Southwest Region Status Report 0102
Regional Coordinator - Keith Curtz, 9607-097
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
Section 1a: Regional Overview
Section 1b: Departmental Reports
Section 2: Projects
Section 3: Prestige Recommendations
Section 4: Regional Officer Contact Information Section 5: Comments and Concerns
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 1a: Regional Overview
There are few problem areas, as normal, but overall, good things are happening throughout the region. Many of the chapters in the region are working on social and/or charity events. There seems to be slight shift in the attitudes of many chapters towards the non gaming side of the club.
This shift is leading towards more social interaction by the members of the chapters in an attempt to strengthen friendships. This is mimicked on the Domain side of things as well with Domain activities geared toward the same things.
AZ003 The Last Outpost, was Song of Sonora – Mike is upset over what he considers the abrupt dissolution of the AZD01 Domain after an “incomplete investigation” by Shannon Quintero, ARC Arbitration. Reference the ARC Arbitration report for more detail.
AZ004 Night Shift - Membership will be shrinking in this chapter due to new chapters forming in the area and people switching their chapter affiliation.
This is not in response to any dissatisfaction on the part of the members.
Mike McLaughlin, CC now resigned, worked with the chapter members to assure this was a friendly split and to assure everyone that there was no malice involved on the part of the exiting members.
AZ005 Tithe of Souls – Recovering from the dissolution of the AZ domain.
Stephany reports that the Chapter members are attempting to get to know each other better.
AZ-Pending Misterio Vista – CC Steven Whitelock. The membership is concerned about the dissolution of the domain. This will be addressed better now that they will be reporting directly to the office of RC.
CA013 Pharos Myst – One of the better-organized chapters in the Southwest region. Little contact between Joe and myself prevents me from showering him with more accolades. There is a concern with Tara Bravo’s membership renewal. She renewed at ICC and has yet to hear from Memberships.
CA015 Anathema – Brenda is reporting many prestige awards that are still pending. Some of which bear my name. I can’t award prestige for someone else’s assistant when I haven’t seen a recommendation or a report.
CA021 Moustique Noir – Changes within the chapter occur on the ST side. Amy also reports membership and renewal problems with members of her chapter.
CA022 Dark Tower – Summing up Sean’s report would do him an injustice. Here are HIS words.
“Our second month of the new year is at a close. I've very pleased with the progress and direction of the chapter. We've already held one major charity event, with two more promptly scheduled. Attendance was good, and I take it as a personal point of pride that even though it was literally raining buckets, *they* had to cancel on *us*. We had more than twenty people signed up before the weather turned foul, and thirteen still made it out. We've also had an outlandish four chapter meetings this month (plus one officer's meeting) to get organized, as well as to help Bakersfield come to fruition.
Plus we made ten bucks. Not a bad month.”
CA025 Monsters Under the Bed - Focus seems to be on internalizing some components of the local game to reflect the desire of the members. They have cancelled their Garou game in favor of opening up the slot for something more in line with the popular ideology of the chapter members.
The membership is working on their new chapter charter. As an update to my poll last month on “Drinking at Camarilla events” the chapter feels that there should be no drinking at Camarilla events.
CA027 N&D – Social functions are still trying to be planned out. This is another chapter that reports changes within its officer structure. Robert mentions working with the Domain. I have not heard from the Domain Officers in months, nor has a report been filed.
CA030 Luna’s Reprisal – Chris Bartos is climbing back into the saddle of CC.
Mike Singer has been handling the duties and report for some time now. It was good of Mike to step in when needed, but better now that Chris is back.
CA031 Legends and Dreams - Tye and crew are working on their web page and promoting themselves positively. Chapter is now at 10 members.
CA033 Dragon's Coils - Charity events are in the works. The members wish to conduct a food drive at their games. Mage venue is also in the planning stages.
CAD03 Myst – With the exception of an issue with who awards prestige for CC’s, Kimmi is reporting that all three of the chapters in the domain are proceeding along acceptable lines. Each chapter is growing in its own way and attempting to better serve its members interests. However, this becomes an issue when one of the chapters, to better serve its members interests, is thinking about leaving the domain. This raises some questions. Such as, can a chapter vote to remove itself from a domain?
