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".

Whats Happening in Second Pride?

I do not fully understand what is going on within the Second Pride organization at the moment, but hopefully things will be cleared up in the near future.

Anyway, the latest notice in the Second Pride Festival Group and it's attached note card increases my confusion instead of alleviating it.

The note card is from Karl Kalchek, who in the absence of a Community Relations director on the board was asked by the board to head the Election Committee for the 2016 election. It reads as follows:

"Greetings members. 
Following our general meeting in August, a call for candidates to run for the open seats on Second Pride's Board for 2016-2017 was announced. At that board meeting I volunteered to serve to run the election as a past elections chair. The call was posted for 10 days in August after which the election would take place.

One candidate volunteered for Events Director. That candidate is Devon Zepp and we thank him for stepping forward to fill this very important position. We did not get contesting candidates for that position nor any candidates for the other open positions leaving the posts of Treasurer, IT Director, Marketing Director and Community Relations Director vacant. Because it is critical we have a Treasurer, the current treasurer Marge Beaumont has kindly volunteered to continue in this role until another Treasurer with accounting experience can be found to take her place and complete this term.

In view of this, I recommended to the Chair that Devon Zepp Be recognized as Events Director, that Marge Beaumont be recognized as continuing Treasurer, and that they join the rest of the board who are serving the remainder of their two year terms. additionally, I recommended that a general meeting be called at which the new board be recognized and installed, and that as soon as practical, that a second meeting be announced in which the board call for candidates for the remaining open board positions.

Sincerely,
Karl Kalchek, past board member"

SP Hugs 46 - 47

JJ Goodman, my brother

Marge Beaumont, my friend

This concludes my series of hugs at the Second Pride Festival of 2015, there were many more I would have liked to have photographed hugging me but too little time... Maybe next festival!

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

I & My Identical Twin

Sometimes we need to be in two places at the same time, but as we know that isn't possible in our first life. However in SecondLife it is. On Friday evening I realized I had promised to be at two separate places at 12 PM (noon) on Saturday.

First I had promised Tomais that I would be at the Wastelands sim for a photo shoot with him, Lee McKay and Ryder Yowman for the "And equality under the law for all" picture. So I needed to have my body there. The second place I needed to be was the Second Pride board meeting taking place at the exact same time. So I needed to have my mind there.

The problem is impossible to solve in first life, but a no-brainer in SecondLife. I logged in the lairds Secretary of State, my oldest and wisest alt Wild Zepp-McMillan to take care of my presence at the Second Pride meeting, while my body rested safely at the Wasteland sim under the protection of my lover.

Wild hasn't been online much and far less outside of the home sim since he was created, so first thing he needed was new clothes. (He only had system clothing and any McMillan would rather be seen naked.) He was sent off to a trip to The Men's Department with an allowance of L$2 000. After only spending about L$500 he was good to go and a pride to see.

I can understand if you have difficulty telling us apart, but left to right it is
Bock McMillan and Wild Zepp-McMillan

The experiment was a complete success, I am happy to say, and I was able to perform my obligations in both places, thanks to Wild and being in constant communications with Tomais on Skype.

The photo shoot turned out wonderfully and I am extremely proud to have been a part of it.

"And equality under the law for all" Photography by Tomais Ashdene
with (left to right) me, Ryder. Lee and Tomais

You can see more of Tomais photography on his his Flickr photostream here or his Tumblr PhotoMonkey SL (NSFW). However, all four of us were ejected from Wastelands and sent back to our respective homes when we tried to pull off the naked version of the picture.

The Second Pride meeting went well too, for the minutes please visit SP Board Meeting Minutes 4-19-14 and for the transcript please visit Transcript of SP meeting on 4-19-14.

As could be expected, the present Marketing Director World Undercroft and Event Director Merrick Genesis, were relieved of their duties for failure to attend three consecutive meetings in a row without permission from the Chair.

The meeting was informed that the key responsibilities of the Marketing Director would be performed jointly by Karl Kalchek and Baz Ceawlin. As the position of Events Director is crucial for the upcoming Festival, even I could see that the position would have to be filled with someone who had the skills for the office. I was therefore not at all surprised when level headed Marge Beaumont made a motion that the position, in accordance with the bylaws, should be filled immediately by Kharissa Indigo (a.k.a. the Relentless Khar).

Although I myself love Khar and could see that she had the required skills I was worried by this nomination both for Khar's own sake and for the sake of Second Pride as she has been a target of "some contention" (to put it mildly) within the community, so I gave voice to my concerns at the meeting.

After being assured by several members of the board that they would not allow Khar to stand alone as a target and that they had discussed policies to handle such a situation I was satisfied. The board then appointed Khar to the position of Events Director.

We were then introduced to The Sponsor and Vendor packages for the Festival, and the registration form for those who had purchased those packages.

Next meeting will be Sunday, May 4 at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

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P.S. I would like to clarify that Merrick Genesis absence is due to first life health issues, not through any desire to neglect his duties.

Second Pride: Continued Trials and Tribulations (Edited)

This is probably old news for many of you, but as I have failed to report on it earlier I am doing so now.

Andy Long

Jagger Naughton

Last week we saw new changes on the Second Pride board as the board approved the resignations of Co-Chair Andy Long and IT Director Jagger Naughton. Both resignations cited "personal reasons" for this move.

Merrick Genesis

World Undercroft

At the same meeting two other board members, the Events Director Merrick Genesis and the Marketing Director World Undercroft, positions were discussed for "failure to attend meetings for three consecutive sessions without prior permission from the Chairman of the Board". Further discussion will take place at the next meeting when the board may also decide to release them from their positions.

