Second Pride - Call for Board Candidates (Updated)

The minutes of the Second Pride annual meeting on July 30, 2017, have been published on the Second Pride website. You will find the minutes in the right hand column.

Left to right, Tootsie Nootan, Viktor Sandman, Jak Calcutt & LLedge Eames
(Marge Beaumont wasn't able to attend) 

A quick summary of the reports from the board members would be that this years Second Pride festival was a huge success, with lots of visitors, wonderful venues and builds, few security issues and loads of donations.

The board thanked everyone and the board members were in turn all lauded by those in attendance for their good work for the community and the organization.

After setting aside funds for tier for the Second Pride sim for the coming year and some petty cash, there will be roughly US$1,000 for the board to donate to charity. The board is considering donations to either The Rainbow Railroad or The Human Rights Campaign Fund.

The biggest surprise was the news that the whole board is stepping down, every single one of them. All the positions will be open for the election of new candidates.

The election timetable is as follows (all dates are of course SLT).

1. August 1 - September 3, 2017 - The Second Pride Festival group is closed for new members until the end of the election.
2. August 7-20, 2017 Call for candidates.
3. August 20-26, 2017 Question & answers period 
4. August 27 - September 2, 2017 Elections

The election committee will be headed by LLedge Eames as the outgoing chair.

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Those considering submitting their candidacies will find a Board Candidate Submission Form (here).

Please take the time to consider how you - or perhaps a friend - could serve the LGBT+ community in SecondLife and send in your Candidacy.

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UPDATE 8/13/2017
Lee MacKay, the current webmaster for the Second Pride website, in a comment on Google+, informs me: "It's also very important to note that anyone wishing to participate in the Q&A portion of the election process MUST create an account on the website to do so. The Q&A will take the form of comments beneath each candidate's statement, and a working, verified login is required to post or reply. This applies to the candidates as well, of course. - SP Webmaster"

Thank You, Board & Volunteers of Second Pride 2017

The fountain and the globe

I have just finished reading LLedge Eames closing statement for the 2017 Second Pride Festival. It begins like this (For the complete statement please go to The Second Pride website (url)):

"Thank you for an amazing 2017 Second Pride Festival!

As the sun sets on yet another wildly successful and my last Second Pride Festival season. I’d like to take a moment to say some thank yous. I am so grateful for this years outpouring of participation not to mention I had the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing talents from across the grid.

Our 2016 – 2017 Second Pride Board. Jak Calcutt with his outstanding builds and designs, creating a feast for our eyes, Marge Beaumont for her behind the scenes accounting, Tootsie Nootan and her security team (Levi & Kit) keeping us all safe, and Viktor Sandman for all his patience scheduling and wrangling our performers. To our volunteers. Kahvy & Garrett Smith for undertaking and creating some fantastic social media buzz along with all those bloggers. Lee McKay and his webmaster skills that put us back online."

The shopping mall

After thanking the sponsors, vendors, performers and others that contributed to making this one of the best festivals ever, he goes on to thank the attendants and then finishes

"On more than one occasion I was greeted by complete strangers and then thanked for providing them with such a true and wonderful pride experience. It was comments like that and many more that told me we had hit our mark. I can’t begin to thank this team enough. You ALL really outdid yourself and should be proud of all you accomplished.

As I mentioned earlier this is my last year as Chairman. It has been such an honor to be involved in this organization. As much as I am ready to step down, I will miss it and all the nuances. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to bring my hope and joy to you all through this wonderful outlet."

The Japanese Garden, a permanent exhibition

Well, I would in turn like to thank the board of Second Pride for - yet another - amazing and enjoyable festival. This Second Pride festival is up there among my top three all-time favorites since I first started going to Pride in SecondLife in 2008.

I can hardly imagine all the hard work and dedication our board and the volunteers put in to this venture - and all the work they did the rest of the year - for the LGBT+ community in Second Life. 

It is even harder for me to understand why the boards dedicated work throughout the year has sometimes been met by criticism by fringes of the community, especially those who do not lift a finger or support the efforts in any way whatsoever. 

The memorial chapel

Second Pride must exist first and foremost for the LGBT+ residents in SecondLife, to be an inworld presence, to offer support to other smaller LGBT+ organizations, and to represent our community to the surrounding community and to Linden Lab. All else must, in my not so humble opinion, be secondary to that.