Kimmi also links the website for “Camp Camarilla 2001” again. Information is always updated for this SIX-DAY EVENT in Northern California. The link can be found on the SW Web site or can be reached directly at http://www.dark-hollow.com/camp/index.html
CAD06 The Domain of Los Angeles – Prestige audits being taken care of.
Chris Williams log has been forwarded to the RC for an MC 9 review/approval.
Concerns over money gained from last years SW Ball, whether the money is the property of the region or the Domain of Los Angeles, and what to do with it is a priority with Keith. This is an issue that I am attempting to resolve to the mutual satisfaction of all parties involved. Not an easy task.
UT002 Crimson Sentinel – Andy is concerned with the time involved in getting new memberships and renewals back. Camstuff has afforded no help for him to date.
UT008 Velvet Glove – Reports that they are involved in a food drive to help replenish the supplies of the Utah Food Bank. Apparently supplies were diminished during the recent holiday. Also there has been some concern raised over the recent vote for the DST position but no formal complaints filed. This mirror what Shelly has mentioned in her report.
UTD02 Mountain Shadows – On going Prestige audit. I don’t envy Shelly at all for that one. Domain Charter is being rewritten as they found that it was in opposition to the voting procedure in the Tome. Domain Social and Charity events planned all the way through May.
Section 1b: Departmental Reports
Included this month are the following reports;
I. Arbitration
II. Web Communications
III. Prestige
I. SW ARC ARBITRATION -- ARBITRATION REPORT (Edited for Length)
For February 2001
March 12, 2001
Shannon Quintero
CheeseSlayer@yahoo.com
OVERVIEW
This report consists of the following sections:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. SUMMARY
3. RECOMMENDATION
4. OBSERVATIONS
5. REQUESTS
1. INTRODUCTION
February was busy and had its share of difficulties.
The AZ matter pretty much was the focus of my job this month.
2. SUMMARY
Edited for Privacy
=====
Shannon Quintero
ARC Arbitration
Cam #9501-063
----------------------------------------
Edited for privacy
II. SW ARC WEB COMMUNICATIONS REPORT (Edited for Length)
Fiscal month of February 2001.
South West Regional Website.
A list of the number of updates performed for the month:
12 days of Updates for the month
307 unique visitors to site in past 28 days.
Avg: 10.96 per day.
Brief summary of minor changes made:
Chapter updates: 20 times
Domain updates: 0 times
RST contact update: 2 times
Event updates: 8 times
Please visit web site for more detailed changes to the site.
http://dppw.tamu.edu/camarilla/swregion/
Brief description of major changes made:
February 21st, 2001
* Regional level prestige records for past events are in Cool Stuff.
Placed in table format for each member. This includes:
* SW Ball 2000
* SomeWheRE 2000 General
* SomeWheRE 2000 Changeling
* SomeWheRE 2000 Sabbat.
March 1, 2001
* Arizona's Misterio Vista chapter page.
STATUS OF ON-GOING PROJECTS:
**ONGOING PROJECTS**
SW REGIONAL SIGIL:
We have requested and received several sigils for review for the SW Region. They are shown at:
http://www.dark-hollow.com/Myst/SWReg_web/sigils.html
There have been three updates to the page since creation.
The RC staff is still in discussion regarding which choice should be made.
* Aaron prefers (G) chalice, w/o words.
* Tim McK like (A) mask01b.gif or the bw mask with the SW.
* Keith hasn't quite chosen one yet
* I prefer to make my preferences last, as I know who submitted what, and might be biased.
SWR WEB SITE:
Update of current SWR Website, graphics and overall re-organization.
I have collected several choices from the SWRC staff, and a few others, to see which people think is best on their eyes and monitors. The final choices will be collected from this review. I have not completed the first run of choices.
I have also reorganized the site, as noted in a previous message. Basic outline is:
Splash page
Main Site (in two frame layout), News, Spotlight, Chapters, Contacts, Events, Gallery, Storyteller (subsite for STs, see below), Resources, & Credits.
