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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Reorganisation of FFUK:N

Discussion in 'Archive: North' started by Lord_Ogli, Jul 28, 2006.

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  1. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Good, this discussion was needed by the members at the end of the day. I said what I had to say via MSN to the CR, and it wasn't about the structure of the chapter Terry, that is only discussed on here.

    Issues mentioned

    MSN
    I think this is mainly one of Terry's concerns. There is no decision making in terms of the chapter on msn, there may be an idea or two passed about (between friends asking if they think this will work, etc), but then it comes on here, for everyone to comment on. Several chapters work this way (North and London prominently) where any change in a chapter happens in public, we discuss in public. Doesn't work for every chapter, but it's the way members are happy with on here.

    Role of CR
    Why anything has happened is because of where we are now. I have to admit, the way we were at the start meant that we could get a lot more done, a lot more planned. But I think I need to clear up confusions.

    There is a world of difference between a "laid-back" CR in terms of personality and the actual role of the CR as organiser. I doubt any CR demanding things from people will ever last long. That is not the approach needed or asked for.

    There are a lot of people in FF-UK: North with great ideas, and they get proposed and we do them. That is how our chapter works for the best. The key point in all that is the bit in between the proposal and the actual meet. CRs are there to do the work, research the meets (and enjoy it doing that work, it should not be a chore for them), do the information gathering and hand it to the members. And then get some finalisation on it. I know I am someone who enjoys doing that, and I will carry on doing that to an extent, but I am not the CR. CRs are given the position for a number of reasons - creativity in ideas for meets, and the ability to get the meet organised (and work with people keen to help out, but not leave them to do all the work). The CR is at the forefront of all planning, they don't dictate, but they get fully involved.

    We are at a great time for FF-UK: North, lots of people wanting meets, and meets need to be thought up. We have a chapter where members are good at doing that, but we also need to see the CR in the role of leader, organiser and provider. I think that is the message I said from the start (long before I was RSA), and will always say it. It's also the message of the members on here in this thread. It's what the CR is there for. The CR is our face.

    And I nearly forgot to add - CRs are NOT expected to go to every meet, but that doesn't stop them getting involved in the pre-meet stages, helping. North has some issues with the size of the place - someone based on one coast can't get to a lot on the other side. That includes the RSA, so I fully understand.

    Reorganisation
    FF-UK is our foundation. It's what keeps us here. I don't see the need to re-organise, Midlands has followed what some American groups (NYC, Philly, etc) already have in place with their public reorganisation, and they have their reasons, and I back them. But North is different I feel. The CR is a tfn position, it's one we need to be an official Fan Force chapter. We aren't a huge group of people, how many positions do we need? I feel we need to stick to what we have got for now. There will come a time when we need some positions which are North specific not tfn. Depends where we take the group. But we still are a long way from becoming huge. We need more members, as you can see we have had an influx in last few months, but we need more promotion. Again, CR needs to think how we do that. I have suggestions, I'll make them when needed ;)

    But Terry makes a very important point - we don't say no to other fandoms, though our foundation is still very much Star Wars. And Star Wars is here for definite until 2010, after that who knows, but we have 100+ hours of SW television in the next 4 years. We have SW Celebtration Europe next year. Star Wars is very much still a strong focal point, one we need to remember. And I didn't even mention EU :p
     
  2. Lord_Ogli

    Lord_Ogli Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 5, 2001
    Well regardless of what we decide to do for the future we need to get the CR issue out of the way.

    I'll save my revised manifesto untill the voting thread but anyone interested please post your nomination here (feel free to nominate anyone you want too).
     
  3. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Just taking this to PM for a moment, so I confirm what the CR is asking, then I can take this to Global Support. There are procedures that need to be followed, so please bear with us.
     
  4. edgejedi88

    edgejedi88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 13, 2005
    Is that like on Tracy Island?

    Are there Thunderbirds? :p
     
  5. Lord_Ogli

    Lord_Ogli Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 5, 2001
    Thats International Rescue Jase. Go back to sleep.
     
  6. FatBurt

    FatBurt Sex Scarecrow Vanquisher star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003
    Do we have an update on whats going on here yet?




