl), hope to see you all there!
---

After the installation, the Second Pride board will consist of the following people.

Chairman - Rez Vale-Starfall (DJRez Cyberstar)

Secretary/Treasurer
--- Secretary - Mikey Vale (MikeAdam)
--- Treasurer - Bock McMillan

Infrastructure Director
--- Security Director - Tootsie Nootan
--- Building Director - Starter Evenstarr (starter232)

Outreach Director
--- Events Director - Nicky Windstorm (DunceMidwest)
--- Community Relations Director - vacant
--- Marketing Director - Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy)

Technology Director - Lee MacKay

(In bold and underlined I give you the board positions directed by the newly adopted bylaws, under them in cursive are the positions according to the previous bylaws under which the recently ended election were run. According to the new bylaws, those positions are to be maintained until any of them become vacant when the responsibilities will be transferred to the remaining director. As of 2020 the only positions available will be the ones decided by the new bylaws.) 

Friday, September 28, 2018

SP Election Certified, But Announcement Slightly Delayed

According to a message on the Second Pride website, the results of the voting for the Marketing and Building Director have been certified by the Election Committee and passed on to the Chair for an announcement. 

The Chairperson is out of the country at the moment, and you’ll see this announcement in-world and [...] on the website as soon as he releases it. 

[Second Pride is] still looking to fill the Community Relations Director seat…more on that coming soon as well!

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

SP Annual Meeting 2018 - Minutes

Clickbait
The minutes from the Second Pride Annual Meeting, that was held on July 14th, 2018, have been published on the Second Pride website. You will find the minutes here.

For those of you who are too lazy to read them, let me give you a short summary.

1. Feedback from the festival has been overwhelmingly positive. There were no problems with griefing. Thanks were expressed to all involved for their contributions.

2. The Trevor Project will receive a donation of L$ 560,800 - approximately $2,243.00 USD. (Bloody awesome, my remark).

3. A proposal for a (much needed, my remark) complete overhaul of the bylaws was made. The Communications/IT Director was given the task to do a draft re-write and present it to the board.

4. Upcoming election 
a) these three members of the board have one year remaining,
- the Chairperson,
- the Secretary and
- the Communications/IT Director,
b) the following five positions are open for candidates
- Community Relations Director,
- Events Director,
- Build Director,
- Marketing Director and
- Security Director

5. Election Dates
a) Candidate Registration on the Second Pride website August 1st, 2018 through August 14th, 2018,
b) Question and Answers with Candidates on the Second Pride website August 15th, 2018 through August 28th, 2018,
c) Voting September 1st, 2018 through September 8th, 2018 and
d) Board Member Installation Meeting September 15th, 2018.

Sunday, July 2, 2017

LLedge Eames: "Why I'm Passionate About Second Pride"

LLedge Eames is the chair of Second Pride. This statement was posted on Facebook today. 

I am completely in support of all that LLedge has to say on the reasons we have - indeed why we need - Second Pride in SecondLife and wish to share it with you all.

---
LLedge Eames, Chair of Second Pride
"So the Second Pride Festival is almost over, and what a ride it is has been. The festival is already well on it's way to become one of the most legendary seasons of Pride yet. 

With amazing DJ's and Hosts coordinated by Viktor Sandman our Event Director, Content creators from the A-list, volunteers Kahvy & Garret Smith wrangling social media, Lee Mckay's website designing, Tootsie Nootan our Security chair and her team (Levi & Kit) keeping the festival safe and so many sponsors helping, this Pride Festival could be nothing other than a great success!

As donations are poring in I want to take a moment to talk about pride, and about the money involved in second pride as well.

I myself and the members of my board team have donated many beautiful party decorations to the Festival to make it amazing and Jak Calcutt our Building Director really outdid himself! T L C Home Collection donated a lot of new animals to the Japanese strolling garden, and many others have helped make this years festival amazing!

Yet, many ask me: Why Second Pride? Why donate?

I've recently read a blog by one of Pride's Bloggers, Bailey Saxmundham. Being Transgender, who better to ask?

"People ask "Why Pride?". There have been so many advances over the years since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, but there is still a way to go. Some of the advances have been overturned.

