Three Contested Elections April 19!

Don't Miss the April Meeting!

What: Annual KaCSFFS Officer Elections Meeting
Where: The Writers Place,

3607 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, MO 64111

When: April 19, 2014

Board of Directors Meeting: 5:30 p.m. (open to all members)

Monthly Business Meeting: 7:00 p.m.

It's been a while since we had this many contested elections! Unfortunately, the Communications Officer was moving a household from California to Texas and Kansas City when she otherwise would have been posting an Absentee Ballot, and I apologize!

Thus, the ONLY way to vote is to come in person, and be a dues-paid member!

You still may pay for your membership in person at the meeting, or you may purchase your membership online, using the button at right.  Current President Ty Gephardt will be there with pre-printed membership cards for those who have already paid their membership fees in time to get on the Treasurer's list. He also will have blank cards to fill out, and the laminating machine at the meeting.

And the Nominees Are . . . 

For President of KaCSFFS, April 2014-April 2015: 

Ty Gephardt*, incumbent since 2013

Ken Keller, challenger (founder and previously a Director [when it was called that])

For Secretary of KaCSFFS, April 2014-April 2015:

Ty Gephardt*

Keri O'Brien

*Please note the Bylaws specifically prohibit a person from holding more than one office on the Board of Directors at the same time.  If Ty is elected to one office, he must remove himself from the race for the other office.

For Treasurer of KaCSFFS, April 2014-April 2015:

Cindy Norton, incumbent since 2009

Earline "Cricket" Beebe, (also previously a Treasurer)  

Two other nominees are running unopposed:

For Communications Officer of KaCSFFS, April 2014-April 2015:

Jan S. Gephardt, incumbent since 2011

For Chairperson of ConQuesT 46 (the 2015 convention), to serve on the Board of Directors April 2014-April 2015:

Kristina Hiner, currently vice-chair of the 2014 convention. 

Members, the fate of KaCSFFS is in your hands!

Come vote on Saturday!

Extremely important meeting March 22 2014!!

The March Meeting is Massive!  
Please note that this post has been updated from the version first published (nominations).

The meeting will be held at our usual venue!

What:
March KaCSFFS Meeting
Where:

The Writers Place, 

3607 Pennsylvania Ave.

Kansas City, MO 64111

When: 
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Open Board meeting: 5:30 p.m.
KaCSFFS Business meeting: 7:00 p.m.

March is massive for two big reasons:
1. Dues are Due!
This is the month when all memberships come up for renewal. Only dues-paid members can vote or run for office, so for your nomination to be valid or your vote to count, you have to be a current, dues-paid member!

Membership-processing in 2013: D.J. Bailey & Cindy Norton

If you wish to chair a department for the ConQuesT annual Science Fiction Convention, you also must be a dues-paid KaCSFFS member, as well as a member of the convention.

KaCSFFS members with current membership cards are also entitled to valuable discounts at several fine Kansas City-area merchants. Watch for an upcoming announcement of a new Page tab that will describe currently-offered member discounts!

Annual membership dues are $25 per person, when paid via check or cash, and $27 (includes a processing fee) when paid via PayPal, which will take a credit card.  The online option is immediately accessible at right in the sidebar.  Pay with cash or check (payable to KaCSFFS) in person at the meeting, or mail your check to:

KaCSFFS 

P.O. Box 34413

North Kansas City, MO 64116

2. Nominate NOW!
The only person who can nominate you is you!  Only one current BoD member has announced the intention to self-nominate to continue serving in her current office. All KaCSFFS Board of Directors positions are open for change or renewal, so we need one or more self-nominations for all positions.  Please consider whether you would like to serve in any of these positions:
President:
No self-nominations yet.
Secretary:
Keri O'Brien
Treasurer:
No self-nominations yet.
Communications Officer:
Jan S. Gephardt
ConQuesT Chair (2015 convention):
Kristina Hiner

Please note that the KaCSFFS BoD also is seeking a person willing to be appointed to the responsible-but-non-voting position of Registered Agent.

WHAT DO THEY DO? 
For a listing of the responsibilities that come with each office, please go the the KAXFEN Yahoo Group (available to all dues-paid members), access the Files tab, and open the 2012 Bylaws to Article III-Board of Directors.

