SP Members Fill Me With Pride

Like Tomais and myself, my buddy Eric Quimby and the commentator "someone" many other members seem to have been saddened by the sight of the many empty storefronts at the Pride sims.

"Where are some of the merchants, designers and creators whom we lavish our pink linden dollars on all year round? Why aren't they they here giving back a little to the LGBTQ-community that supports them throughout the year?", we asked ourselves I am sure.

I could mention some pretty large and well reputed brand names who are miserably invisible on the sims, but am choosing not to.

I am certain one reason for the empty stores is the fact that the seasoned Marketing Chair Merrick Genesis became sick and was hospitalized as we were getting close to the festival. The core duties of a Marketing Director had to divided between two of the other directors, who already have a full list of other responsibilities. I am certain the rest of the board had to step in and help too.

However, many members seem to have reacted like myself and Eric and have decided to take action by getting a store to fill out the empty holes and support our beloved Second Pride. Yesterday the Second Pride East sim looked much better although there were still some gaps. I was so proud to see this happening that my heart was filled with joy and pride and my eyes with tears. I love being a member of Second Pride!

I myself have set up a store for Bock in SecondLife. Just a small place for those who feel tired of walking and wish to take the weight of their feet for a while as they sip some strong Swedish coffee. (Today I will start serving freshly baked cup cakes every hour on the hour. Tomais darling, you better put your apron on!) You can also take a date there to cuddle up and have a good talk without the noisiness of a party surrounding you and your friends looking on.

When you hit the blog header on the back wall you get a link to "Bock in SecondLife" to have something to read while you rest. You can also - if you are daring enough and a true fashionista - collect my Pride 2014 Exclusive Version of my renowned The Jesters Hat. (Free/gratis/at absolutely no cost at all - AMAZING!)

Please come to The Bock in SecondLife Store @ Second Pride East (SLurl) and enjoy a quiet, relaxing, moment, I will be there from time to time to meet & greet with my readers too.

If you also wish to purchase a store take a look at the Festival Packages and follow the excellent instructions or get in touch with Karl Kalchek or Baz Ceawlin. (When contacting the board members please do remember that this is an extremely hectic time for them and do not expect immediate attention.)

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.

---
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's "Fashion Pride"

The information below is from a notecard in the Second Pride Festival Group.

This event is a Second Pride Fashion Fundraiser for AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT)and will take place March 10th - March 17th 2014

"AN INVITE TO FASHION DESIGNERS

Dear designer,

As you know, HIV and AIDS still impacts the lives of millions throughout the world today. Its impact in urban areas is often understated publicly, but the effect it has on those it touches is profound, transforming lives, destroying health, and devastating families.

Second Pride, the organization that creates Second Life's largest pride celebration, is holding a fundraiser for AIDS Committee of Toronto to raise funds to increase awareness of the disease, assist those living with HIV, and service the community, while researching its impact on various segments of society.

WHAT IS FASHION PRIDE?

Fashion Pride is an exciting shopping event that will take place from March 10th through March 17th 2014. It will include fabulous shopping, fashion shows, entertainment events, and a final art auction to raise funds for both the Second Pride main festival in June and ACT.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO BE PART OF FASHION PRIDE?

We are asking for donations which will purchase your stall space for the duration of the event. 100% of the store cost will be donated to help Second Pride, an entirely non-profit organization, hold the pride festival in June. This important festival helps the LGBT come together for fun, information and camaraderie. In addition, it provides a Pride event to those who may not be able to attend one in RL due to real life oppression and animosity. Second Pride webpage (url)

This can be paid at the time of your confirmation directly to the account of the event, Second Pride.

We will have three available store sizes you can choose:

-Large (100 prims): L$1,500

-Medium (50 prims) L$1,000

-Small (20 prims): L$500

VENDORS AND SPLIT INFORMATION

We are asking that 100% proceeds of at least ONE EXCLUSIVE ITEM be donated to ACT (for exclusive item we mean a new and never released item). Funds for this item will go directly to an avatar run by the charity.

Second Pride is supportive of diversity and as such we have not selected a theme for this event. We want to see your creativity in your exclusive item.

All sales from the remaining items in your store are yours to keep, of course, we do appreciate any further donations you wish to make to ACT or to the upcoming Second Pride event.

For your exclusive charity item, we will happily provide you with the vendor.

TRANSPARENCY

Second Pride is the treasury avatar for the Second Pride event in June. All shop reservation transactions will go through this account and all transaction history will be publicized on the Fashion Pride blog (url).

All transaction history, participating creator names, raised amounts, schedules, and anything else related to the event, will be located on this blog.

100% of exclusive item donations will be donated to ACT avatar, ACT Merryman, and all of the transactions will be released to the public.

SIM INFORMATION

Marcus Lefevre has generously donated the use of one sim for the Fashion Pride event. We are grateful for his generosity.

I WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION. WHO CAN I ASK?

Feel free to IM: Bastien Berboral [ENG/SPA], Merrick Genesis [ENG], Mrs Sutry Long (Sutry Resident) [ENG/SPA], or Skylei Caproni (ENG]."

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)

Second Pride Board Reshuffles

It's been awhile since I was able to attend a Second Pride board meeting, but I follow whats going on closely by reading the agendas and minutes that are posted at the Second Pride website (url).

Lately there have been a few interesting developments that I would like to report for those of you who do not have the time, inclination or patience to read minutes.

Tylo Mabellon (picture), who was elected to the Marketing Chair, has been voted off the board for having missed more than three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without notification. 

I am hoping that Tylo is well, despite having failed to respond to the questions from the board. He is a pleasant man that worked well as marketing director during the last board.

Merrick Genesis (picture) was voted in to replace Tylo as Marketing Chair at the board's latest meeting on November 13, 2013.

The elected Security Director Gaius Tripsa (picture) was voted off the board at the last meeting for having missed four consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without notification. 

An open call has been made for parties interested in taking over the Security Chair to submit a notecard to the secretary/co-chair Petr Hastings-Vanbeeck as soon as possible. The applications will be posted on the Second Pride website for discussion and comments by the membership.

I don't believe that losing Gaius as a board member is a loss to the board in any way. From what I have observed Gaius has since the elections mostly been destructive and acting as a puppet for the losing faction in the election. He has invariably tried to cause as much havoc and damage as he possibly could whenever or wherever he could, both at meetings and in-between them.

So far two applications have come in and have been posted on the forum. One of the applications is from a European man, Tylendel Falconer, and the other is from an American woman, Sutry Long. As I see it both of them would be qualified and a welcome addition in diversifying the board, whether it be to broaden its geographical base or to improve the gender balance.)

Petr Hastings-Vanbeeck urged the other members of the board to consider appointing co-chairs, so that no-quorum meetings can be avoided in the future. Petr also announced that Andy Long (picture) had agreed to be his Secretary Co-Chair for 2014. 

At the meeting the question was raised on why the board had changed the normal time of the board meetings from Sundays at 11AM to Wednesdays at 7PM. The reply given was that this "is currently (the) time when we can definitely get all the board together to be able to hold a meeting with quorum."

I certainly hope that the board will consider the question of what time to hold its meetings carefully in the future, when they have replaced all the vacancies and non-attendees and also appointed co-chairs, because the new time of the board meeting only accentuates the impression that Second Pride is solely an American affair, which I do not believe is quite the impression the board wishes to convey.