Pride isn't about parties - it is about visibility and solidarity. It is about community and belonging. It is about not giving in and not giving up."

http://baileysaxmundham.blogspot.nl/2017/06/pride.html

And that hits it right on the mark for me. It's not about the parties. It's not about the honor and glory of those that shine on the stage, or those that didn't make it to the schedule this year. It's about coming together and forming a front. It is about not giving in and not giving up. About providing a place in SecondLife where we can be safe. Safe to be ourselves, all year round! A place to come back to when the going gets a little tough. A place to relax in the park or to remember in the memorial. And yes, a place to party and celebrate!

Some say, Pride is commercialized. But in reality, those sponsors and vendors show their own pride the best way they can: by bringing their business. By saying, we don't care about the haters, we are rising above. Buy my Pride? PLEASE do!!!

Because with that money, we can have this sim. This place in this virtual world called Second Pride. Not just during pride week, no, all year round! We are featured in the SecondLife destination guide and have had Lindens visit our festival. We will work with Linden Lab to list our sim as a permanent gay destination after the festival. That is where the money goes first of all: that place we can call Home. And we are proud of it, and of everyone donating their time and funds into this. Second Pride is owned by the community, and paid for by the community. And that, is a beautiful thing.

And the surplus? The Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Rainbow Roads, they all benefit. Second Pride is working with the Madonna show on a huge 4 hour benefit for Rainbow Roads this coming July 22. Also there's the nonprofit charities that we have given space on the sim: UCC SL, TAVA (Transgender American Veterans Association) TRC (Transgender Resource Center), and SOS (survivors of suicide / depression support project). New this year for the festival we invited the Care and Hope Center (awareness and support for victims of domestic violence)

Yes, there are many ways to support the community in the real world as well. But not everyone is able to participate in the real world, the same way they can in SecondLife.

At Second Pride, we can be who we want to be. In whatever shape or form. We can help, reach out, come together and make sure none of us gives in, or gives up. And that, makes me PROUD!

Happy Pride Everyone!
LLege Eames
SecondPride Chair

Monday, September 29, 2014

Ezzie - New Chairperson of Second Pride

Ezzie Mirabella
(archive photo)
At the Second Pride board meeting held last Tuesday the board unanimously voted Ezziedq "Ezzie" Mirabella to be the new chair of Second Pride.

After the vote Ezzie Mirabella thanked the board with the following words:
"I want to thank my fellow board member who I all consider friends for this appointment. I aim to do the best job possible as Chair and look forward to an exciting time ahead of us before we celebrate Pride in June 2015. I am truly humbled by this appointment and I ask those members present to step forward and work on a committee during the next year your help would be appreciated along with your valuable input."

For information on other business at the meeting please see Second Pride: Minutes of the Second Pride Board Meeting September 23, 2014.

Although I have previously maintained that no vote should be needed for this move (The SP Election 2014: Some Reflections), I have no objections on how this matter was settled by the board, especially since the outcome was the same.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

The SP Election 2014: Some Reflections

The Second Pride elections this year are well underway, the candidates have declared themselves and the discussion has started in the Second Pride discussion forum (url). The forum will be closed at midnight Friday August 29th, so head on over and join in.

There are six candidates for the nine positions on the Second Pride board, all the six candidates are running unopposed. This, however, doesn't mean that there aren't some interesting complications.

Let me start by informing you about this years line-up. After that I will share some of my thoughts on the situation.

As I said, there are nine positions according to the bylaws

1. Chairman
No candidate

2. Secretary & Co-Chair
Ezziedq "Ezzie" Mirabella
New election








3. Treasurer
Marge Beaumont
Reelection








4. Events Director
LLedge Eames
New election








5. Community Relations Director
Karl Kalchek
Reelection








6. Building Director
Jak Calcutt
Reelection








7. Security Director
Sutry
Reelection








8. Marketing Director
No candidate

9. Communication/IT Director
No candidate

---

My first reaction, when I saw the candidates that had declared themselves, was sadness and astonishment that there were not more candidates and not candidates to all positions on the board.

On second thought, however, I realized that it is a major undertaking to commit oneself to a year long duty of service to the LGBT community in SecondLife. As a candidate one promises the electorate that - if elected - one has the ability and willingness to put ones time and efforts to the cause of Second Pride. Many of us have restrictions set by family, work or health that prevent us from making such a commitment, we should therefore cherish and be grateful to those that are able and willing.

