Messages in ICG #boardofdirectors (Slack) <2019-11-08 2019-11-10>
Aurora
Celeste 6:36
AM
So is the board in recess or is it not in recess? How much more
confusing can this get?
[14 replies Last reply 2019-11-09 8:04 AM]
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
This is an informal recess until noon today due to some clean up that needed to
get sent to the Board and General Membership and we didn't need any
distractions happening at the same time. If you read the various
things posted between Mrea and Ron it will explain
much of what is going on.
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
I appreciate you asking. Some of us were quite busy yesterday and just honestly
needed to work distraction free.
Aurora Celeste 2 years ago
Then why is Mera posting more motions? Does
informal recess mean no business?
Judy Mitchell 2 years ago
And Elaine. Why is it an informal recess only when you (plural. Not personal)
want one, but not when anyone else does?
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
It was informal meaning to keep the chatter down. That was something
that she was a basic bit of housekeeping to get done with before things got
moving again today and whatever that may bring. Further, she's not the only one
who was doing things yesterday despite the request. Or today as you have posted
and I am answering your question. Despite the informal recess, which is about
the quickest way I can think of to describe it, it's not like many of us were
not actually working. I was involved with tech help to two chapters, collecting
the data from Mera she mentioned, etc.
Aurora Celeste 2 years ago
That
Aurora Celeste 2 years ago
That's not what @Pierre Pettinger said. "As
Parliamentarian I am asking everyone to suspend any further discussion on any
motion on the floor or make any new motions." That's not idle
chatter.
1
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
Judy: If you read what the parliamentarian wrote, it becomes clear. It
wasn't even a real informal recess. That's just the most polite way
and best way to describe that we just needed people to stop posting because
there was some actual serious things that needed to come out after speaking
with legal aid. I suggest everyone go and read what the
Parliamentarian announced and then what Mera put out.
It is quite evident that yesterday was busy and we needed things to settle down
so that everything could be done.
Judy Mitchell 2 years ago
No one is denying that peoole were busy yesterday,
please read what is being said. As look at Aurora's quote of Pierre's
statement: it's quite clear on what was not to be posted.
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
Fighting over this solves nothing. Better to go read and process what was
written. Talk to your chapters. Talk to your friends. She has told
you what needs to be done at noon today. Trust me, she welcomes it. Please stop
and respect that the Parliamentarian and the Acting President has asked us to
take a step back and process information. This comment thread needs to stop
right now. Come back at noon.
Aurora Celeste 2 years ago
What part of what I asked was fighting?
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
Not necessarily you. You started the thread off with a pretty simple question.
No worries. But please just go and read the information. It
was pretty detailed. Talk to your BOD rep about what Mera has informed us about, especially since you aren't
actually a member of the BOD, that's the quickest way to sort things out. And
have a good rest of your morning!
Mera Rose 2 years ago
I was attempting to move things into the motions channel and find a way to
streamline the information on motions before discussion began today as Pierre
had informed me there were questions on one of the motions. Essentially
like moving around paperwork before a meeting. Apologies for the
confusion.
It’s not a recess, it’s a pause to give people
time to look at information and consider it, which is made necessary by the
rapid pace of conversations on slack.
Note that others have been posting during this
time anyway... it’s ok. It’s not out of order, but we are
hoping to be able to facilitate discussion in an easier manner to follow.
Jacalyn Boggs 2 years ago
Yeah it was just an informal “sit back and chill with a day mostly off”. Not
sure what was hard about that. Of course it is the president’s job to call a
recess, not random members. So there’s also that. See you in an hour,
Mera!
Mera Rose 8:33 AM
Post 1
After re-reading and reflecting upon the issues that have arisen since the 5
year plan proposal in March, I’d like to make a few statements.1. It’s
perfectly understandable that the 5 year plan created strong feelings and was
the catalyst that created the conditions that allowed this current conflict to
boil over. The way it was presented did create the climate that has
allowed for the creation of these issues. I hope that everyone can
forgive this mistake.
2. We are all human, and sometimes that means that our mistakes are hard for us
to see, and difficult to find a path that allows for us to continue. At
the risk of sounding like Yoda... Frustration leads to anger, anger
leads to what has occurred. I would appreciate it if everyone would
consider forgiving others that they are upset with, acknowledging their own
parts in this, and agreeing to leave it in the past and work together to move
forward. There’s an institutional memory that many of our members,
me included, do not have as we weren’t here. Assuming someone else’s
motivations isn’t productive or conducive to a collaborative environment like
this. If something is brought up that triggers a memory of something
that has come before, I would greatly appreciate hearing the story from the
past as a cautionary tale so that everyone understands the perspective. That
way, everyone can continue in the spirit of collaboration and work towards the
organizations goals instead of accidentally stepping on other’s toes.
