Board Elections 2011

[Jeremy Leung]

It's that time of the year again!  The board positions are up for grabs for those interested members in good standing who can rally the requisite membership support.

Date:

Per the Bylaws we should be having the board elections on the 1st member meeting of October.  This would fall on our Board Meeting of next week.  In this case as we only have board meetings quarterly I would like to suggest that we not throw a new administration into a meeting that current administration have been prepping a quarter of a year for.  Keeping this in mind, our board elections will fall on the 20th of October this year. 

The current positions and who holds them are: 

Champion - Jeremy Leung and Jacob Rosenthal

Secretary - *Empty Slot*

Operations Manager - Will Bradley

Treasurer - Jose Diaz

If you are interested in running for a board position I would highly advise reviewing the following descriptions of the positions in the wiki from a brainstorming session we had a while back:

http://wiki.heatsynclabs.org/wiki/How_to_Run_HeatSync_Labs

Would also be good to familiarize your self with the Bylaws if you haven't stepped through them yet:

http://wiki.heatsynclabs.org/wiki/Bylaws

Please also speak with the current Board representatives to get an honest answer as to what they do day in and day out to push the organization forward.  I would urge that you do this before campaigning to get an honest opinion of what you would be getting yourself into.  It is a great responsibility that requires near daily commitment for follow up and getting actions completed.  When considering the position evaluate your current position in life and ask yourself if you can free up that time to be there consistently for the organization.  If you find that in a week or two you won't be available to do anything for a month then this position might not be worthwhile to you.

Regardless of the above, I can say from personal experience that being on the board may be a lot of work, but, it is a highly gratifying experience.  If you feel you have the time you can devote to a position I encourage stepping up to the challenge.  There is so much you can learn in this position and look at all that we have achieved as a community over the last two years?

To get a similar taste of the responsibility and commitment level, without taking on a board position, might I suggest also looking for what is available on the Operations Team for HeatSync Labs.  We're always looking for more people to volunteer for the organization and this is a great way to gauge if you can truly commit your time.

http://wiki.heatsynclabs.org/wiki/Operations_team

I would like to use this thread for people interested in running for positions.  Feel free to write up a blurb about why you feel like a good fit for a position and what you see as a vision for the next year of HeatSync Labs.

Enjoy!

--
Jeremy Leung
Champion | HeatSync Labs
480.334.0174 | jer...@heatsynclabs.org
Twitter: @heatsynclabs @uberschnitzel
http://www.heatsynclabs.org

[Jacob Rosenthal]

Allow me to go first.

Last year a majority of our ~15 members voted for me when I said our
goal should be no less than the most well-equipped hackerspace in the
world:

"My vision isn't for a group of scrappy techno-anarchists to share a
garage. I am not content raising money in the hundreds of dollars. I
believe we have the drive and connections to be a multi-million dollar
workshop that could rival any Tech Shop location."

This year we're closer to that goal than I could have imagined. We
have 2500 sq ft of space on Main Street, we're open to the public M-F
7P-10P inviting them in to learn, play and develop with us, and our
ranks have swelled to 53 members! And, because of all that hard work,
we're starting to see real monetary support from industry.

I've got 2 main focuses this year, HeatSync's 501c3 mission and
continuing to work on both a local and national scale to provide world
class opportunities to HeatSyncers.

Firstly, I want to continue to put the majority of my energy into our
501c3 mission of education via Young Makers and other new First
robotics-style initiatives Jose and I have in the works. These kids
have an energy and a lack of cynicism that I've seen to be incredibly
refreshing for all of us in the lab.

Secondly I want us to be acting on a progressively larger scale with
our hackerspace. Groups like Space Federation are bringing
hackerspaces across the nation together to solve bigger and more
interesting problems. In part with this, it is my belief there is no
reason hackerspaces can't be doing world class research and be funded
to do so. Where academia is fast moving enough and working on
interesting problems, we will work with them. Where they're too slow
or restricted, we'll go where they can't or won't. What I'm talking
about here is hunting down the future and taking it's jetpack.

Are you listening scrappy techno-anarchists?

Lets go change the god damn world.









On Oct 3, 6:58 pm, Jeremy Leung <uberschnit...@heatsynclabs.org>
wrote:

> 480.334.0174 | jer...@heatsynclabs.org <ja...@heatsynclabs.org>
> Twitter: @heatsynclabs @uberschnitzelhttp://www.heatsynclabs.org

[Ryan Rix]

Hey Everyone,

 

Nearly a year ago, I stumbled in to the Mustache Party held back at our old

location and instantly fell in love with the community. Tesla coils, Arduino

powered motorcycles, bacon cake, it was the geeks paradise I'd hoped to find

at ASU when I enrolled. ASU never got close to providing me the hacker

community I had wanted so much; HeatSync did. Since then, I have watched this

community grow and become far more awesome than I could have predicted a year

ago.