Another reason for the lack of candidates must certainly be the ugliness that occurred before, during and after the last election. Even if someone was willing and able to run, they must have considered the slander, the backstabbing and the malicious rumor mongering that has occurred repeatedly in our community over the last year. It takes a special kind of brave person to risk having their first and second lives scrutinized, exposed and/or maligned by anonymous or semi-anonymous "detectives", blogs and avatars on social media, especially since it is virtually impossible - or extremely complicated - to hold them accountable in criminal or civil action.

My second reaction was a feeling of reassurance and gratitude that four of the board members of the previous board had been brave and strong enough to decide to run again. All four have proven their capacity for the job in the past difficult year when Second Pride was at the brink of imploding completely through the undermining work of the destructive forces. I also welcome the new candidates, Ezzie and LLedge. Fresh blood with new thoughts and ideas are valuable for any organization that wishes to evolve and move with the times.

Although all the present candidates can now be certain of being elected as they are running unopposed and it only takes one vote to get elected, which I will supply if no one else does, there is the matter of the three vacant positions to consider. Most important of these is the position of chairperson. My friend Dodo Ahanu has raised the question in the discussion forum and has asked the candidates how they view the vacancy on this position.

I don't entirely share the views that have been expressed in the discussion forum and would therefore like to give you my interpretation of the situation, which is not entirely covered by the bylaws as a situation like this has not been foreseen.

In my opinion, based on what is available in the bylaws and a general knowledge of rules governing associations, this is how the situation of the vacancy on the chair position should be handled.

First of all we need to recognize that even if the position of chairperson is only one of the nine board members, this position is special. The chair is "first among equals", with a special significance and special powers. We then also must recognize that there is a difference between a general election and a by-election.

An association must have a chairperson and this chairperson should be elected in a general election. I have no qualms whatsoever about the positions of Marketing Director or Communication/IT Director being filled in a by-election after a "call for directors" by the elected board, but that is not acceptable for the position of chairperson.

After the general election we will have a vacancy in the position of chairperson, but we will have elected a Secretary/co-Chair, whose job description contains stepping in as chairperson if there is none. As an association must have a chairperson, the elected Co-Chair therefore automatically becomes chairperson.

The board then, through a "call for directors" has to fill the position of Secretary/Co-Chair along with the other two other vacant positions.

I would appreciate your thoughts and input on my reasoning.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

A Word from the Chair of Second Pride

With only eleven days until the Second Pride Festival starts I would like to direct my readers to an excellent post by Petr Hastings-Vanbeeck, the Chair of Second Pride, on his blog "Confessions of a Digital Daddy Bear".
Petr Hastings-Vanbeeck's contribution to the Flickr "Stop the Hate" campaign.
The post I suggest you give your special attention is "Second Pride Festival is coming soon" 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Doc Is Balled & Chained

My friend Doc Spad, the former Chair of Second Pride, married in his first life yesterday afternoon. Doc himself informed us about the planned nuptials on his blog on Thursday; Doc Spad...a few thoughts: From my virtual world to Reality...

Who would have thought it, huh?

This free, unfettered bachelor that has been roaming around in SecondLife and crushed the hearts of so many wistful men is no more. Instead we now have a grown up, reliable and dependable married man with "a Volvo, a villa and a voff-voff", i.e. a dog. (Direct translation from a Swedish joke about what defines the pillar of Swedish community, a married man.)

My best wishes go to the amazing man who successfully bagged Doc (Do you happen to give lessons in that art, sir?). My warmest congratulations go to the two of you, may you have a long and wonderful life together!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude is by Wikipedia defined as the "pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. (...) It is the feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune." 

In Swedish we even have a cynical proverb that goes "schadenfreude is the only true joy".

The reason I thought of this word and the Swedish expression was that I got an offline message from SecondLife in my email today. The message was from a person that I have considered a friend for the last three years, but the message and the glee in it made me wonder if the friendship is perhaps only one-sided.

My friend tells me in his message that he "supposes that (I) know what (my) choice for Second Pride (chairperson) has done?" 

He is of course referring to the recent rumors circulating in the gay section of SecondLife, especially those of us in some way affiliated to Second Pride. The rumors make the following claims:
1. Three of the Folsom-sims have been shut down recently by Linden Lab due to unpaid tier. The three sims belonged to Damian Tar, the chairperson of Second Pride.
2. Damian Tar has been collecting tier from those living on the sims during the last months, but has still failed to in turn pay tier to Linden Lab.
3. Damian Tar, who has previously claimed to be sick in pneumonia, is now believed to be abroad and is therefor not available to comment or speak up for himself in this matter.