Baz Ceawlin

The board also appointed Baz Ceawlin as new IT Director. As he has previously been a reliable board member we should be hopeful that he will stick with it until the next election.

After this "annus horibilis" with all the coming and going of members of the board, the Second Pride board now, apart from Baz, Merrick and World, consist of these reliable and stalwart people who will hopefully stay with us trough the fast approaching Second Pride festival period.

Petr Hastings Vanbeek, Chairman
a.k.a. "Big Daddy"

Marge Beaumont, Treasurer
a.k.a. "No Nonsense Marge"

Sutry Long, Security Director
a.k.a. "Sutry the Strong"

Karl Kalchek, Community Relations Director
a.k.a. "The Little Helper"

Jak Calcutt, Build Director
a.k.a. "The Best Little Hugger in SecondLife" & "Master Builder Extraordinaire"

P.S. I have corrected this post after receiving some feedback from members of the board.

Second Pride Responds to Defamation on Facebook

Marge Beaumont, the Second Pride Treasurer, has today responded to recent defamation against inworld organizations and charities - among other Second Pride - occurring on Facebook.

I choose to post the full response here.

Letter from the Second Pride Treasurer in response to Facebook (url to the post)
There has been some malicious and unconscionable posts made on Facebook that unfortunately need to be addressed.
“The Second Pride Board uses its funds to supplement the “parties or fundraisers.”” the individual points to the 6/30/2013 link.
In actuality Second Pride donated 533,500 Lindens (2,000USD) to IGLHRC on 8/8/2013.
In addition after the membership voted to purchase a Second Life sim, Second Pride provided rent free space for charities involved with our community.
Events for 2013 cost 1745 Lindens 0.07% of the Second Pride expenditures.
The other expenditures for 2013 as for previous years was sim rental for our fest. As any board would do, Lindens were set aside to pay for sim tier the next year.
There is nothing covered here – it is all transparent.
This year the Second Pride Board has spent 0 Lindens for any fundraiser we have supported or endorsed.
When the sim was stripped of all buildings and landscape, Second Pride Board members and some members, floated that coast through their own donations. To stop an further stripping of the sim – everything belongs to the Second Pride Avatar,
Specific donations for rebuilding or other things are listed as bound donations.
Yes Board members without cost to our finances have donated a lot to Second Pride – a tradition that previous boards have followed.
Before accusing or suggesting that the lindens are going to promote our fundraisers, I suggest you go back yo your puppet master and get new instructions
Our funds are collected, reported along with complete transparency on this website bi weekly.

“I am not going to work with Second Pride if person X or Person Y is working with the Board."

Get over itSecond Pride will work with anyone that outs the mission of Second Pride over their own personal importance or ego.
If you do not “like” someone I am sorry to hear that. However that will not stop the participation of anyone.
This is not a high school or middle school election. Second Pride is an organization that is dedicated to the LGBT community in Second Life. It is not a place for personal egos or fiefdoms.
Last year someone went after a Board member on purpose. They tried to drag her through HELL on facebook. She ignored it for the good of Second Pride and did the job she was elected to do. It is a pity that the megalomaniac that pursued her now turns their venom toward Second Pride.
I have news for that individual. Second Pride is better then that. We do not wrestle in the mud nor throw the type of mud that they do. Frankly you should roll up your virtual sleeves, join us and get some work done for the good of the COMMUNITY!!

Respectfully submitted,
Marge Beaumont

Edit 3/15/2014

I have edited the title of the post by substituting the previously used word "slander" with "defamation". I did so after it had been pointed out to me on Facebook that my choice of word was incorrect. My only excuses are that I am a foreigner and that English is not my first language. I thank you for your indulgence and please feel free to inform me if and when I misuse your language.

What is the difference between libel and slander?

Libel and slander are both forms of defamation. The distinction between slander and libel comes in the form of the publication.

Slander involves the oral "publication" of a defamatory remark that is heard by another, which injures the subject's reputation or character. Slander can occur through the use of a hand gesture or verbal communication that is not recorded. Libel, on the other hand, is the written "publication" of a defamatory remark that has the tendency to injure another's reputation or character. Libel also includes a publication on radio, audio or video. Even though this would be considered oral, or verbal, communication to someone it is actually considered to be libel because it is published in a transfixed form.

Finally Moving Ahead

The Second Pride meeting on Sunday was a joy to witness for a devoted member. Instead of the bickering and infighting that has characterized the previous meetings, the few members that had assembled, saw a board working constructively to deal with the issues at hand and even raise their eyes to look into the future.

Left to right: Jagger Naughton, Sutry Long, Marge Beaumont, Karl Kalchek,
Andy Long, Jak Calcutt, Hottie B LockJaw and Merrick Genesis

The second most huggable man in SecondLife Jak Calcutt (Build Director) was granted access to the Second Pride avatar for the remainder of this year. The step was taken to avoid unnecessary delays in building as the avatar holds all the landscaping material, textures and buildings etc. that are owned by the organisation. The board and the membership present were convinced that enough safeguards are in place.

Jaggy’s Co-chair for IT Director is Baz Ceawlin, Andy’s Co-chair for Secretary/Co-chair is Story Long, Sutry’s Co-chair for Security Director is Jordan Anderson, Marge’s Co-chair for SP Treasurer is Jynxx Beebe. Karl, Jak, Hottie B (the board member formerly known as Hotboy) and Merrick are still looking for suitable candidates.

(Source my imperfect memory and Meeting Minutes of SP Board Meeting December 8, 2013)