I am stepping down from the CO position as of January 20th, 2006. There is another thread with this information in it, but no need to link it over here because this thread is covering some of the suggestions for the Mod/CO structure of the Mid-A.

I will leave this poll open till January 2nd, 2006. The outcome of this poll will bring another poll to vote for a few other things:

No matter what, someone needs to nominate a SOVA CO. I will not nominate anyone, but will make comments on nominations if I feel I can contribute something worthwhile.

Please post up who you think would be a good SOVA CO, a good NOVA CO, and a good moderator. Keep in mind that the NOVA CO and moderator slot nominations might not be used as per the outcome of this poll, but it is always good to have names for the future

If a moderator is selected, please keep in mind that S2Ki structure might put Gold Stars and "Community Organizer" under his/her name, but we'll know that this person's function is only to keep the Mid-A forum tidy.



A CO is someone who promotes and organizes meets. It is also the responsibility of the CO to support the community's betterment - this includes welcoming new members, looking for new ideas to create friendships (meets), and basically being a leader. A CO does not have to have a garage or house to host meets, live near roads that we all want to drive, or even be a drive leader - other members can do that. A CO should have connections with plenty of the Mid-A community to know who to ask to host things. Some members do such a good job organizing meets, that a CO's help may not be needed at all. A CO/Mod is required to touch S2Ki at least once a day, and I would suggest that he/she make his/her presence known each time (simply by posting somewhere).


Nominations:
4theheckof_it - NOVA or MD
suzukablue - MD
Black Nugget - SOVA
Dragon_F6 - MD
Nandska - NOVA
CrazyCracker82 - MD

 

I'm nominating Alex Snyder for CO...

Seriously, I think the idea of an additional CO for NOVA is not all that bad an idea. Mainly so they can have more leadership for meets, drives, etc. Not that we can't work together, I am sure that will happen anyway, but I feel it is hard for the CO in SOVA to be in touch with all the folks on a regular basis to get the feel of the group, especially on short notice happy hour meets, quick weekend drive get-togethers, etc.

Anyway, just my opinion and vote.

Mark

 

as a newer member of the mid-a, i have noticed that there arent to many meets in the baltimore area, maybe i just havent seen them, but i find that alot are in the NOVA area, and with me working weekend mornings in the summer i usually cant make that drive, even if we dont have 3 C.O.'s like i voted for, i do hope we can bring some more meets up this way, as for nominations, i thought peter (4theheckofit) did a great job of leading the wash and wax meet, which was a rather large meet, that shows his leadership skills are definitely good enough to handle the mid-a, just a suggestion, craig (suzukabluz) is also very good at rounding us up here in the baltimore area, he is always on top of things when we have caravans or even just getting a sunday drive together, and is very level headed and keeps everyone happy at the same time, both also seem very very knowledgable when it comes to the s2k as well, which is always a plus, sorry for the long post, finally, I have never met J, but do know my first 200 days here has been alot of fun and i have learned alot, hopefully she can stick around as well, good luck alex and hope you chime in just as much as you do now! just my .02 cents

 

I appreciate the nominations and will add them to my original post at the top. When I originally started on S2Ki the Mid-A seemed like a smaller place as there only a handful of active MD members, SOVA was starting to peak, and NOVA was always active.

Since then NOVA has stayed the same, SOVA has branched all over the place but kept tight bonds not just through S2Ki, and MD (mainly Baltimore-ish) has really boomed. The area is getting larger - as is S2Ki as a whole. I believe that it will continue to grow as long as Honda is still producing S2000's and a few years afterward, or Honda will produce something else and there will be a migration to a new cthree board.

I'm rambling and heading off topic. 01whites2k - I hope your next 200 days are better than your first

 

Everyone goes to the Wash-nWax's 'cause nobody likes detailing in the cold!!! Where ya at, Peter?! In the whirlpool nursing those aches and pains?!


Seriously though, some of you might recall when I stepped down. I believed back then that the area and number of owners- active or not- necessitated a "split" if you will. Traffic continues to worsen, dampening the desire for some to make the trek for the far away meets. I still stand by this.

