Thank you, Alliance Volunteers!

Morganne

Fighter
Hello Alliance Friends and Family!

With the release of our final "big announcement" from the Symposium last summer, I am very happy to begin this thread today in order to bring something else of importance to the forefront of our organization: the volunteers that have donated their time and worked so diligently to create many positive changes in our organization. Some of these changes and projects are already visible to our players, and some are still in progress.

When I began working with the Alliance last February we had less than 10 national volunteers with our organization spread across multiple communication mediums with a low degree of transparency between the committees and the chapter ownership. Today we proudly include more than 30 volunteers from across the Alliance dedicating their time to bettering our game and organization as a whole, gathered in these forums with a streamlined communication outlet accessible to all chapter owners. I am very happy to report that we are seeing more national involvement from across the geographic divide than we have ever seen in the past, and hope this is a trend that will continue.

I am personally grateful to each volunteer that has donated their time thus far, and to those that will follow by volunteering in the future. Thank you, sincerely, to each volunteer for giving your valuable time freely to better the Alliance.

While we are all (players, local and national staffers and chapter owners alike) passionate about what we do, and while we don’t always agree about what direction things should head (from rules to policies to how fast we swing our weapons), it is a testament to the strength of our organization that so many people from diverse backgrounds and geographic regions can, and do, come together with the common vision of creating a stronger Alliance for the future.

Allow me to share the major projects from 2010 and moving into 2011, and the people behind them. I hope you will join me in thanking our friends and fellow players for their contributions.

Rules
As you are all aware, there have been some rules changes, significant clarifications and a good deal of effort put into rules in the past year. Our rules forum is still in the process of undergoing a transformation as a tool that can be used by both new and returning players, with a faster turn-around and clearer communication about the processes behind the scenes. I consider this one of the toughest jobs in the Alliance, trying to find the best way to communicate to a very diverse group of people about both the intent and practical application of our rules system. The volunteers largely responsible for this work are:
  • Bryan Gregory, Alliance Rules Committee Chair, Oregon Chapter
    Sean Metzler, Alliance Rules Committee, New Hampshire Chapter
    Scott Kondrk, Alliance Rules Committee, Ashbury/HQ Chapter
    James (JP) Pocklington, Alliance Rules Committee, Connecticut Chapter

Logistics
The Alliance Logistics Committee was significantly expanded last year, from a two-person committee to four. In the past this group has been primarily dedicated to database audits. Now and in the future they are working on those audits in addition to upgrades and changes to the database, processes and procedures to support and train staff across the Alliance, maintaining the Dragon Stamp and National Logistics Databases, supporting local chapters with questions or problems, and that small little project of integrating Battleboards into our system. The volunteers largely responsible for this work are:
  • Matt Watkins, Alliance Logistics Committee Chair, New Jersey Chapter
    Jesse Hennessey, Alliance Logistics Committee (Dragon Stamp Database Administrator), Connecticut Chapter
    Rob Sachs, Alliance Logistics Committee, Chicago Chapter
    Seth Bird, Alliance Logistics Committee, Seattle Chapter

Rituals
The Ritual Committee has nearly served its complete term, after working for 2.5 years to review and overhaul our entire Ritual System. The individuals poured through and debated more than 90 different rituals, proposed huge changes that passed the owners and have vastly improved this system for the better. The final project for the Committee is to develop a primer for chapter use with regards to rituals (basics of ritual marshaling, database management, etc.) so that there is more support for individuals that are responsible for maintaining this important part of a local game. The volunteers largely responsible for this work are:
  • Beverly Byers, Alliance Ritual Committee Chair, Traverse City Chapter
    Jesse Hennessey, Alliance Ritual Committee, Connecticut Chapter
    Paul Foisy, Alliance Ritual Committee, Chicago Chapter
    Gary Marvel, Alliance Ritual Committee, New Hampshire Chapter
    Tom Andary, Alliance Ritual Committee, South Michigan Chapter
    *Special Thanks to Scott Edwards, the previous Committee Chair who stepped down in September

Plot
The Alliance Plot Committee is dedicated to pulling together stories and volunteers from each chapter in order to create National Events that represent our organization as a whole. While this committee is not currently in action, expect to see movement in 2012 as we look toward another National Event. The 2010 Alliance Plot Committee primarily included the following volunteers:
  • Paul Foisy, Alliance Plot Committee Chair, Chicago Chapter
    Brian Bender, Alliance Plot Committee, Crossroads/NY Chapter
    Matthew Byers, Alliance Plot Committee, Traverse City Chapter
    Scott Kondrk, Alliance Plot Committee, Ashbury/HQ Chapter
    Scott Edwards, Alliance Plot Committee, Ohio Chapter
    *There were many volunteers that submitted plotlines and encounters from local chapters. While they are not all named here, every active chapter’s plot team submitted and ran plot at the 2010 National Event.

