Jack, FL FCJK Funds raised in Tip Jar

Ok, I still have a whopping $18 from the last troop I was at to go towards our banner for the November 4th event.

Who is holding the money from the past few events or was the jar put out? We need to get this banner made soon so we have it for the big day.

 

hmm. i know i still have the jar if were still doing it. Its the only real way i see to get money at the time

 

I was kinda hoping the people who pocketed it would come forward with this post, but they didn't, but I know who it was and I'm pretty disppointed. It saddens me. I thought we had a different group of people than that. It's Ok though. If they need it that bad they can have it THIS TIME without being called out on it. The future will be different.

Yes, I will grab a plastic halloween Vader bucket for future events so we don't have to worry about breaking yours Vossk. I think in the future if there is an event that I can not be at I will designate someone in charge of holding onto the funds for me and it needs to be counted in front of people. This is a NON-PROFIT group. You can't be pocketing tips. Especially when we have some expensive needs that HAVE to be taken care of. That is stealing folks and really unacceptable. I have personally had people hand me $5 for taking a picture and gone right over and stuck it in the tip jar for group funds needed. It's not my money. It's not your money.

For now we (Anakin & I) will likely step up the money for the banner which is EXPENSIVE because we care and want to have one for the group and I will let eveyone know as the tips come in how much is left to pay it back to us. As it is I happily pay the website fees every month for hosting and I am not asking for that back becuase this group is a labor of love for me and it's my contribution.

 

I just got back from Key West on a detachment and this is what I come back to. Here is the scoop. Nobody pocketed anything, the jar was never brought out, and in case if you wondered if they gave us tips, they only gave us 5 dollars which I have till this day. You need to stop blaming people this is what torn the group appart, and you are doing it again. I'm sick and tired of this. Stop instigating and bringing problems.

 

EXCUSE ME BLAZE! I have instigated nothing and was TOLD that someone pocketed $20 by another member who didn't like what they saw and thought it was wrong and came to me about it.

You can blame me all day long for whatever problems you want. If I wanted to instigate a problem I would name names. Seems to me the only thing that certain unnamed people in the group can handle is dishonesty and that isn't what I am about.

If you get caught lying or talking behind someones back this is what happens. It's not ME tearing a group apart it's the people who think that exhibiting that type of behavior as acceptable that are tearing the group apart. I'm just the least liked because I will tell people how it is and defend those that are catching the heat from their tongues behind their back. I'm also the only one not afraid to speak freely about money being taken. I'm still not naming names and won't. I'm just stating what happened and how unacceptable it was. The only ones talking about leaving are the ones doing all of this monkey business, which I understand, I would be embarassed that people knew I did that stuff too.

I would think a CR who relinquishes his position twice in a year is way more detrimental to this group than anything I could dream of. You can stop blaming me for your shortcomings if that is what you are trying to do. I'm not buying it...and in case you didn't notice there wasn't a problem until now. (ahem) You should have PMed me intead of calling me an "instigator" on the board.

 

PM sent.

 

Honestly, I think we need to not collect any money period, unless 100% of the funds go directly to a charity. This is not a 501C3 organization. We do not have permission from LFL to make profits. And all this does is cause problems within the group. Oh, and by the way, whenever there is an argument, or "telling your opinion" by anyone in this "public" forum, many outside charity organizations are reading it and making decisions to "NOT" use the local fanforce for their future functions. I've seen this same stuff happen in Tampa Bay. If you don't believe me go check out their forum. They have become an "online discussion group only" since their character disputes. I have allot of fun hanging out with ya'll and doing events. However, if this group continues to have personality disputes in public forums and arenas then I will have to protect my own reputation and the reputation of other Star Wars costuming and charity groups that are more concerned with building relationships and making a positive impact through their love of the films. And by the way, I am not naming any names, making any accusations, or pointing any fingers. I fall short on many occasions. All I am suggesting is for EVERYONE to put their own petty opinions aside and use this forum to further the group.

 

I understand your concern. I also don't believe in sending people to our public forum for reference. That is what the website that was created is for. All charity organizations that Ani and I have had contact with don't even KNOW about the forum for reasons more than just our discussions. It looks unprofessional in general. Organizations that do charity work like we do generally do not send people to their public forums for reference. I'm pretty sure this is why the 501st has a members only area that isn't viewable by the public. The fanforce unfortunately does not have that feature.

As far as the tips go that is all they are. I'm fine with not collecting them, but then I'm not going to front the money for a banner or business cards for the group because there is not a way to pay it back and it is very expensive for a nice banner.

I will check out the legalities with a business law friend I have on the tips, but I believe as long as all funds are accounted for and are used soley for paying for things such as webhosting, banners and business cards for the group we are not considered making a profit and are not infringing on any rights. Just paying expenses to keep our "hobby" organization going. I will find out more and report back on it.

 

Collecting money that's not going towards a charity is a BAD idea. That's the kind of thing that makes Lucasfilm shut down groups. If you want to pay for websites, banners, cards, etc. it should come from group members' pockets.

