“Wayward ho, away we go
It’s a shame to leave this masterpiece
With its gallery gods and its garbage bag trees
So I’ll paint a scene from memory
So I’d know who murdered me
It’s a vain pursuit but it helps me to sleep”
Edict #17
The work of this term would simply not have been possible without the substantial work of one or two members, including Lindsay Bayes. Lindsay’s work - both visible and behind the scenes this term - led me to at one time to joking that I had three vice-presidents this term: Amber, Cale and Linds. I honestly don’t think I can really do justice to the work that Linds did by trying to describe it all in an edict.
I’ll try, though… :P
After taking a bit of a break from leadership roles in the STF administration, Linds decided to return this term as the new Gamemaster Director. This was important to me as President as I had identified the GM Department as one of the areas that was going to need some work. The GM training and mentorship program had fallen into a bit of a disarray, and although some notable efforts had been made at the end of the last term to reverse the trend, it was felt that more work was still required. It was with that understanding that Linds volunteered to be the new director.
At the time, I thought that was going to be Lindsay’s biggest job this term. How naive I was… :P
Lindsay was able to get her GM Department team quickly on top of the GM training and mentorship issues. It was at that point she identified a much larger concern that had never occurred to me. The Amanda Noon archives (our archives of all of our past and present GMs and their missions) had large gaps in it - some of them being very dated. Getting these gaps filled in was going to be a painstaking job of data-mining through our records and effWeBB archives. And Lindsay realized it had to be done fairly quickly - we may not have access to all of the necessary records for a while after we moved to Exodus. So Lindsay gathered a group of volunteers and launched the Sim Excavation Project - which turned into a huge success for the department.
In the meantime, Lindsay was also still CO of her ship, doing some GM work herself, serving on EGO (where I actually gave EGO some work to do this term :P) and mentoring members in the Academy. Combined with RL, this was probably enough for one person in the club.
However, everything I have described above is only part of the substantial work Lindsay did this term.
Prior to our election, Amber and I had identified the position of Marketing and Advertising Coordinator as an area of concern that we wanted to focus on. Membership and retention issues remained ongoing concerns, and we felt that an effective use of the MAC position could help with some of our term’s goals. Early on in the term, the holder of the MAC role stepped down, and Amber and I began the search for a new MAC who would be able to work with the new plan for that position.
And… we couldn’t find anyone. Well, we found someone who was perfect for what we had in mind, but she was already focused on a number of other projects in STF - and that was Lindsay. Lindsay did agree to help us look for a new MAC, though.
And… we still couldn’t find anyone. We had three main areas of focus for MAC, so Lindsay volunteered to take on one of those roles while we continued the search for a new MAC. Well, Lindsay said, maybe I’ll take on two of those three roles while you look for a new MAC.
Eventually, the inevitable happened. Lindsay had started taking on all of the responsibilities as MAC that it just made sense to appoint her to the position :P. And Lindsay took that role to a whole new level, actively getting STF’s name out in the larger community, encouraging people to check out the club, and creating a whole new buzz about STF. It’s difficult to describe here what Lindsay brought to the role, but it was substantial.
…and that wasn’t the end of it.
Amber and I (and later Cale) had a two-pronged approach to one of our themes this term: a more substantive role with MAC that was focused on specific areas of responsibility, and a more organized approach to our club “community” and community events. However, as the discussion began about our proposed community organizer idea, the discussion began to pivot about the role of MAC in organizing our community events. I was reluctant to add more responsibilities to MAC - I knew what level of work Linds had already put into the MAC role, and I still wasn’t sure about merging the two roles into one. Lindsay kindly (and virtually) slapped me on the back on the head. Where do you think all of this work I have been doing in MAC has been leading to, she correctly pointed out to me. She was right. And so I gave MAC the additional responsibilities for organizing our community events (and to recruit even more volunteers to help with that).
We are still in the middle of trial project on that - and it will be Lindsay working with the next Executive to make the call on whether it will continue in our trial format. But it is obvious already that the work Lindsay has brought into organizing our community events has been fantastic and big success for our current membership. When combined with her work in advertising the events, and focusing them around major milestones for the club (our Exodus pre-launch party, our club anniversary celebrations) - which has led to past members returning and new members checking our club out - it is clear that Lindsay impact on the club this term has been substantial.
Throughout this, Lindsay has been a constant adviser and supporter this term - and will have no difficulties telling me when she agrees with something I’m doing or when she disagrees with my approach and why. Lindsay was also a big supporter of mine on the USS Endeavour, where due to being President I wasn’t the most present CO for that ship this term, but she not only helped keep that ship active for me, but supported me as I decided to change up almost the entire senior staff of the ship mid-term.
When I joked a few weeks ago about Lindsay being my third vice-president this term, I don’t actually think it was a joke. Without her, I’m not sure how this term would have worked out.
It is with great pleasure that I promote Lindsay Bayes to the rank of Vice Admiral.
Congratulations, Lindsay!
Daniel Lerner
President