To my friend and everyone else, I would like to say the following. I am not going to pass judgement on Damian Tar without hearing what he has to say in his defence. Admittedly, the accusations are serious and I am not at all sure any explanations will clarify things enough to remove doubts concerning his suitability to remain as chairman of Second Pride. Nonetheless, I am anxiously waiting to hear what he may have to say in this matter, if and when he returns.

So as to alleviate any doubts on why I supported Damian Tar in the election of chairperson for Second Pride let me say this. Yes its true, Damian was by no means an ideal candidate. However, truth be told, given the choice between the two available candidates for chairperson in the election I had no other option but to support Damian Tar. I have had no reason to regret my choice in anyway whatsoever. Up until this latest development I also truly believe that Damian has handled himself as well as could be expected in the difficult circumstances.

Friday, July 26, 2013

"Catch 22", Continued (Updated)

The previous post concerning this was posted here: Bock in SecondLife: "Catch 22", you may wish to read it before reading this post.

I have today posted a follow up on my earlier questions to Dextrum Boucher, candidate for chairperson in the election for the Second Pride board of 2o14

"Thank you for your response, Dex, most of it met with my approval. There is however one thing I would like you to address again and it concerns your attendance record to the board meetings.
The 2013 board held 14 board meetings
  1. 08/19/12
  2. 09/12/12
  3. 10/04/12
  4. 11/11/12
  5. 91/06/13
  6. 01/2013
  7. 02/03/13
  8. 02/17/13
  9. 03/03/13
  10. 03/17/13
  11. 04/07/13
  12. 06/29/13 (met to adjourn)
  13. 97/07/13
  14. 07/14/13
After doing the tedious and boring work of going through the minutes posted online on this site (http://second-pride.com/) I get the following results on attendance records for the board members of the 2013 board the first numbers are when I count 13 meetings (excluding the one where the board only met o adjourn) and the second one with the numbers in parenthesis is when I count all 14 meetings.

  1. Kharissa Indigo - 100% (100%),
  2. Tootsie Nootan - 92% (93%),
  3. Doc Spad - 92% (86%),
  4. Baz Ceawlin - 77% (79%)
  5. Mr G. 77% (79%).
  6. Kyle Beckett 77% (71%),
  7. SquirtN Wonder 77% (71%),
  8. Tylo Mabelion - 69% (63%) and finally
  9. Dextrum Boucher - 54% (57%).
In your response to me you say "I missed fewer meetings than many others on the board. This can been seen be a review of the minutes."
As you see from the results above of the review of the minutes I did it would seem that your statement is not entirely consistent with the results of my investigation.
The meetings you did not attend were the ones in January, February, March and April and the meeting on July 14, 2013. This validates my previous statement that  " I also noticed, as a frequent visitor to the open board meetings, that you were absent from the board meetings for a good while."
Would you wish to comment and explain my findings?
Yours sincerely
Bock McMillan"
---
UPDATE 7/27/2013, 04:35 AM SLT 
DEXTRUM BOUCHER says: July 26, 2013 at 7:14 PM

Bock,
As stated above, I did miss a few meetings over the course of the year. Whenever there was an important vote, however I was involved. This is the most important think on my record for this year.

I did face a couple of illnesses and a busy schedule at school during part of the year as well. Both of these situations have been alleviated.

During my absences, I did try to appoint a person to serve in my absence, per the bylaws. I was not able to find anyone interested at the time.

When I am chair, I see no blocks to my perfect attendance at the meetings, plus I will have the strong incentive that my presence will be needed to lead them.

I look forward to working with the community and its members in the coming year, and thank you for your thoughtful questions.

-Dex
BOCK MCMILLAN says: July 26, 2013 at 11:02 PM

Thank you for your answers, Dex., some may have perceived them as attacks but I am grateful that you addressed them in the manner they were intended.

Although I believe that the officials I elect for the Second Pride board must make time for their obligation to serve the membership I also concede and realize that first life issues can sometimes call for the full attention of the officials I elect and that they can be subject to illness.

I will trust your assurance that you do not at the present time see any obstacles from fulfilling the important mission as chairman of the board and a leader of the board as a whole.

Best of luck,
Bock
DEXTRUM BOUCHER says: July 27, 2013 at 2:04 AM

Thank you for your questions:)