 

STOP THE INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I joined this group back in its infancy and have seen it grow and now I see it crumbling. At least I have past good memories.

You were TOLD that someone took $20. See, that?s your first, but not your most important, problem. You did not witness this so how can you comment on it intelligently? 3rd party information can blow up in your face. Good for you that you are not afraid to speak freely however there is a right and a wrong way to do things and you historically seem to go down the wrong path.

Maybe it?s just me but when the $&!# hits the fan, why is there always one name that is always on the thread? Coincidence, I don?t think so. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

I was (past tense) an active member with this group. Even though I did not have a SW costume, I attended events/functions and helped where I could. Hey, maybe I could throw on some sweat pants and a brown sheet and call it a costume. Maybe not. If I?m going to do something I to it right and not half @$$. The participation in this group has gone downhill in the past year. 3 members showing up to an event and from what I understand, the organizer did not show. WOW.

This originally was Luis and Julia?s baby and it forever will be. It pains me to see something that they worked for go up in smoke like this. If this is ANYONE?S GROUP, it is theirs and we are along for the ride. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional and needs serious help.

Speaking of Luis, how dare you call him out about relinquishing command. If memory serves me correct, the 2nd step-away was to get away from this crap and to take a breather. I applaud him for the decision. The 1st time was due to his job; you know that little thing that gets you out of the house and out from in front of the computer. Maybe not. ?Detrimental?? No, MILITARY SERVICE. This man is out defending our country so that you and I can have the freedoms we have. Again I applaud him for his service and in no way saw his leave of absence as detrimental to the group; I am honored to know Luis and to call him a friend and will have words with anyone who decided to talk ill of the military. Step up to the plate and strap in cuz it will be one hell of a ride!!!

This is a costuming forum, nothing else. People, at least most of us, have jobs and lives outside of these pages. We come in here to unwind, relax, and chat with others. And this is the crap we are subjected to. No, I didn?t have to reply. But anyone who knows me knows that would not be me. I was content with laughing at the stupidity till I got down to the part about

I am not trying to be rude, an @$$ or any other word you wish to put in there. But you are an ?instigator? and I truly hope you get some help.

Signing off..

 

BRAVO!!!!! Could not have said it better myself. Sometimes it takes a true man of courage to speak up when others remain silent. I agree, Mace...we do not have to post here and we may choose to be silent and absent from activities, but we do NOT have to be subjected to the rantings of someone having delusions of grandeur. I am seriously offended by certain postings that imply Luis has slacked off in any way from command duties for ANY reason. It seems to me that he just wanted to escape the immature tone of the boards as of late. Do I post here all the time? No. Does that mean I have any less of a right to speak up? NO. So, I am doing just that. This is a public board and it IS watched by others in the Star Wars community. There are several 501st members affliated, at least temporarily, with the FCJK. That means that everything that is said here can be observed by others. Opinions will be formed, I'm sure of it.
I will continue to post mature responses here as long as my friends are being persecuted unnecessarily.

 

Hey guys thanks for the feedback. If you are concerened about attendence then perhaps you should back up your personal friendship and love for Luis and show up at events for him when it looks like the attendence would be low? That is what a real friend would do and you do have costumes so that would be helpful. If you feel the need to post in support of him you might also consider suiting up for him in an hour of need.

Perhaps it would be more productive for you turn your anger somewhere else. The FCJK is a collective group where no one member is more important than another. All members work on setting up events nowdays not just the CR. It has been proven that as far as the membership of the FCJK goes if anyone quits or leaves the group it is self-sufficient. Whether it be Blaze, Whether is be twin-solo, Whether is be JaxAnakin, Whether it be Jedidigallia, Whether is be Mace...the group survives.

This actually isn't a costuming forum. This is a fanforce board. We just have lots of members that like to costume and we happen to have at least one costuming event a month because of the hardworking members involved. We did have 2 events where the attendance was lower than desired, but we also had 3 events in that month alone and some members were sick or they had the jobs you talked about in your post above step in. The rest of an entire year has gone off swimingly and attendance was wonderful so please recognize that instead of attempting to bash the one negative in this world of positive. The rest of this year and the next will continue to be wonderful as communication amongst members is better than ever.

We had a new jedi join the jedi team last night with his costume and another that will be joining again next Sunday. Lots of exicitng things are happening for the group right now. It's a bad idea to focus on the negative becuase that is what instigates the problems.

Again thanks for your input and perhaps it would be best to PM your issues from here on out as the commander has suggested in the past because you are making his board look bad. Constantly coming to the board every month or 2 months with the same complaints to instigate a fight with me in particular because I am passionate about defending my friends on here and the work the group has done isn't helpful and bores about 13 of the 17 ACTIVE members I can think of off of the top of my head. I only respond to negative posts that are started by someone else to defend. That is not the definition of an instigator.

The two of you left the group when Leia214 did in February when she did not take the CO position and left your CR behind and did not come back upon his reinstatement to CO when he was ready to take it back during the summer. I'm no expert, but I think maybe you should be working on Your friendship skills. Words on a forum are one thing, but I'm glad that my friends are tangible.

