Hey everyone! After four and a half years of serving as Keeper, I've decided I'm ready to step back and redirect my time and energies elsewhere. We have an active and capable Executive team, the administration is full of innovative, hard workers, and we're incorporated and looking towards the future. It's time to let someone else step up with fresh enthusiasm and a different perspective and see where they can take things. I'm excited to see where this new era takes us.
This is the first time we've had a position of this magnitude change holders since we restructured the administration after Val and Elyna left as Master at Arms and Keeper. The legalities of the position of an Officer and the fact that I am also on the Board make this a more complex transition than most other positions. Here are the things that are not changing:
This is the first time we've had a position of this magnitude change holders since we restructured the administration after Val and Elyna left as Master at Arms and Keeper. The legalities of the position of an Officer and the fact that I am also on the Board make this a more complex transition than most other positions. Here are the things that are not changing:
- I will still remain on the Board of Directors.[/*:m:k7rc23mv]
- I will still be involved in the administration.[/*:m:k7rc23mv][/list:k7rc23mv]
Here are the things that are changing:
- Currently the Keeper/COO carries the duties of both the Vice President and the Secretary, as outlined in the Bylaws. This means that the duty set of the Keeper carries includes membership escalation issues, the administration as a whole, and the legal responsibilities of record-keeping, minutes of meetings, and the seal of the corporation. We will be shifting these responsibilities around. The Keeper/COO will retain the duties of the VP, which means that the position will be responsible for the administration and all its dealings. The membership escalation issues will shift under the Amyrlin/CEO, which is in line with the other duties of the position. The legal responsibilities will shift to a new position called Tower Archivist, which will take over the duties of the Secretary as outlined in the Bylaws. The Secretary position will be an Officer of the corporation and will be responsible for keeping all records, keeping abreast of the legalities involved with a charitable corporation, and handling the legal aspects of staying incorporated.[/*:m:k7rc23mv]
- Because I would naturally be retaining some of those duties anyway (such as keeping the physical records, due to my proximity to the PO Box, and some of the legal responsibilities because of my position as agent/incorporator in the state of Alabama), I will fill the position of Tower Archivist.[/*:m:k7rc23mv]
- Given the shift of the position of Keeper to encompass COO, the Keeper may be of either gender.[/*:m:k7rc23mv][/list:k7rc23mv]
Because this position is so different from most other positions, we'll be going about it differently. A list of the requirements and duties will be posted, as normal. However, before the actual application will be sent in, people interested in the position will need to email me and receive a file about the way the position functions within the administration and some of its intricacies. This is an administration that has been tailored to fit my style, and anyone who wants to apply for it needs to have an idea of what that means and whether or not they'd even be able to fit themselves into it well enough to shift it into what they would work best with. There will also probably be an interview process where the Board talks with the top applicants.
This extends out the application process more than we usually take. The general goal is to have the new COO selected by the beginning of January so that we can potentially install the new Keeper officially at the North American anniversary party, in a nice bit of symmetry to my own ceremony.
I cannot tell you all how much I have enjoyed serving in this capacity. I have grown and changed more than I thought possible when I first took it on. The Tower, in all of its aspects, has been a central part of my life for many years, and I am happy that I was able to make my mark on it. I know that this will be an odd transition for many of us, and that I am the only Keeper many of you have ever known. Things will change, as they always must, but I know we'll all adjust to having someone else in that position in no time.