The club itself has a much larger member base than does Command. That’s okay. Not everyone has the time, or the inclination. I didn’t have the inclination before Geoff sought me out to join the GMD. I’ve never wanted to go back. For a long time though, I still didn’t make my voice heard in Command, preferring to stay to the sidelines and do my job. We hear consistently from the same few voices, and everything they do for the club does not go unnoticed. But it’s time we lower the barriers to entry.

At the beginning of every month, the current deadline being the 10th, reports are submitted by each Fleet Commander and Department Director, as well as the Academy Commandant. It is my proposal that following the submission of all reports, a thread be opened to be titled “Open Session - [Month] 2023”. Each of these threads would be opened by the President posting links to the reports and a brief headline for any ongoing business in a department. After it is posted, the floor is open to any and all members to ask questions and make suggestions for a period of one week, or until the discussions are concluded.

Right now any member can post in Command, but that needs to take the form of a proposal that has to come fully cooked and ready to defend. That doesn’t have to be the case. The open session each month is an invitation to everyone to share whatever ideas they have, however formed they are, and have those ideas treated as legitimate.

I believe that among our members we have the brains and ability to make this club an active and engaged community from top to bottom.

-Fleet Captain Sage Pennington