Publicity
Much of the work of this committee was focused on the basics in 2010 as they developed and launched surveys, talked to players and staff members around the Alliance, and built the foundation on which our Public Relations and Publicity for Alliance LARP can be built. Having developed a strategy for how to present our organization in the future, you will soon be seeing even more public activity from this group as they develop programs and materials to bring this vision to life. The volunteers largely responsible for this work are:
  • Stephen Duetzmann, Alliance Publicity Committee Chair, Connecticut Chapter
    John Wrobel, Alliance Publicity Committee, Connecticut Chapter
    Rebecca Watson, Alliance Publicity Committee, Crossroads/New York Chapter
    David Balsome, Alliance Publicity Committee, New Jersey Chapter
    James Trotta, Alliance Publicity Committee, Ashbury/HQ Chapter
    Jessica Brown, Alliance Publicity Committee, Crossroads/New York Chapter
    Mike Meeker, Alliance Publicity Committee, Traverse City Chapter
    David Glaeser, Alliance Publicity Committee, Southern Minnesota Chapter

Moderators
The work of this committee began early last year, as they tackled the challenge of creating a positive and supportive atmosphere on our National Boards. This included the development of an entire moderation system, from new Forum Rules, to the steps for moderators to work with our members, to structural modifications to the boards themselves. While we will not name these people by name to preserve the anonymity of their board handles, we would like to acknowledge the chapters that have volunteers contributing to maintaining a positive presence where our National Organization can network, learn from one another, and develop a strong Alliance among the members.
  • Michelle Stagnitta, Alliance Moderator Committee Chair, Ashbury/HQ Chapter
    Connecticut Chapter
    Crossroads/NY Chapter
    San Francisco Chapter
    Seattle Chapter
    Southern Minnesota Chapter
    New Jersey Chapter

Treasure Policy Committee

The work of this committee began about a month ago, as the owners are looking to support our growing game, by looking both locally and nationally at all the component pieces that affect treasure policy. The team is charged with developing three alternative systems they believe will positively impact our game and create a thriving economy. These systems will then be proposed to the chapter ownership for them to review and determine how players will best be served. This team of volunteers includes:
  • John (JP) Pariury, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee Chair, Oregon Chapter
    Matt Watkins, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, New Jersey Chapter
    Jesse Hennessey, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, Connecticut Chapter
    Mike Chagnon, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, Crossroads/NY Chapter
    Paul Foisy, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, Chicago Chapter
    David Glaeser, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, Southern Minnesota Chapter
    Tom Andary, Alliance Treasure Policy Committee, South Michigan Chapter

Individual Contributors

Not every Alliance volunteer is on a team - we have a couple great folks that are individually dedicated to how their specialty can improve the organization.
  • Robb Graves, Forums Maintenance and Design, Ashbury/HQ Chapter
    James Trotta, Link Building/Search Engine Ranking, Ashbury/HQ Chapter

Future Projects and Volunteer Opportunities
  • 1. Monster Database. This is a project that will be introduced once we have a couple others completed. The scope of this project is not yet determined, but will include at minimum a thorough review and updating of the national database to match the rules changes since the last database edition.
    2. Publicity/Design Work. There will be multiple opportunities to get involved with writing, design projects, service projects, and other items that will be published on the forums to our national community.
    3. National New Player Outreach. A player-submitted proposal has put a review and design of national New Player support on the project list for the future – again, the project scope is not yet determined.
    4. TBD! We are always looking for new ways that the Alliance can grow and thrive. If you have ideas for avenues of growth that we’re not currently exploring that are within your own skill set, please reach out to me and we will talk about the viability of your project for the short or long-term future.
 
I'll throw my thanks onto the pile as well.

Christina said it quite well. But, let me just say that I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that you, the players, pour into this game. Every inch of curtain that is peeled back for me reveals another amazing amount of effort on behalf of someone else in the Alliance.

Thank you all, and I look forward to working with you all.

Humbly,
Stephen
National PR
 
you all are crazy!!!!! and we love you :wub2: :wub2: :wub2: all for it!!!!
 
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