3. As to my leadership style, I feel the need to correct something that has
been said. I am not, as alleged, a narcissist. In fact, I
suffer from a terrible issue with self-esteem and issues with social anxiety. I
have worked on this for most of my life. If you’ve had experience
with me in person, this translates to the awkward deer in headlights look I
sometimes have as I process conversation. Many may have noticed that
I do better by phone, as online social interactions can be just as problematic
for me. If you’ve ever seen my Facebook profile, you can probably
understand why this is. I’ve spent the vast majority of my life
being bullied or dealing with bullying in one form or fashion. I
don’t do well with direct confrontation, and as such, am generally considered a
mediator. I prefer to work in the spirit of collaboration. I
tell you this, because, if I remain a part of the BoD,
I will not engage in confrontation, but will instead look for ways to diffuse
hurt feelings, de-escalate conflict, and find ways to help all parties communicate
effectively and not emotionally. Please be prepared for that should
the situation arise.
Mera Rose 8:35 AM
Pierre has asked me to repost the current language of Motion #11-6-2019-1a
because he has received many questions. Currently the timelines do
need to be revised and I am working with Pierre on the best way to do that. Here
is the current text:
Motion
# 11-6-2019-1a: motion for The ICG Board to solicit three quotes and hire an
international lawyer to draft a. A code of conduct b. A non-discrimination
policy c. An anti-harassment policy to be received no later than 31 December
2019 so that a vote can be completed no later than 31 January 2020.
I’m
wondering if a friendly amendment process may be better for this, where the motioner and amenders can get together and agree on
language that can then be presented for objection in a two to five day period
and if there’s no objection then discussion on the friendly amendment and
voting would occur on the original motions timelines. Would that be
agreeable?
Also,
I am looking into installing a calendar to track motions and amendments so that
it is easy to see what motions are currently under discussion, vote, or
amendment. Would this be helpful?
And,
with regard to creating new channels, I’d like everyone’s thoughts on the best
way to organize these discussions.
[3 replies Last reply 2019-11-14 4:34 PM]
To avoid any further issues with communication,
I would like to suggest creating a “Policy committee” to draft policies and
procedures including, but not limited to, harassment, non-discrimination, code
of conduct, privacy, and any other policies or procedures necessary to ensure
that the issues of the past few months are able to properly be addressed should
they ever occur again in the future. If you would like to chair the
committee or volunteer to be on it please comment here. The
committee would be asked to present its drafts and documents by January 31,
2019. This way, we should be able to have a document review done by
an attorney by February 29, 2020, and can put that document out to the board
for review before CostumeCon and short discussion (10
to 15 minutes) as part of the business at CostumeCon,
then finalize the document after CostumeCon and hold
the vote by the end of May, 2020.
If this seems reasonable to everyone, then
while the Policy committee is being formed and completing its work, and until
the adoption of formal policy, I suggest the following temporary policy be used
in official communications on Slack and YahooGroups:
1. Language and Tone: Professional
courtesy in language and behavior is required. Typing in all caps,
submitting “rapid-fire” posts in an attempt to control the conversation, being
disrespectful to others, or any other behavior deemed unprofessional is
unacceptable.
2. Timing of Posts and Business: All
posts to Slack or Yahoo groups must be during hours when it is reasonable that
others can see and consider them, and must occur in a manner that gives others
a chance to respond. Once a post is made, please allow at least 24
to 48 hours for others to see and process the information and make comments
before making additional comments. Also, do not flood the boards
with posts on multiple topics.
3. Post transparency: Please preface
your posts with your name (if your name is a screen name and not your legal
name as on your membership), your chapter, and your role in the BoD channel. (For example: Lady Ozma:
(Jacalyn Boggs, NOVA BoD Rep) Comment) If
you are citing material, please post a link to the material, not only a
screenshot, unless linking is not possible as in referencing a previous comment
in another Slack channel. Also, keep all comments on the appropriate
thread instead of sending them to the channel and creating a new thread for
ease of navigation and clarity.
I feel like this may better address the need
for these policies in a way that allows everyone to have a voice in their
creation, as opposed to continuing motions and amendments to motions to
accomplish a mutual goal. Timelines are difficult towards the end of
the year, and if everything can be maintained as civil and focus towards the
production of these policies then I believe we can create something much more
applicable to this organization than a “boiler plate” or document that is
drafted by an attorney who is unfamiliar with the organization or the issues
specific and inherent to the costuming community such as “Cosplay is not
consent”, et al. Also, document reviews are generally less costly
than document creation, in my experience.