Plan now to attend the April Meeting!
All current, dues-paid members are eligible to vote ONCE for their choice of Board nominees in contested positions.  Vote either in person at the April meeting, or in advance of the April meeting by mail for contested positions. Once we have a slate of nominees, we will update the Absentee Ballot form on this blog's Absentee Ballot Page (see link at right) to reflect any current, contested election.

Please note that the April meeting is once again on our regular day, the third Saturday of the month (in this case April 19, 2014), BoD at 5:30, full club at 7:00 p.m.

IMAGE CREDITS: The image of The Writers Place is from the Writers Place website. The photo of then-President Diana Bailey and Treasurer Cindy Norton processing memberships in 2013 is by Jan S. Gephardt, and may be used without alteration for the price of a link back and attribution.

April Meeting Follow-up

Introducing our New Executive Board
We barely managed a quorum of dues-paid members at our April 27, 2013 meeting to hold an official election, but with a final flurry of payments, we did it.  We had no mail-in votes, but the online voting echoed and reinforced the verdict of those attending in person.

Incoming and outgoing Presidents Ty Gephardt
and Diana J. Bailey, at the April 2013 meeting.

It was a safe bet we'd make history, because the election of either President candidate would be historic for KaCSFFS in some way.

The history we chose to make was electing the first, second-generation KAXFAN President in club history: Ty Gephardt's birth was announced at a KaCSFFS meeting in 1985, he joined on his own for the first time at age 15, and he is now President for the coming year, Ghod help him.

President was the only contested position on the Executive Board, but we have new faces in other positions, as well.

L-R New Secretary Kristina Hiner takes over from
Sherri Dean, the outgoing Secretary.

When incumbent Secretary Sherri Dean announced she was not running for another term, relatively new member Kristina Hiner stepped up to self-nominate. No other Secretary candidates opposed her, so a vote for this office was not needed. 

Kristina already has become an active voice on the new Board. Along with other, younger members of this Board, she is helping to add a more youthful perspective than that of the Baby Boomers who have dominated for decades.

L-R ConQuesT 2013 (CQ44) and 2014 (CQ45)
Chairpersons Victoria L'Ecuyer and Jesi Pershing.

We also have a changing of the ConQuesT Con Chairpersons on the Executive Board.  

The 2013 ConQuesT Chairperson remains Victoria L'Ecuyer, but she stepped down from the Board position so her Vice-Chair, Jesi (Lipp) Pershing, another second-generation KAXFAN, could step up.  

For most of her term on the Executive Board, Jesi will be the Chairperson of the upcoming ConQuesT.  She also ran unopposed.

Cindy Norton (working hard
during the April meeting)
remains KaCSFFS Treasurer.

Jan Gephardt (giving a
report at the April meeting)
will remain Communications
Officer of KaCSFFS.

Other Board positions will remain unchanged, because the incumbents self-nominated, and no one ran against them.  

Cindy Norton remains the Treasurer for a fifth term.  An accountant for a local business and part-time IRS worker, she brings considerable experience to the post.

Jan Gephardt remains the Communications Officer for a third term.  She was trained as a journalist, and worked for many years in the fields of marketing and education.

Both of these are voting Board Member positions.  

Diana Bailey continues as the
KaCSFFS Registered Agent.

The Registered Agent for the club is a non-voting position that often remains unchanged for many years because there are legal aspects to changing it, and especially while we await a decision from the IRS regarding our 501 (c) 3 designation, we don't want any unnecessary legal rearrangements. Diana Bailey continues as the Registered Agent.

Board members may be contacted online via the KaCSFFS Facebook Page, the KAXFEN Yahoo Group (for current members only), or by posting a comment to this blog (see below), or via snailmail at P.O. Box 34413, North Kansas City, MO 64116.

PHOTO CREDITS: We are grateful to several people for the photos used in this post.  The wonderful William Tienken provided the images of Ty with Diana, Kristina with Sherri, Jan Gephardt at the April meeting, and Diana Bailey at a meeting in the summer of 2012, all via his posts on Facebook.  The photo of Jesi Pershing is courtesy of Keith Stokes's MidAmerica Fan Photo Archive (Chicon VI section).  The photo of Cindy Norton was taken by Jan Gephardt, also at the April 2013 meeting.

We Have a Contested Election!

Self-Nominations are Final
The self-nominations for KaCSFFS Board officers are now closed.  At the March meeting we had some adjustments (two people removed themselves from consideration, and three self-nominated) from the lineup announced after the February meeting, and we officially have a run-off election for the office of President.

