Election 2024
The election has started. If you are a member, please check your inbox for an email from OpaVote
The election will be start August 25 2024 and end September 14 2024 at 23:59
Contents
[hide]- 1 This Election
- 2 How to nominate someone
- 3 Nominees for Board of Directors
- 4 Board nominee survey
- 4.1 How would you balance confidentiality of member concerns with the concerns of members who seek information about decisions made?
- 4.2 The concept of Do-ocracy is an important one to a makerspace. "Is a methodology by which those who take initiative to do work in a group are empowered to make decisions about what they do." At i3 we say that it's anything that can be undone in 20 minutes. Thinking beyond the blanket statement, are there situations at i3 where Do-ocracy may not apply? What would you suggest we do to manage expectations, develop trust, and encourage participation?
- 4.3 Can you commit to be present at all or nearly all board meetings?
- 4.4 How long have you been a member of i3?
- 5 Links to Nominee Stump speeches
This Election
We have to fill 3 board seats this year, each 2 year terms.
How to nominate someone
Nominations for the 2024 Election are closed
Nominees for Board of Directors
- Lewis Dennison
- Paul Askins
- Tim Clayson
- Jeff Burdick
- Paul Lee
Board nominee survey
All members are welcome to add any question they feel are relevant
How would you balance confidentiality of member concerns with the concerns of members who seek information about decisions made?
Tim Clayson I respond in context that this question's intent primarily addresses matters of member/guest behavior and any disciplinary decisions as consequence. Generally, such matters should be resolved confidentially, but with input from affected parties. Other members may be informed that a matter is/has been addressed (much like a camera review) and the process by which a decision was made (e.g. steps of fact-finding, etc.) but I don't believe that membership-at-large should have unfettered access to all the evidence/findings.
The concept of Do-ocracy is an important one to a makerspace. "Is a methodology by which those who take initiative to do work in a group are empowered to make decisions about what they do." At i3 we say that it's anything that can be undone in 20 minutes. Thinking beyond the blanket statement, are there situations at i3 where Do-ocracy may not apply? What would you suggest we do to manage expectations, develop trust, and encourage participation?
Tim Clayson Yes, there are areas where this would not apply. Managing digital (network and security) infrastructure, modifying applications, or certain financial functions come to mind. What I'm uncomfortable about the definition is it implies autonomy and does not also encourage communication as part of "doing". I know of no one at i3 who would not want and help someone to take initiative to make it a better place
Can you commit to be present at all or nearly all board meetings?
Paul Lee/inaudible (talk) Yes, once a month is not much of a burden even though there are people who run for the board and don't seem to be able to.
Tim Clayson Yes. I've already been attending as Treasurer.
How long have you been a member of i3?
Paul Lee/inaudible (talk) I joined seven years ago, in 2017. Wow, when did I get to be one of the old guys here?!?
Paul Askins I've been a member since June of 2018
Tim Clayson Since January of 2020
Jeff Burdick (talk) Jill and I joined i3Detroit in 2020.
Links to Nominee Stump speeches
Paul Askins I have been a member for six years now. In that time I have come to learn that i3Detroit is what you make of it. If you want it to be a good, productive space, you have to contribute. For example, I have been hosting monthly art sessions for almost a year now because it is something I've always wanted to participate in. I intend to be a contributing member of the board by providing an organized, thoughtful perspective to the issues that need attention. I live nearby and at the space often, so I will be on site to address things in person. I hope you will vote for me for the board.
Tim Clayson I joined i3 for the opportunity to learn new techniques and work with different materials. I joined i3 just before Covid shut us down. Once we reopened, I took on the role of Woodshop ZC and built out the new woodshop (along with help from a number of other members). I've also contributed to other zones such as building a table for jewelry, got the ceramics zone on it's feet again with a new kiln, repaired the metal shear, built the plasma table in welding, built some of the storage in tool zone as examples. I volunteered to help with finances which led to being named co-treasurer. I can say I've learned a lot from other members and hopefully others have learned something from me as well. To me, that's the ethos of i3. I'm running for the BOD because I can help to keep and improve i3 as a sound, financially stable, and creative space that members and community enjoy coming to.
Jeff Burdick Jill and I have been members of makerspaces for nearly 10 years now. First at the ATX hackerspace in Austin, Texas, through a fledgling maker's group in Decatur, Illinois trying to organize and find a space, to hack.RVA in Richmond, Virginia where I helped design and construct nearly every working surface in the space and was involved in coordinating and executing a reorganization and expansion, to Hive13 in Cincinnati, Ohio where I helped coordinate and execute a move and build-out. I strongly believe in success through collective responsibility, operation, and ownership of a makerspace. I believe working toward these principles by lowering the barrier of entry for participation in our operations and governance. I hope this will help bring i3Detroit forward, with new members and new contributors.
Paul Lee (inaudible)
Link to my original full and lengthy stump speech
I've been a member here since 2017 and have been heavily involved in helping run the space almost since day one.
Within weeks of joining I started giving tours every Friday and soon after everybody else stopped giving tours. I was the "unofficial Official Tour Guide". I quickly got good at telling how excited my tour victims were. I learned to recognize the "I'm home" look on the most excited tour victims. I'm sure I had that look on my face the moment I walked through the door for the first time.
Soon after, t the board decided I'd make a good VPAC (Vice President of Activities and Classes) a position which has been neglected for some time. As VPAC I fixed the "oops, we forgot to schedule PotLock, I guys we'll try again next time" problem.
My first full September as a member I was voted onto the board and served two terms, including the year that covid happened (that was a lot of fun đ). Before COVID it was also when we decided to rent B side. I was also involved in the banning a few members, probably the worst part of the job, but something you're signing up for by running for the board.
Apart from my experience on the board I was also dumb enough to run the i3 presence at Maker Fair twice, a horrible and very busy job. But i3 needed someone to do it and nobody else would. I would have done it again if it hasn't been cancelled due to covid. But everything that looked like it was going to blow up actually ended up going just fine.
Speaking of Maker Fair, we needed invites to the after party so I made those, with my uneducated amateur page layout skills. I also did the brochures and the MEDC fund raising cards.
When the space's long running Member Advocate stepped down and the space needed a new one I stepped up when nobody else would. Then when Matt Carpenter left us for a job in Boston I stepped up and traded VPAC for VP of Membership when the people on the membership committee weren't doing what they signed up for.
To make the story short (too late) I don't think I've ever said no to do something that needed to be done that I could do which means I've held most all of the leadership positions that exist at i3 and without any complaints because I love i3 and what it stands for and I can't just sit back and watch if flounder because something necessary wasn't being done.
Looking toward the future, I have several plans for i3.
One: I'd like to get more of the new members involved in leadership. i3 is always a work in progress and they have the fresh new ideas to make i3 into what it needs to be post covid.
Two: I want to get the expansion done, hopefully by the end of the year.
And three, the biggest one: I'd like to get i3 into a position where we can buy our own space. Owning our own space means we have to pay the mortgage but no property taxes which should make the monthly property costs cheaper, whereas renting means we have to pay property taxes as part of the rent. We can also find a space that has the things we want that the current space lacks, like a loading dock and adequate parking. But in order to do that we have to work on making our financials satisfactory to bankers.