I wish you were more educated on what actually happened in the group to make Luis step away the 2nd time instead of assumptions or uneducated information, but suffice it to say about 4 members were pretty naughty and immature and got caught. Best to step away.

If you would like member attendance records for each event since March they aren't private and you are welcome to them, but then you would owe the collective group and apology and we know that quite a few people are incapable of that.

In the future guys...just PM the issues. This is REALLY old to all of us. We don't come to your boards and hash it up every month and I'm fairly sure the current ACTIVE membership would really like to see it stop. If you aren't part of the solution then you become part of the problem.

Thanks guys.

Take care & G.B.Y.

 

Why didn't you PM Mace and me then?

 

Perhaps it's time for an independent observer to step in for a moment. Although I'll admit that I don't know any of you very well and I know very little about the group's history beyond the recent past, I've noticed a couple of things just in this one thread that bother me.

Lets start with just the last few posts from today.

macewndu73 -- Don't start a post with "STOP THE INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!" and then make a bad situation worse with your own post. You did nothing to help the situation. You said that Anakin-and-Padme was unable to "comment... intelligently." There's a difference between "informed" and "intelligent." "Informed" would've been an appropriate choice of words, but instead you decided to be insulting. Next, you said that the FF group was "Luis and Julia's baby and always will be" and "Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional and needs serious help." Well, I don't believe that a group belongs to two people, nor do I believe it will always be run by two people. People move on sometimes. Am I delusional? Do I need serious help? Or are you just being insulting to one person in particular? Consider yourself warned for flaming. Walk away from the keyboard, calm down, then come back and review your post before clicking "Post Reply." Do something like that again and you'll be the first to receive a ban. Next, if Luis doesn't want his relinquishing command to be brought up, he shouldn't publicly relinquish command (this applies to jediadigallia's reply as well). He and I are having our own discussion on that, so I won't discuss it further. Next, FanForce groups are not "a costuming forum, nothing else." It's a lot more. It's a means for SW fans to meet each other and form friendships outside of the boards. This might take place through costuming, collecting, fanfilm making, or activities completely unrelated to Star Wars. It's whatever the group makes of it. Finally, don't call someone an instigator when you stir up more problems with your own post.

Anakin-and-Padme and I are already discussing through PM the whole "Tip Jar" concept. I'll say right now... I am 100% against the idea. Not just from a Lucasfilm perspective, but because situations like this can result. The number one reason behind divorces in the United States is money, and the same goes for FanForce groups. You need a better system, and I'd be happy to discuss alternatives with the group's treasurer or the membership as a whole (perhaps in another thread). That being said... Patrice, you shouldn't come out and throw out an accusation (whether directed towards a specific person or the group as a whole) of theft unless you are first certain that a theft has occurred. I don't know how reliable your information was. Heck, I might've made the same mistake. Still, you see what the result of the accusation has been.

 

OMG, people you guys need to chill out. Take a breather. The people on this boards know how hard I work for this group, and they are trying to defend me due to the accusations that were made.

 

I'm wondering if we can lock and drop this thread? It is unproductive to keep allowing responses at this point.

Thank you in advance.

 

Jaxanakin.....PM sent

 

Wow, I had no idea... I would like to know if I may request something? I don't know if this is the right place to ask this or not but here goes. I would like to know if everyone could play nice for the Nov 4th event? I have been gathering a group of people from Tallahassee to come out and help with this event by telling them how nice everyone in JAX is and how fun this group was the first time I met them... how everyone seemed to get along. I don't want to be the guy to bring people on a 2 1/2 hr road trip to end up in the middle of a fight. I would like to ask also that the members of FCJK not forget or act like this thread ever happened (because the problems are real and need to be fixed) but rather not let it effect or influence the event or people that take the time to travel and help as well.

I know that I am not a member and that this post might be out of line, but please consider it.

Thanks
-Richard

 

CrimsonGryphon - Thank you for your post and your concern is a real one, but I assure you what you see here on the board NEVER happens at an event and those who are posting above are not coming save for me and TK and we get along fine (not to mention I don't have a personal problem with the others either, but seems they have one with me so if they came I have nothing bad to say). They are 501st members and pretty much bowed out of the FCJK in March. The rest of us get along fine and are like family.

Can't wait to see you there and no worries buddy all will be well. This event is JaxAnakinSkywalker's & my baby and special to me becuause I live with Diabetes everyday and the woman who approached us did so because she found out I had it. Thank you for inviting those people to come all of that way. It is very touching for me personally and I can't thank you enough for rallying your people to do it. It will be a great day and I'm so happy to be a part of it.

 

Two best pieces of advice I've seen in this thread. I've got PM conversations going on with about a half-dozen group members, which I think will be a whole lot more productive (that and you guys PM'ing each other). If there's anything specific about the group's history that I need to know about, please send me a link to any threads (I don't have the time to scroll through the nearly 500 threads in your group's history).

Sound of a thread locking.