I believe the Mid-A should be divided into two sub-forums. This has nothing to do with the "northerners" vs. the "southerners." But for a matter of organizational purposes, it would seem logical. I believe this would give more visibility to the group(s) at the more northern part of our excellent community. It would give them a sense of ownership and pride. In turn, I believe that will lead to more activities. Heck, it might even bring back some of the older owners to want to participate more.

Such a split wouldn't come close to keeping interested owners from attending each other's meets. I know the DelVal group has some that attend NY events and vice versa. I know that w1ngman and airgate used to regularly cross the NC/VA state line.

I don't want to forget those that are are south and west of me. Darlene(valentine) is one of the nicest people Janet and I have met. I wish we lived closer to her and Jim. I'm not even going to try to talk about Roanoke and Christiansburg!

As Alex said, we know there are those who naturally pick up the ball and run with it. This community wouldn't be half of what it is without them. They seek no fame or glory... but will most likely accept some Thank you to those that know who you are.

In closing, I am leaning toward 3 CO's, but not for the reason of just having three folks with titles. I believe if the community is to maintain some retention and attract/facilitate new members, being able to identify with someone that is more local may foster more participation. They may feel less intimidated and more apt to ask questions or attend a meet for the first time.

 

I think 3 CO's would be a great idea. It would be a lot easier to plan gatherings. Not saying that I wouldn't go down to SOVA or up to MD for gatherings, but with traffic being a big issue up here, it tends to put a damper on things.

 

I'm telling ya, bowling is not my game.

I do appreciate the kind words. I also think that 3 CO's would be great for Mid-A, as long as there is communication between the 3. One thing I have noticed is that when new members get to know a certain member, they tend to come out more often and participate in more meets. I have a decent core group in NoVa and MD that tend to come out to a lot of the meets I organize simply because they know myself or other's in the core group and feel comfortable coming out because they know they will at least know someone there and have a someone to talk to. Craig (suzukabluz) has done a great job at attracting new members from up north in the MD area to come down to a lot of our functions.

For SoVa, I have talked a lot to Chad about organizing meets down there and to bring his core group to the NoVa area next year. He has expressed interest in helping me organize and also have the NoVa/MD folks come down to that area for more Mod days. So, I'd like to nominate him. I'm sure there are other folks in SoVa that are capable of doing this just as well as him, but alas, I haven't met many folks from the SoVa area. That's why it would be nice to organize meets for the northerners and southerners in Mid-A to get to know each other, and this board will be a lot more fun.

Even if I don't get put in the CO position for this area, I will continue to hold meets anyways, well, because I enjoy doing it. I have made great friendships in Mid-A and having meets, for me, is just another excuse for me to go out and have some fun with some old friends and meet new ones alike.

Peter

 

I voted for three, but I'm more concerned that we have effective leadership than I am about whether there are two or three COs. Three would make more sense logistically.

 

I think 3 would be a good idea, but like most have said communication is the Key. As long as they are willing to work together to keep the MID-A group whole overall by still promoting large events like MOD day or big group drives for all parts of MID-A to participate in. CO's could then also promote smaller meets/happy hours to fill the spaces in between the larger meets to help keep people interested and coming out within the 3 sub-communities...


Note: It should also always be understood that all Mid-A members are welcome to any meet, whether its a MD, NOVA or SOVA function ...ie Happy Hours and such.....

4TheHeckof it- Peter gets my nomination as well

 

No need to state the obvious!

While I have not put forth any nominations, I believe Peter has three of the four things that I feel are good to have as a community organizer. Of the four, Peter 1) seems to be liked by many, 2) has a flexible schedule and 3) some organizational skills(needs to work on timeliness). The fourth is the ability to bite one's tongue from time to time or tactfully redirect conversations(threads) in the best interest of the entire community.

Me not mentioning any others is neither to be construed as a non-vote of confidence nor one of preference. My scenario is simply an example of what some folks might want to consider when nominating folks.