Mera Rose 2 years ago
@Betsy R. Marks
Betsy R. Marks 2 years ago
I'm happy to volunteer to serve on this committee.
Mera
Rose 8:36
AM
Post 4
With the number of motions and issues on the floor, I have some suggestions to
try and handle these in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.
1. There
is an organization called Maryland Non-Profits that Sarah Richardson introduced
me to. We can pay an annual fee and have access to a myriad of
resources including non-profit attorneys, accounting and financial advisors,
non-profit consultants, and a network of non-profit professional specialists
that may be able to help us with some of the substance and issues behind these
motions. I have a conference call set on Monday at 10:30am EST with
one of their consultants to discuss the possible benefits to our organization
and the cost. I’m more than happy to set this up as an actual
conference call so that any member of the BoD that is
interested in participating so that everyone has the opportunity to ask
questions and get the information they would like to see if this will benefit
the organization. I will draft up the information from the call and
post it for everyone to review and discuss. If it appears that this
will be a good service at a cost we can afford, and the board agrees, then I
would make a request to add it as a line item to the budget.
2. I would like to suggest creating a communications committee of members from
Tech and PR to focus on immediate strategies to streamline our communications
and determine the cost of stable communications.
What
are everyone’s thoughts on these suggestions?
[1 reply Last reply 2019-11-08 9:05 AM]
Mera Rose 2 years ago
The cost to join Maryland NonProfits is $100 annually
and gives us access to attorneys, accountants, non-profit consultants, and
other benefits as listed on their website: https://www.marylandnonprofits.org/what-we-offer/membership/
Mera
Rose 8:38
AM
With regards to the 5 year plan: I will put together the information
in a better document form so that the substance of it can be reviewed by anyone
is interested. I promise that I will NOT attempt to advance anything
in the 5 year plan, but will leave it for appropriate discussion if anyone else
should want to. This is a draft document. I don’t think
it’s ready to consider it a formal document of the corporation, and so this
will just be a reference document. If anyone would like to take it
up as a formal project, please discuss it in the BoD
group.
I
would also like to continue with the survey for members. I’d like to
conduct a survey of non-members also because I think it would be beneficial to
get the perspective of those not in the organization on the organization, so
that we can consider that in PR campaigns and other future endeavors. And
I’d like to create an #agenda channel on Slack that can keep track of current
business before the board.
What
are everyone’s thoughts on this? Would a rewritten document be
helpful or should it just be declared dead? Should we move on with
surveys?
Jan
Price 3:24
PM
Hello Everyone. I am posting tonight to officially decline my
nomination for ICG Vice President and withdrawing my name for consideration at
this time. I thank everyone for their consideration and support. My
decision is based upon recent developments and the fact that I believe there is
a much stronger candidate, Kevin Roche. He has a greater depth of
experience, a much high profile and excellent reputation in our community. I
believe he will be
Jan
Price 3:29
PM
Hello Everyone. I am posting tonight to officially decline my
nomination for ICG Vice President and withdraw my name for consideration at
this time. I thank everyone for their consideration and support. My
decision is based upon recent developments and the fact that I believe there is
a much stronger candidate, Kevin Roche. He has a greater depth of
experience, a much high profile and excellent reputation in our community. I
am nominating Kevin Roche for Vice President. Thanks again!
Mera Rose 3:31 PM
@kevin.p.roche Will you accept the nomination (again)?
Jeanine
Swick 3:32
PM
Seconded, Jeanine Swick, SiW, ICG Treasurer
kevin.p.roche 3:36 PM
Yes, I accept.
Mera Rose 3:46 PM
Kevin Roche has been nominated for VP
Vicky
Assarattanakul 5:54 PM
Side note because this is ongoing business that has gotten lost in the shuffle:
Anime Boston has requested recognition from the ICG as an international level
competition. I am chairing the committee to process their request. As of right
now, there are only 3 of us on the committee, and none of us has run an
international level masquerade, so I am putting out another call for anyone
interested in processing this request. I would particularly love the input of
some of you who have run masquerades at Worldcon, CC, and Anime North. While we
are doing most of the discussion here on Slack, I am also more than happy to
accommodate anyone who needs to use e-mail as a primary means of communication.
Please let me know if you are interested in joining the committee.
[2 replies Last reply 2019-11-19 11:04 AM]
Mera Rose 2 years ago
@Bruce Mai
Bruce Mai 2 years ago
Perhaps.