Other Links to the Camarilla, White Wolf, & Search/Browse.
Further reorganization of the site is pending the graphics completion at this time, as constant updates to the current pages make any further actions difficult.
Storyteller:
Pete Kuszta, the new SW RST will be choosing an ARST Web to work on items of specific interest to the Storytelling side for the website. This section will be a sub-site of the SWR Web site. The person chosen will also be working under my guidance for consistent look and feel. This will take a portion of the workload off of my shoulders. :-)
**UP COMING PROJECTS**
* Jyhad style character cards with graphics. (Pending approval for use of idea from Aaron Morgan and Chateau Gaumont chapter)
* Compilation of Prestige Q&A for use on web site. This is slowly being compiled from *C with replies from the ARC Prestige, Aaron Morgan and Tim McKusick.
* Compilation of Staff position descriptions
* Chapter/Domain reporting requirements.
* Finding fun stories and images for use in livening up site. I have already received a few items in this category.
Pending Projects (awaiting database creation from Dan Schmidt, VP-Tech):
* E-mail lists, tamu and yahoogroups
* Chapters and Domain database
Kimiko Drew
#9809-050
SWARC Web Communications
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 2: Projects
From Last month…
1. In my September 2000 report I stated that I had the SWRE prestige nominations and would be awarding them soon. As of this report I am still waiting on the Garou Prestige Nominations to get the awards finished up.
I’m still waiting to hear from Tim Crall as to the prestige recommendations that he would like to have his team receive.
Update; I have been in contact with Flor San Ramon, CC of Phoenix House and Tim Crall. I have expressed to her my desire to finish this up. She has replied that Tim sent the report to Pete. I replied that I got nothing from Pete and that I’d like to get a copy of the report from Tim. To date I haven’t heard anything more back on this subject. I’m not sure why there is resistance in getting this solved and am at a loss as to who to proceed at this point.
From last month…
2. As of this writing the Southwest will not be holding a regional event this year other than hosting ICC. A lack of replies coupled with no RST is making the event difficult to orchestrate.
Update; Peter Kuszta wishes to move forward with a few small regional events and has approached me with the idea. I’m in support of the idea. However it still requires local level support as well, local meaning Chapter and Domain. I’m sure Peter will be touch with CSTs to see if anyone is willing to move on this. Time is short and I’d hate to see something rushed.
However, if it’s the desire of the members to hold these events then the Regional Staff is obligated to support them as best it can.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 3: Prestige Recommendations
1. January 2001
2. Regional Assistants
2a. ARC Awards Nov00-Jan01
2b. ARST Awards
1. February 2001
Prestige recommendations for CC's and DC's listed here are the awards that come from this office. CC's of Domain's have been removed from this list as their awards come from their Domain Coordinator.
CA-012 - Moonlight Masquerade - Jennifer Young, 0g No report
CA-016 - House of the Silver Crescent – Jim Blaylock reports that he has received this report however I don’t have a copy.
CA-018 - Paradise Lost - HL Reddick Ismarc, No Report/Contact
CA-021 - Moustique Noir – Amy Stevens, 45g
CA-022 - Dark Tower – Sean Alexander, 50g Awesome report, heavy workload, great progress with the chapter!
CA-023 - Sepulchre - Jayson Bouch, No Report/Contact
CA-024 - Maledorium - Michelle Kambo, No Report/Contact
CA-026 - Histum Yani - Jeff DeCamp, No Report
CA-027 – N&D – Robert Snow, 25g Incomplete Report (unless awarded by DC)
CA-028 - La Maison du Sanguinare - Jim Blaylock reports that he has received this report however I don’t have a copy.