    The suspense is killing me
     
  7. go-away

    go-away Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2003

    FIXED ;)
     
  8. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Well some of us are North by Northwest, Hitchcockian suspense and all that ...

    ;)

    We'll get more info on here soon, I am back now without long weekend meets for a few weeks :)
     
  9. FatBurt

    FatBurt Sex Scarecrow Vanquisher star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003

    I was semi tempted to put something about the Ogsters suspenders
     
  10. go-away

    go-away Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2003
    Aye, I feel bad joking about it, but I just can't stop myself :p
     
  11. Lord_Ogli

    Lord_Ogli Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 5, 2001
    Don't feel bad about it. I like the fact that you're all thinkning about me :p I even almost made Jairen blind apparantly :eek:
     
  12. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    I have had some word back on this, and the best way to proceed. At the end of the day, each chapter has to decide how they sort out a new CR, we can use the basic groundrules to make it easier for us.

  13. We will have a re-election, CR is automatically re-entered as a nominee.


  14. North members (and only North members - see below) can enter others as nominees for the CR position. Just need one person to PM me the person they are nominating. You may want to talk to the nominee before you do so, CR position is actually quite important to the development of a chapter, and the future of the FF-UK, it is a serious post, and there are ground rules to code of conduct that are stricter than for a normal poster, and this should all be taken seriously. Make sure the nominee wants to be in that, and not just a normal poster.

  15. Who is allowed to nominate then vote in the election?


  16. This is the difficult one, because we have more North members registered than actually post now. Some have gone, and are not active in meets or boards. I'd say they get discounted tbh, since this is about having a say when you are actually interested in being part of the future. If you have no interest in posting here in the North, or attending meets, then I think it's fair if you lose the right to vote for a new CR, because that vote affects members who do actually still take part. Is that fair enough?

    We need a list of active North members (on our boards and those who also come to meets).
    I'll attempt a partial list below -

    North East
    Lord_Ogli
    edgejedi88
    Spike_Thmid
    Spike2002
    Jedi_padawan_leigh
    suzijedi
    nlindenj
    Tethys
    jedi_master_booth
    ObiWanCon
    Ramble_Boba
    Darth_Konikus (via London)

    North West
    go_away
    ForceGhostOfCozmic
    Glass_Onion
    khabarakh23
    orn-free-tada
    Dickie
    jedidonkey
    Master-Fatburt
    darth_frared
    GreenGreatWarrior

    timbolton - as RSA but also a member of the FF-UK: North, do I get a vote, or should I stay neutral?

    New members
    Midnight_of_Parabal
    SarzSkywalker
    davefaulkner

    Honourary members - unfortunately out of the vote
    JONJEDI (aka ReconJon :p)

    Vanished - so out of the vote
    Hatch5
    ibelong2me
    Nomad-2
    jedimasterhughsy

    Have I missed anyone? Please say so now, because at some point we need limit new entrants.

  17. This whole process will start once one of our regular member Leigh gets back from the USA. Then she can take part in the nominations and voting. I'd say around first week in September to start nominating.

    So there is no pressure on people, once we start, I'll accept nominations via PM unless people are happy to post who they would like to nominate.


  18. Considerations that the North has to decide upon - how long do we leave the nominations open for? One week, two? I'd say nominations have to be by someone other than the nominee, so no nominating yourselves. If you want to be nominated, get someone to do it. CR gets automatic nomination, as a nod to them being CR already. Are we ok with one person nominations?

  19. Once nominations are done, we go to statements by the nominees (giving them some time - week or two), then the vote. Again, polls are no use to us on here, they are completely anonymous and open to non-Northerners voting. So it will have to be via PM again, to me as the RSA. One vote each, only North people elegible. Again we need a time limit - how long for this - matter of one-two weeks or longer?


  20. And now is also the time to consider other important issues to do with CR -

    Once voted in, will there be a specific term for the CR - a year? More? Until the CR wants to step down or when the chapter itself decides they want a change in leadership? Afterall, chapters are about their members, not necessarily their leaders, but leaders have to take the role seriously and show why they were voted in the first place - to do some hard graft to make the chapter expand. It's a privilege and a position that should be respected. I want any possible contenders to realise that.

    Sorry, there are a lot of
     
  21. go-away

    go-away Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2003
    1. Tim, you should be able to vote - being RSA imho is irrelevant and just makes you a north member with pretty colours, but still a north member.