3-time incumbent Diana J. Bailey

Self-nominations were as follows:
President: Diana J. Bailey v. Tyrell Gephardt
Secretary: Kristina Hiner
Treasurer: Cindy Norton
Communications Officer: Jan Gephardt
ConQuesT Chairperson: Jesi Pershing (for ConQuesT 45)

KaCSFFS History in the Making:
If Diana Bailey wins a fourth term, she will be the first-ever Director/President of KaCSFFS to do so.  If Ty Gephardt wins, he will be the first-ever second-generation KaCSFFan to hold the top office (his parents have both been KaCSFFS members; his mother is the current Communications Director).

Challenger Tyrell E. Gephardt

Balloting Options:
Voting this year will be conducted for the office of President only.  Because self-nominations are required, there can be no write-in votes, and none of the other offices are contested.

The balloting options in the 2012 Bylaws include advance voting (Article III, Section 3).  This may prove to be especially important this year, because we had to move the meeting from its regular third-Saturday-of-the-month date to the fourth Saturday, because of a scheduling conflict at The Writers Place.

For this election, all active dues-paid, voting-eligible members (that is, those who are General Members with memberships paid in full through March 2014, or Life Members) may vote ONE time, by any of the three methods listed below.

Voting members may choose one of three ways to cast a ballot:
In-Person voting: During the regular business meeting scheduled for April 27, 2013 at The Writers Place.
Via Online Poll: Go to the poll on the members-only KAXFEN list to cast an online vote between March 21-April 26, 2013.
Via Paper Ballot: Print, mark, sign and date the ballot on the "Absentee Ballot" Page on this blog (top of the sidebar at right), or request a copy from the Treasurer.  Paper ballots must arrive in the KaCSFFS Post Office Box (see ballot for full address) BY April 20, 2013 to be counted.

PHOTOS: Photos of both candidates for KaCSFFS President are courtesy of William Tienken, via Facebook.  Many thanks, William!

Votes and Thank-Yous: Developments at the August meeting

New Developments:
At the August 18 meeting, members received several important pieces of news.

The Board is in the process of finalizing a bid from a new ConQuesT hotel. Free parking, Free wi-fi for hotel guests, extended food service hours, lower space costs for the convention, and room rates below $100 per night for attendees are some of the potential benefits of the move now under discussion. Stand by for updates!

The addition of several new members, including our ConQuesT Chair Victoria L'Ecuyer, makes it necessary to once again update the Directory. Stand by for a notice of when it is uploaded to the KAXFEN Yahoo Group.

KaCSFFS members will receive birthday cards, thanks to a
new effort by Sherri Dean.

Secretary Sherri Dean has undertaken a new project to send birthday cards to KaCSFFS members who have shared their birthdates with the club (any who have not will receive their cards at the first of the year!). This complements and extends the effort already being made by KaCSFFS President Diana Bailey, to send get-well or sympathy cards to members and friends of KaCSFFS, when they are needed.

Thank-Yous!

Continuing a program of recognizing outstanding volunteer contributors to KaCSFFS that was started at the 40th Anniversary last year, KaCSFFS presented an Award of Recognition to Tyrell Gephardt at the August meeting, "for outstanding contributions to Fhandom." It was presented by Treasurer Cindy Norton, who spoke of Ty's leadership of the podcasting group, his regular contributions to the KaCSFFS Blog, his frequent willingness to help with electronics and heavy-lifting, and his outstanding efforts that very night to help set up and tear down the August Art Night exhibition, and also to make a special run to pick up pizzas for the Pizza Feast at the meeting. 

Other appreciation recognitions were offered to Cindy Norton herself, for arranging for the pizzas, making an emergency run to the storage unit for electrical connections so viewers could see lighted art display panels at the August Art Night display, and a visit on very short notice with Victoria L'Ecuyer and Susan Satterfield to view and discuss negotiations with the potential new convention hotel, on the morning before the meeting.

We also would like to add a special thank-you to Corey Barber for his unflagging help with cleaning up after the meeting, and a special appreciation of Diana Bailey for coming to the Board Meeting, despite being in the midst of a medical problem. Our thoughts are with you, Diana!

Finally, appreciations are due to the artists who brought their work to the Second Annual August Art Night exhibition: Tracy Majkol, Lucy A. Synk, Jan Gephardt, Rachael Mayo, and a brand-new artist to KaCSFFS and fandom, Christopher Frye.