CA-029 - Reign of Ash – No Report
CA-030 - Luna's Reprisal - Report by Chris Bartos, 30g
CA-031 - Legends and Dreams - Tye Graham, 40g
CA-032 - Chateau Gaumont - Russ Ingram, 40g
HI-002 - Moonlit Isle Theatre - James Weaver, No Report
NV-004 - Ferae Noctis – Juliet Kari, No Report/Contact
UT-002 - Crimson Sentinel - Andy Diggs, 40g
Domain Coordinators
AZD01 - Paradise of Thorns – Dissolved as of March 1, 2001
CAD03 - Myst - Kimmi Albee, 45g
CAD04 - Black Magic Kingdom - Devon Helms, No Report
CAD06 - Domain of Los Angeles - Keith Macgregor, 45g
UTD02 - Domain of Mountain Shadows - Shelly Johnson, 45g
2. Regional Assistants (Administration Max 50/Month)
2a. Assistants to Regional Coordinator
Novembers Prestige was left out of my November Report. Included here will be November, December, and January Prestige awards for the Assistants. Note that I am not a fan of ‘max’ prestige awards. I feel that the awards listed below are due simply for the level and quality of work that the team is putting out as discussed above.
ARC Arbitration – Shannon Quintero
Due to the high workload and great personal expense Shannon went to this month I am awarding him maximum prestige for his position. 30r
As well I am awarding Shannon prestige in the amount of 10r in the Other Category for his work over and above that required by his position.
ARC Prestige Review – Aaron Morgan
February 20r
ARC Prestige Review – Tim McKusick
February 20r
ARC Web Communications – Kimiko Drew
February 20r 10g
2b. Assistants to Regional Storyteller
I didn’t get anything from Peter this month to include in my report. As most of the position holders are new, I’m sure Peter will be forwarding a list of recommendations next month.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 4: Regional Officer Contact Information
Regional Coordinator
Keith Curtz, 9607-097
*Information removed per owner's request*
*Information removed per owner's request*
H: *Information removed per owner's request*
W: *Information removed per owner's request*
*Information removed per owner's request*
Regional Storyteller
Peter Kuszta, 9603-039
dimebag@earthlink.net
Regional Assistants
ARC Arbitration
Shannon Quintero, 9501-063
cheeseslayer@yahoo.com
ARC Publications
Position Still Open
ARC Web Presence Team Lead
Kimiko Drew, 9809-050
macruimmon@earthlink.net
ARC Prestige and MC Review
Aaron Morgan, 9709-065
Tim McKusick, 9909-200
Sw-prestige@egroups.com
Most Recent ARST Information on file
ARST Administration
Kyle Humfeld #9604-230
ilovetorun@hotmail.com
ARST Cam/Anarch
Adam Phelps #9511-059
aphelps@leland.stanford.edu
ARST Changeling
Dan Luboff #9904-187
dluboff@hotmail.com
ARST Independents
Keith MacGregor #9706-029
claymor@earthlink.net
ARST Influences
Kenny Smith #9701-060
kenny@anathema.net
ARST Mage
Craig Brown #9809-049
marsethen@earthlink.net
ARST Sabbat
Ree Soesbee #9803-186
vain13@hotmail.com
ARST Shifters
Tim Crall #9706-010
tcrall@juno.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 5: Comments and Concerns
1. Many chapters mention dissatisfaction with the return times for renewals and membership updates. This includes both the actual shipping and receiving of membership cards, as well as database issues. I’ve already spoken with Shea about this; however I’d like to get another update for my Coordinators/Members. Any information would be appreciated.
2. The new Tome. I know it went to the editing and layout phase. Can we get a progress report as to when we can expect to start seeing some of the new ones? Also, will they be printed and shipped to all current members or will there be a fee involved in getting a new one? Do to the lack of Requiem shipping to the membership; I could see using money allocated to the magazine for supplying the membership with the new Tome.
3. Steve Balfour has recently been published in the Mind’s Eye Theatre Journal #8. His article on Storylines and how to fix them made me realize something about our club as well. The Camarilla is getting older. As it gets older so too does its members. Where once there were high school graduates and college students, there are now Doctors, Lawyers, Olympic Athletes, Heads of Companies, Business Owners, Authors, Game Designers, Marketing Directors, etc., standing along side the aforementioned high school graduates and college students. While this isn’t of major concern yet for the region I have noted that some of issues being raised are ones that wouldn’t be of concern were the ages of the participants still on par with what the club once was. I don’t have the information in front of me to determine the average age of the SWR members I do know that most of the perceived “leaders” of the region are upper 20’s and 30’s. There is something to be said about the staying power of a Camarilla member. This is a testament to the simple fact that this club offers something to it’s members that can’t be found elsewhere and keeps us all entrenched in it’s ranks regardless of whether or not we are truly happy with what we see happening around us at the time.