I am saddened that the present board say they doesn't wish to continue, although I do understand their position. Hopefully some of them can be persuaded to continue, or at to return after some rest and relaxation from these responsibilities. 

My deepest gratitude, again, goes to the board of 2016-2017 for a job well done!

The main stage

All the pictures in this post show the wonderful work that Build Director Jak Calcutt did for this years festival-venue. I have them in a folder named "The sim that Jak built".

Second Pride Festival 2017 - The Closing Party

Poster by Kahvy Smith

When Shit Happens... Let the Show Go On

As an oldtimer in both SecondLife and in first life, I know that sometimes shit happens. The important thing is how you deal with it, usually you just step over it and move on.

Sasha Laryukov as Madonna

That is what the cast of The Madonna Virtual History Tour had to do this evening when their dance master - who was going to lead all the newer dances of the show - was hit by a power outage in his first life and dropped out and couldn't get back in. Sasha and the remaining crew championed on and did the best they could without him.

I have seen the Virtual History Tour three times earlier - without technical difficulties - but I must say that this was the time I had most fun and was most moved.

A big reason for enjoying it so much was the wonderful and warm interaction between the crew and the audience in the face of adversity.

The fact that the show also was a beautiful tribute to our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in Orlando in a very touching way that brought tears to my eyes. Unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures of that part due to a bit of weekend lag so the photos of their faces didn't rez for me.

I would like to thank Second Pride and all the performers for a wonderful experience!

SP Hugs 11 - 21

Jak Calcut, the best hugger in SL

Vampi Twine

Sylvana "Syllie" Whitfield

The One & Only Tomais

Kharissa Indigo, not the best hug but the lag was fierce

Pienikins hugs my leg while Petr supervises

Mitchell, a very cute and nice French guy

Ziggy Starsmith, a prince among men

LLedge Eames

Levi Ewing, not of the Texas Ewings

SP Hugs 10

Buck Chave

Tomais and I met Buck, who is an old friend of Tomais', at the beautiful undenominational memorial chapel that Jak Calcutt built for last years Second Pride festival. 

We had come there to take a break from the partying and light a few candles for our lost friends and loved ones. The chapel is definitely worth a visit, you will find it here (SLurl). 

Pride 2015 - Day 2, The McMillan Parade Ball

Dancing with Tomais in front of the beautiful Pride Globe
that Jak Calcutt has built for Second Pride

The second day of the Pride festival opened with the McMillan Parade Ball, an event sponsored by this blog, so of course I had to be there in my family tartan with my consort Tomais at my side.

DJ Kahvy with his host and spouse Garrett gave all of us who were there a wonderful time and a great warm-up for what was to come later in the day.

The photos above are by my friend Gigi Swansen, with whom I had the pleasure of dancing a couple of dances before she had to go off to work.

After Gigi left I asked my sweet Swedish friend Helene Dragoone for a few dances. She did me the honor of leading so I could just relax and enjoy the rest of the event.

I had a fabulous time and I hope all the others had as fun a time too.

SP Elections 2014: The Results Are In

This years Second Pride election results are in. As all the candidates to the board ran unopposed the voter turnout was, as could be expected, extremely low and easy to certify for the Election Committee.

The newly elected members to the Second Pride Board of Directors are

Ezzie Mirabella
Secretary & Co-Chair

Marge Beaumont
Treasurer

LLedge Eames
Events Director

Karl Kalchek
Community Relations Director

Jak Calcutt
Building Director

Sutry
Security Director

The board will assume office at the upcoming board meeting on Saturday September 13, 2014, at 11 AM SLT. At this time all powers will be transferred from the resigning to the elected officers.

The first order of business for the newly elected board should be to decide how to handle the vacancy on the position of Chairperson and after that on the remaining vacant seats on the board (Marketing and Communication/IT).

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

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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.

Second Pride Hugs - Day 10

Levi Ewing

Joe Lycomedes

Ohiomike Lockjaw

Ohiomike Lockjaw II

Hottie B Lockjaw

Kaid Hawker

Mikey Adams

Jak Calcutt

Carl Paneer

Marge Beaumont

Dodo Ahanu 

Tasty Hastings-Vanbeek

Tomais Ashdene