    2. Term - 1 year but open to longer is (a) CR doing good job and (b) they want to stay on. Perhaps some flexibility here as opposed to a strict policy.
     
  22. spike_thmid

    spike_thmid Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    I totally agree, Tim as a active member of the North you should vote - just remember to PM yourself with your vote, we want to keep everything above board [face_clown]

    A fixed term would interesting. On one hand it would keep the CR on his/her toes but it could distract from longterm planning, but as long as the CR at the time was still included for re-election then I think it would be a positive step

    democracy or dictatorship [face_thinking]
     
  23. JONJEDI

    JONJEDI Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 11, 2002
    I wanna vote. :( :p

    Good luck to those who end up going for the position of CR! Hope you continue to take the North from strength to strength. :)
     
  24. FatBurt

    FatBurt Sex Scarecrow Vanquisher star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003
    Tim you should get to vote, you may be RSA but the North is your Chapter as well.


    I'll be honest in the fact that I'll most likely abstain from the vote. Not because I'm on the inactive list, but simply because I probably won't know the candidates well enough to be able to vote.


    I do however think that ALL members of the North should be allowed to vote whether they are active in meets or not.


    The ball here started rolling with a now "inactive" member of the community but that "inactive" member has shown great interest in the direction the group is going. He may not be able to make it to meets due to circumstances but that could change and is likely to change in the future.


    Meets active or not we should all get a say as there may be a reason why people aren't going to meets that the current CR is unable to deal with or it could be over issues with the CR or chapter member (Thats not the case with me though mines purely financial and nagging partneral).


    We are to expect the nominees to answer our questions and put forwards their vision for the chapter. If a nominee puts forwards a strong enough case and strong ideas forwards that pull members out of lethargy then thats what we're after.

    Either way I think that all chapter members should have a voice here. We all want whats best for the chapter regardless whether we go to meets or not.





     
  25. go-away

    go-away Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2003
    Looking at the list, some of those people are non-meet people. Think Tim meant active on the boards and showing an interest in the future of the FFUK:N not just active in meets.
     
  26. FatBurt

    FatBurt Sex Scarecrow Vanquisher star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2003
    You could be right but I should be under the North West catagory because I am interested in it's direction but I'm not that active.


    I could be up for a movie soon though (with luck).



     
  27. go-away

    go-away Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2003
    Aye, think putting online separate adds to confusion.

    Would be great if you could make a movie - could make it a kiddies one and you could bring the whole family :D Start them off young ;)
     
  28. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    I'll move you into the right category then Terry ;) Apologies, I think I went off posts where you said you could only be online-only until further notice :D

    Edit: I was trying to be clear btw on the active / inactive. Inactive was not including you Terry - I was happily including you in current online-only BUT still North members. You still post in the North, showing that you are interested. Inactive are people who don't even log in to the tfn anymore. Some of those may be contacted later anyways, see what was wrong for them in the Fan Force.
     
  29. Lord_Ogli

    Lord_Ogli Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 5, 2001
    I agree that you should get a vote Tim. As has been said you're still a member of the chapter, therefore deserve a voice.

    On the length of service issue I think 1 year is fine, If the current CR is doing a a good job then they will get voted back in.
     
  30. jedi_master_booth

    jedi_master_booth Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2005
    Any idea's yet of whos putting up as CR - ?

    Are we having a CR and a deputy asst Cr Like Chair and Vice chair - ?

    And a question Ogil! Are you standing down as Chair of the North-East area to put more time in to the role of CR or staying on in both roles.

     
  31. edgejedi88

    edgejedi88 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 13, 2005
    <vader>nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo<vader>

    We dont need a deputy - this is the whole reason we had the last 'discussion'.

    <vader>nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo<vader>

    We dont have a NE Chair - this is the whole reason we had the last 'discussion'.

    [face_praying] We just need an active CR [face_praying]

    :D
     
  32. timbolton

    timbolton Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2003
    Forget your chairs, we have a table in the NW, King Arthur's to be exact near Penrith :D
     
  33. spike_thmid

    spike_thmid Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2005
    Well we have the Jedi Round Table in the Tavern Pubin M'bro :p
     
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