I think the SWR would benefit from an open forum where its members and these perceived leaders could “congregate” and share ideas, ideology, questions, and concerns. To this effect I will be following a suggestion I received from Petra Silcox, USNC and opening “business hours” on IRC once a week.
Peter Kuszta has agreed to set aside some time each week as well and join me. While Peter and I will be the presiding officers of this forum, all members are welcome to attend. In point of fact, this attempt is being made for the benefit of the membership and not for the benefit of Peter and me.
When this is finalized I will be posting to the Coordinators and the Regional list where and when the general membership will be able to find the SWR “Office” on IRC. It is my hope that this will serve the same purpose it has in other regions and promote a sense of belonging and ownership of the SWR to its members. It’s also my sincere hope that this office will be visited regularly by those members who wish to voice their concerns, complaints, and praise. Suggestions for improvement are always welcome.
Vision Statement
I was recently asked by Petra the following things;
“Could you write me a vision statement for the region and a short description of how you see the responsibilities (position) of the regional coordinator?”
These are my answers to her. I'm copying this to sanctuary because I would like the feedback of my peers.
In order to begin a vision statement about the Southwest Region we have to answer the question, “What is the Southwest Region?” By definition the Southwest Region is a geographical area with boundaries set by the President and Board of Directors. That’s the definition given in the Tome. This is inaccurate. The Southwest Region is not a collection of geographical boundaries. The Southwest Region is the members who live within those boundaries. Without those members the boundaries are pointless. From this point forward when I speak of the Southwest Region, I’m speaking of the members not the boundaries set by the Board of Directors.
If I had to choose one word to describe the Southwest Region right now, I would choose “poised”. The Southwest Region is at a point in its existence where it is ready to leap forward and claim its place in the grand scheme of things. Why do I feel this way? What has changed in recent days/weeks/months to make me think this? A great many things to be honest.
At this point in time the Southwest Region has the best staff that’s it had in my tenure as Regional Coordinator. I would argue that it’s got the best staff that it’s ever had. I feel qualified in saying this as I’ve been on two of those teams myself as an assistant. The team we have in place now is by far the most efficient and motivated staff that I’ve ever seen this region have. Simply put, things are getting done. Allow me to explain.
Shannon Quintero, SW ARC Arbitration is handling the less pleasant aspects of his job with admiral skill and fairness. I feel that Shannon is in fact putting a bit too much into the position and allowing him to be affected negatively by what he is encountering therein. Shannon has a terrific command of language and the wonderful ability to separate him from an issue to remain completely unbiased in his decisions. When he analyzes a situation and presents his report, I have the enviable position of knowing that Shannon has already drawn the right conclusions and concluded to best coarse of action to take. Making my job of enforcing the course of action incredibly easy. With slight exceptions, Shannon and I see eye to eye on the best way to handle disciplinary actions within the Southwest region. I would liken our relationship, on this subject, to “good cop/bad cop”. Where I’m willing to work with members through encouragement and positive reinforcement, Shannon is very comfortable with the position of “If it’s improper procedure, they get disciplined”. This mimics to a degree a comment Dan Schmitt once made;
“If every time you as an Regional Coordinator act, it's with "the hammer" the members will want their Chapter Coordinators to do something, anything, to settle the issue in a less stringent way. There is an imperative for the members to have their Chapter Coordinators learn to deal with stuff (or else they get hammered.)”
In this instance the imperative is for the Chapter Coordinators to decide that working with me is better than turning the matter into an “official” procedure in which they will have to deal with Shannon.