Preliminary Round of KaCSFFS and ConQuesT Logo Voting:

Our Logo Contest brought in submissions from several artists, and August 18 was the first chance the members had to look at them and comment. The commentary period is still open, so if you were not able to be at the meeting and have opinions, please let us know! Here are the results of the preliminary round of voting and commenting:

This is KaCSFFS Logo Proposal #1.

New KaCSFFS Logo Proposal #1:

4 voters liked it. One wrote, "Like this very much, but enhance the image with stars or some skiffy elements." Another wrote, "Like--City of Fountains, Art Deco, pointy bits all good. Is it too close to other KC designs, though?"

3 voters disliked it. Two wrote, "No-no-no!"

One voter wrote: "OK, [but] want to see suggestions made on others."

One voter wrote: "Not sure what change would work--like, but could like more."

This is KaCSFFS Logo Proposal #2.

New KaCSFFS Logo Proposal #2:

2 voters liked it.

One voter wrote, "OK." Another wrote, "MEH."

One wrote, "Nice design, [but] stars look a little crowded." (Note: the stars form the constellation Taurus, and are placed accurately, if rather close together).

Two more disliked it. One went to the point of "No-no-no!"

Legacy Logos:
Two more logos were presented, which actually have been used in the past. It is possible one of them might be retained for use, if members like it better than the new offerings.

Several members quickly pointed out that at least two additional "Legacy" Logos had been omitted. Members will have a chance to comment/vote on those at the September meeting.

Legacy Logo #1 had surprisingly strong support.

Legacy Logo #1:
Our 1970s logo appears to have considerable "staying" power.

5 voters liked it, though one added, "But . . . I vote for [the] Brad Foster logo [not offered for consideration in August]." Please note: this logo will be in the September voting. Another wrote, "Nice, clean design, [but] no obvious tie-in. I do know this design has lots of symbolism built in, but [I] don't recall what. The design is good."

One voter was kind of lukewarm, writing, "OK."

2 voters disliked it. One wrote, "No--too obscure. Time for something new." The other simply wrote, "No-no-no."

This is Legacy Logo #2.

Legacy Logo #2:
This logo was used in the 1980s and early '90s.

3 voters liked it.

2 voters were positive, but had comments. "I like this and would like to see it used somehow, but I think there are too many tiny details to work as a logo," one wrote. The other said, "Good design for a T-shirt, but not for a logo. Too complex. Can't be reproduced legibly in [small] sizes.

Others wrote: "OK, [but] large. Too busy, [and?] small." Another wrote, " Way, way too busy. Will not reduce well."

And 2 disliked it. One wrote, "No-no-no!"

ConQuesT Logos:
We also had three submissions for a ConQuesT logo, and some strong opinions were registered about them.

This is ConQuesT #1.

ConQuesT #1
This was a very popular logo. It got 10 "like" votes. One added, "Like-like-like: beautiful graphic and multiple KC icons. Should reduce very well." Another said, "LOVE this--best logo in show."

One voter wrote, "I like the rocket and the lettering--take out the tower/theater for a blank space."

Another suggested, "Remove the rocket. Put a dirigible moored to a sky station."

This is ConQuesT #2.

ConQuesT #2
This logo earned 4 "like" votes. One voter wrote, "Like--my second choice" (after #1).

However, one voter wrote, "The stars are too small and cluttered." (We should note this is another use of the Taurus constellation)

Others disliked it. It received 3 "No-no-no!" votes, with two adding that the rocket "looks too phallic."

This is ConQuesT #3.

ConQuesT #3
This logo also got 10 "like" votes.

However, three voters found it wanting in one way or another. One wrote, "DEATH TO COWS--Mooove on!" Another wanted "something in the empty space," and another suggested, "move the cow more center." It should be noted that the design was conceived for the number of the particular ConQuesT (for example, "43" for the convention held this year, or "44" for the one in 2013) to be shown in white in the blank space.

If you have opinions about any of these logos, please plan to come to the second round of voting at the September meeting, or share your opinions in a comment on the blog or Facebook page, or in an email to the KAXFEN list.

IMAGE CREDITS: The photo of a pile of birthday cards is from the "Photos Public Domain" website.  The logo images all have been submitted as part of our Logo Contest, with permissions included. Many thanks to all!