second-pride/vote-now/ Time to vote! Vote for the person that you feel will represent you and has your beliefs! Damian Tar Second Pride Election Candidate for Chair Final Statement First off let me thank you all for reading my final statement, and being involved in the democracy of electing a new board for the 2014 Second Pride. It has been a wonderful experience fielding your questions and concerns over the past weeks on the Second-Pride forums as well as in world and on Facebook. In this final statement, I will try to touch on a few issues that will hopefully encourage you to make an informed decision with your vote whoever that may be. Second Pride is supposed to be the representation of the LGBT community, the board is supposed to be a representation of the community as a whole. Though at times the board may not agree with each other, the board is designed to engage the community and insure that their votes are a representation of the community. The board is not supposed to be a rubber stamp to pass what they deem as needing to be changed for their political agenda. Any items should always be discussed with the membership for feedback and input to insure that the community is represented. The mission of Second Pride is pretty clear: • Hold an annual Second Pride Festival to bring together the diverse LGBT Communities, clubs, businesses and individuals in Second Life in a celebration of Pride • Host LGBT social, educational and advocacy events throughout the year and encourage our partners and members to host events that bring together our communities, support each other and raise funds for the festival and our mission • Participate in creating, developing, and maintaining an LGBT Gateway in Second Life for both new and continuing LGBT residents as a safe haven and resource center showcasing the diversity of the LGBT Communities in Second Life • Provide a directory of the various and diverse LGBT support groups and organizations inside and outside of Second Life for those seeking support for legal, health and social issues in their real lives • Maintain an archive of real life and Second Life LGBT history. This is the foundation of Second Pride as a group, and the first point of this mission is “bring together the diverse LGBT Communities, clubs, businesses and individuals”. When deciding who to elect to the board this year, put some thought into if this person will represent me. Not do I like him or her, or am I friends with them. Does this person represent me and will they represent the LGBT community in a manner that I would be proud of. My opponent and his “ticket” of recruits that he personally chose to run with him have already made decisions on changes to the by-laws, without the public’s discussion and input. The changes that they wish to make are self-serving and not in the best interest of Second-Pride. One of the changes that have been discussed is the removal of the Bylaw that reads: “Any member who knowingly and capriciously brings harm or disrepute to Second Pride may be removed as a member by a 3/4 vote of the Board.” (Article II Section 3) The reasoning for removing this language from the By Laws is that it impedes “free speech”. Free speech is not an absolute guarantee, when you say something there are consequences for what you say. As with any organization, job or other non-public venue, free speech that causes harm, libel or slander is not protected. And this By Law is no different than most rules set up by organizations throughout the world. Now this of course does not cover civil debates on issues and topics that would help the progression of Second Pride. There has been a lot of talk about community building and unity throughout this election, and I cannot agree more with this part of the discussion we have had during this election. The LGBT community as a whole needs to work to bring more parts of it into the Second Pride discussion and membership. To do this, as Chair I would work the following aspects to try and achieve this. • Inclusiveness – Anyone that wishes to be involved with Second Pride should be allowed, and welcomed into the membership. • Encouragement – All aspects of the LGBT community should be encouraged to participate in the democratic process of Second Pride. • Support – Supporting Businesses, Clubs, Sims and Organizations where ever possible to help promote the growth of the community and unity of same. Second Pride is not an employer; it is comprised of volunteers that donate their time and resources for the good of the community. There should not be an application process, vetting or any other obstacle that people should perform to become a volunteer and be part of Second Pride. Talking about support, I would propose running events on other LGBT sims or ones that support the LGBT community to help drive traffic to those sims, and encourage their communities to come into the Second Pride membership. Holding events on the Second Pride sim alone will not help the community grow, or support other parts of the LGBT community. I do believe that these events should be inclusive and available to all. One aspect of the community that seems to not be so much involved is the lesbian community. Though they are not the only aspect that needs a reach out to, they are one of them. Reaching out to all parts of the LGBT community, listening to their concerns, bringing them into the process and membership of Second Pride will be a tremendous step towards unity. I would propose going to different sims, businesses and trying to form liaisons with them, get them involved and find out how Second Pride can help them and support them. This would not be to any one group, but all reaches of the LGBT community. The primary purpose of the chairs responsibility is: • Act as the corporate liaison • Facilitate the well-being and continued growth of the organization • Initiate special elections that may be required in the event an officeholder is unable complete his or her term • Advise design of the general framework, policies and operational procedures • Report to the Second Pride membership • Act as a member of the Finance audit committee • Create a Job description for his/her position • Collect and review of SOP and Job descriptions of each Director. • Develop a Budget for the position and submit it to the treasurer within the first quarter of taking office. • Review and discuss the Proposed Budget with the Directors The chair is not a dictator or in control of the board, the board through the discussion and debate of the membership is merely a representation of the community. Back door politics out of the view of the membership should not and will not be tolerated by me. The only way for the board to gain the trust of its membership and the community is to insure that there is full transparency. The board should be voting their conscience and what is best for the community, not what their friends want. I do not expect or ask for the board to agree with me because I propose something; I expect them to act in a manner that reflects and makes all of the LGBT community and Second Pride membership proud of who is representing them and proud of Second Pride. A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu As your chair, I will work with all of the other board members in a compassionate, professional and respectful manner that represents the membership and LGBT community. I will strive to bring the community together with an open meetings policy and where that is not possible, I will have those meetings published to the best of our ability to insure the privacy of those wishing to stay private with the subject and topics of said meetings displayed with full disclosure. I will work hard to include all aspects of the LGBT community to bring them into Second Pride events. Membership of Second Pride should not be a pre-requisite to get involved. I will insure that the mission and by laws of Second Pride are followed, and where need be, a full discussion with the membership and those wishing to be involved before any changes are formally proposed or instituted. I will insure that there is continued full disclosure of Second Pride finances, and to the best of our ability bring forth any expenses in advance so that there can be full discussion with the membership prior to any vote on said expenses taking place. I would ask the elected board to act in a professional manner, fulfill their duties and conduct themselves in a respectful manner that represents the community as a whole and not self-serving as we are merely a representation of the community. Together we as a united community can achieve greatness, continue and improve Second Pride so that we can all be proud of it and leave it in a better position for years to come. I ask for your support and vote, as Chair for Second Pride so we can all achieve greatness and insure a legacy is left for years to come. Thank you Damian Tar
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 11:44:37 +0000
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