Aaron Morgan and Tim McKusick, SW ARCs “Prestige” are other members of the team who are doing a fantastic job with their duties. As well as performing prestige reviews, Aaron and Tim are responsible for going over the Prestige reports each month and sending feedback to the Coordinators about prestige awards. If there is a questionable award or an award that breaks with the acceptable limits established by the Tome of the Camarilla they are quick to point this out to the awarding coordinator and/or ask questions where needed to determine the accuracy of the award. This has already had a very positive effect with the coordinators in the region who have worked with the team. Prestige is being reviewed and corrected prior to audits to make the actual auditing process much smoother and more efficient. A side benefit to this is that review time has also sped up. I would be comfortable with an even faster completion time than we have right now and will be working on that very thing provided I am still the Regional Coordinator when this performance review is all said and done.
Kimiko Drew, SW ARC “Web Communications” is primarily responsible for the Southwest Region Web Site and is working day by day to keep the site constantly updated as well as working with me to implement some of my own pet projects. To date she has kept the web site updated to within a few days of changes made within the region. This includes event schedules locally, nationally, and extra-nationally. She is connected to a great deal of information sources and utilizes those sources to keep the members of the Southwest Region informed as to current events by providing links to the information on our web site. Kimiko has impressed me beyond words simply because of what she has done with the site. To my novice perspective, what she has done with the site is nearly magical.
Another member of the team that is only recently added is Peter Kuszta, Southwest Regional Story Teller. Until recently the Southwest Regional Story Teller and Southwest Regional Coordinator never had a working relationship. Pete Houtekier and I were never able to connect for some reason and I believe that the region suffered because of that lack of contact. Peter Kuszta and I however are in the beginning processes of figuring out our working relationship. He has evidenced a desire to work with me in promoting events within the Southwest Region and I am deeply grateful for the chance to work with him in just this fashion. It was suggested that the Regional Coordinator and Regional Story Teller provide “office hours” on IRC open to all members of the region to discuss matters and allow the region a set period of time each week to access the regional staff for answers and commentary. When I suggested this to Peter he agreed that it would be a good idea and would set aside some time each week to do just his. I am excited about the possibilities that this type of situation allows.
As for myself, Southwest Regional Coordinator, my own duties make me very glad to be working with such an efficient team. I’ll get to my opinion of what the Regional Coordinator is responsible for in short order. In the mean time I’d like to address the projects that I am currently working on.
It’s been said that the SW needs a cheerleader, someone to lead it (them) into a better place, someone to help build the morale and spirit of the region. This was also a topic of conversation at the Staff meeting that was held in January. My assistants and I discussed this at some length and could not agree on any one course of action to take to build a regional identity. My argument was that the Regional Story Teller would be the easier person to build any sort of identity for the region. My reasoning for this was that the majority of our members care for little more than the game. Also at that time I was fielding complaints about there being no regional storyline, and no regional storyteller. As of this point in time I have rethought my own position and realized that to build an identity for the region and to build morale what we need is to work together. No one wants to be told what to do. No coordinator is going to appreciate someone who lives a thousand miles away telling them how to go about conducting their daily business. To this end I feel that the best way to build morale and good will is to provide the region with a team of individuals who are all working together to provide opportunities for the members to excel and be recognized for their efforts.
I have been working with Kimiko to build a new Southwest Region Web Site. While the information contained on the site presently is great, what I feel is lacking is anything that marks it as belonging to the region. It lacks something to make the members recognize the site as a tool to effectively promote the Southwest Region. If I am to be a cheerleading team captain, then I need something for my team to cheer about. The new Web Site will have a bimonthly focus. Every two months the focus of the site will change to reflect a new geographic area of the SW Region. During the time that the focus of the site is on a specific area, we will also be showcasing “Spotlight Members” from that area. The response this garners from the region we determine the length of time each member is showcased. We might do a new member every two weeks; we might do one a month. This will be entirely up to the response this action generates. Nominations will be accepted and judged by a team of individuals from around the region. We will then post the general information on the member to the site. As well as showcasing a member for what he/she has accomplished both within and without the club, the member showcased will also get a Regional prestige award. This is in response to the question, “what can a member do to earn regional prestige”. One answer will now be “excel at helping your fellow members and earn their nomination for regional member of the X”
In the spotlight will be a certain amount of information about the member.
The obvious will be their basic Cam information; Name, membership#, MC. I would also like to focus on the person behind the number, where they work, what their majors are, hobbies, likes, dislikes. As well as the pertinent Camarilla related information, Characters played favorite venue, etc. I feel that this type of activity, something completely unrelated to game, will go a long way to giving each member a reason to strive to greatness within the club outside of the game.
Other ideas that I have planned are competitive charity functions; Drives (Blood, food, clothing, books, etc.) and recruitment drives with the results being posted on the Web Site openly for public consumption.
In today’s technologically advanced world the web is the best place to go for instant gratification. By using the web site as an informative yet fun tool for the Southwest Region it becomes a resource that each member can focus on during the interim between reports and email postings.
For those members who decide not to go the web site, the same information will be posted publicly on the Southwest Region list on tamu. In short, the cheerleading will begin as soon as we have something to cheer about.
However this project is not yet complete and as such is merely the promise of a better future.
As far as my own duties as Regional Coordinator;
This actually took some thought. The position of Regional Coordinator has changed somewhat over the years and even during my own tenure. The Regional Coordinator is a multi-faceted role. The Regional Coordinator is responsible for the dissemination of information from the National Coordinator and Board of Directors. The Regional Coordinator is also responsible for supplying the National Coordinator and Board of Directors with feedback from their region in regard to what is and is not working.
The Regional Coordinator is a tool. Like any tool the Regional Coordinator is only effective when used. Any solid object can be used to drive a nail however a hammer gets the job done so much better.
As a tool the Regional Coordinator needs to be directed by both the National Coordinator on one hand and the Coordinators of the region on the other.
Without both sides utilizing the Regional Coordinator to their best benefit the position is one that fails through lack of use.
The Regional Coordinator should maintain a staff that allows for open communication with the coordinators in the region and is responsive to their needs. The Regional Coordinator should not be required to deal with everything personally as long as the issues are being dealt with. For example, many times on the SW list and/or the SW Coords list a question will be asked and one of my staff will answer it. In my worldview this is perfectly acceptable. I don’t see that the Regional Coordinator needs to step in and say, “Yeah what he said!” On the contrary, unless countered by the Regional Coordinator I think that anything posted publicly by a staff member should be regarded as coming from the Regional Coordinator. This is how I have been handling things in the Southwest Region. I didn’t pick boneheads to be on my staff. I picked intelligent members who know what they are talking about. Further more I’ve told each of them to act on what they witness without the need to ask me for my permission. I feel this makes the Regional Coordinator position one that is much more effective. In essence a team of members is handling the position with one overseer.
Until recently I’ve never viewed the Regional Coordinator position as one that is politically motivated. I’ve always accepted that the Regional Coordinator is an appointed position. This prevents the position from being one that is chosen through a popularity contest. Recent months have shown that the general membership feels the need to have a voice in who their Regional Coordinator is. They feel that they don’t have the opportunity to do this and are searching for ways in which to get the position changed into one in which they can have a vote. While the general membership of a region might not have any say is who is chosen, they do have a say in who maintains the position.
The Tome of the Camarilla clearly indicates the process with which to go about voicing complaints about an officer. Regardless of the perceived importance of the position we are all volunteers working to do what we each feel is best for the club. If we are not doing what a member feels we are doing, the Tome explains to the member exactly how to have his/her thoughts heard in an effective manner in the complaint section. If the members feel that they don’t have a say in the Regional Coordinator, well then it’s my job to educate them that they do.
On that note, I feel that the most important roll of the Regional Coordinator is to educate and instruct. One of the tools that is given to each level of coordinator in this club is the power of Disciplinary Action.
I however am loath to use Disciplinary Action unless that action is going to have an educational purpose. “FEAR THE POWER OF THE REGIONAL COORDINATOR”
is not an educational purpose. I have no problem with disciplinary action that teaches a member. I do however have a problem with disciplinary action that serves no educational purpose.
I also feel that it is the responsibility of the Regional Coordinator to promote the growth of the Camarilla within the geographic boundaries of the region. This is done by encouraging recruitment drives and providing new members with an organized club that is responsive to their needs. Even though this is the responsibility of the Regional Coordinator, I feel that this can only be accomplished at the local level. In order to affect this, once again the key is education. Constant education on the part of the Regional Coordinator to the Chapter/Domain Coordinators is what is needed to accomplish this goal. The Southwest Region has some truly fantastic local coordinators. They are already doing a great job at organizing their local areas. I think the problems begin with an outside source steps in without being asked and “tries to help”. Before organizing a Regional Recruitment drive however we need to stabilize the region, a process that is slowly being accomplished.
I could really go on and on about the position as there is so much to it that it’s somewhat hard to summarize. Summary is an area that I fail. So here is what I feel comprises the duties of the Regional Coordinator in list format though not necessarily in order of importance.
1) Play the role of middleman between the National Coordinator / Board of Directors and the Southwest Region. This role is a dual role. I am to provide input from the regional viewpoint as well as informing the Southwest Region of the new directives of the National Coordinator and Board of Directors.
2) Head teacher of the Southwest Region. Instruct the coordinators in the proper procedures and policies of the club so that they in turn can instruct their membership. This includes answering their questions.
3) Moderate the Southwest Region through the usage of reading of reports and email posts
4) Provide a sense of leadership to the Southwest Region. The best way to do this is through empowering the coordinators at the local level to work towards the best interests of their members as long as they are not in violation of any of the clubs policies.
5) Supply the region with a regional newsletter. I however use the web site to fill this requirement although I am in the process of finding a new newsletter editor to compile information into a pdf file that can then be linked on the web site for the access of all members/coordinators.
6) Arbitrate disputes that are elevated to the regional level through the proper use of procedure.
That’s about all I’m going to write for today. Although in closing I would like to address a concern of mine.
The similarity of this situation and the movie “American President” is uncanny. A few months ago when a rumor of a petition to remove me was going around I informed my staff of a quote from the movie. In the movie, Michael Douglas, as the president says, “I’ve been so worried about keeping my job that I forgot to do my job.” I used a reciprocal version of that quote in my regional staff meeting earlier this year. I told the staff that I would not worry about keeping my job. Instead I would focus on doing my job.
Another similarity to the movie is that the President in the movie is subjected to character attacks and he decides not to fight them. He feels that it is beneath him to do so and that they will just go away. The quote that I remember in regard to this is something to the effect of “People are listening to Bob Rumpsen because Bob Rumpsen is the only one doing any talking.”
I bring this up because of two things. I’ve spent all day today “keeping my job”. This has prevented me from “doing my job”. Further more, I am doing this for the very same reason that the President in the movie had to deal with it. Someone somewhere has decided that I’m a bad person and shouldn’t hold this position. Instead of following procedure and writing a letter of complaint, allowing me to know my accuser and to hear and address his/her complaints I’m being subjected to a character debate with an unknown assailant. I have my ideas at where this is coming from as I’m not stupid and have ears as well. My concern is that the topmost level of this organization is allowing this breach of protocol to happen in the first place. The Regional Coordinator/National Coordinator/Board of Directors are the top of the pyramid in the eyes of most members. Whether this perception is accurate or not, we should be the ones who lead by example. We should be the ones who follow the Tome to the letter. Informing whoever comes to us to use the procedures set forth by the Tome to deal with issues that are pertinent to the functioning of the club. Yet, even at this level of the club, we are being subjected to nepotism and lack of procedure. It is disheartening to know that we have worked to hard to move so little.
“We’re running up a down escalator. We’re going nowhere fast.” – Alice Cooper
This is a volunteer organization. As such we are all doing this because it’s a labor of love. Recently I’ve been feeling the labor but no love. It is my hope that this performance review is concluded soon so that I can get back to doing and loving my job. Until I know where I stand, it’s hard to move forward.
Regional Level MC Approvals
Elisa Graybill, MC 9
3226G, 226R - 3492 Total Prestige
----------------------------------------
Keith Curtz, 9607-097
Southwest Regional Coordinator