 

We have changed and matured since then. We have always excelled at the

hardware side of development, while consequently being weak in software

development. We used to be located at Gangplank and could, to a certain

extent, pull off of their community for software people when we need it.

That's no longer a possibility for us, and we are going to have a pressing

need for software developers in the long term because the projects we are

working on are going to need it, and our space is going to need it. We can't

have a working SEM without people writing code to turn those electrons in to

something we can understand. Ubiquitous computing will never be a reality

without code being written. We will never have a cool hackerspace management

system with logging and little konami-code bacon unicorns without a community

of people here kicking ass on those projects.

 

I don't want to see us turn in to straight coworking; there is definitely a

fine line to walk between hackerspace and coworking. HackerDojo is walking it,

and they are *the* hackerspace for software developers. Why can't we be that

space? We have a handful of folks in here, mostly day crowders who are doing

incredible things, like Javascript powered games and games centered around the

foursquare API. I want more of that. I've lobbied for it internally and we

have, for the most part, a community that is accepting of the software crowd.

We need external lobbying and shmoozing to bring the people to our space

though. We need to reform the ruby community, to catalyze the Django community

and pull in the freedom loving linuxdorks like myself and so much more if we

are to be completely self sustaining.

 

Further, I want to see us in the press more often. Quite frankly, it pisses me

off every time I see other groups in the area getting covered in ASU's State

Press, the New Times and other news outlets while coverage for us after the

initial move has been somewhat rare. In the next year, I want to see coverage

of HSL and the Mesa community in general to become a regular occurrence. We

are an awesome space doing awesome things, and I want to see that recognized

and shown to the general populace.

 

My work on the operations team has shown that a board hat isn't necessary for

everything that I want to see happen, but taking the hole left in the

secretary position legitimizes these efforts externally. Looking at the list

of things the Board is responsible for, evangelizing, managing the space, etc,

I already fill most of those roles, I don't have more to offer than what I'm

doing and what I have been putting in motion with my vision of what HeatSync

Labs could become. There's so much more that I want to see this space become,

but this is probably already tl;dr. You all know me, and you know what I want

this space to become, so let's freaking do it.

 

r

Ryan Rix -- http://rix.si

== OpenSource.com: Where Open Source Happens! ==

_

\/"/_ All Hail the Beefy Miracle!

/_/

\ \

 

[Corey Renner]

I'll only vote for you if you start using a larger font in your emails.  Your last two were microscopic.

cheers,

c

[Ryan Rix]

Heya,

Oh god, kmail is doing that again. :\ I usually do plaintext only. My
apologies.

r

On Thu 13 October 2011 19:05:48 Corey Renner wrote:
> I'll only vote for you if you start using a larger font in your emails.
> Your last two were microscopic.
>
> cheers,
> c
>
> On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 6:39 PM, Ryan Rix <r...@n.rix.si> wrote:

> > **

> >
> > Hey Everyone,
> >
> >
> >
> > Nearly a year ago, I stumbled in to the Mu

[Jeremy Leung]

When I set out with Rick and Sean almost 2 years ago now to start HeatSync Labs there were two general ideas that were driving me forward.  One was to provide a physical location that would house all the tools we would need to create our imaginings and offer that space to the community of makers in the valley.  The second was a hope that we could affect the local and global community in a positive way through this creation and by educating people on how to create things for themselves.

Over the last year I've seen us grow from a small room inside of a coworking place to our own location that we all have paid for and worked hard on to build.  Our projects and interactions have reached around the world and we're becoming known more and more as one of the top hackerspaces in the nation.  Having our own location has allowed us to define our own rules and structure.  It allows us to be more accessible to the Phoenix community and to be a part of a community that is larger than us. 

 

I feel that our current board members, with each of their own goals for HeatSync Labs, combine to help make the organization an adaptable and ever changing entity.  Always challenging the current state of things and pushing for improvement.  Sitting down and speaking with each of the current members in office, talking about their goals for the next year, I support each and every one specifically because what they have chosen to focus on differs from my own immediate goals, and yet, they all help to push HeatSync Labs forward in great ways that support the overall mission.

My personal goals for the next year are to continue seeking out sponsorships and partnerships that enable us to continue furthering our goals and mission.  One of our strong suits is being able to welcome in new members, and with all of the contacts we've made over the last 2 years, pair them up with people working on similar things or direct them to people knowledgeable in a certain discipline.  I want to continue to have HeatSync Labs be a draw for the smartest people in the valley and even people visiting from around the world.  We are already seeing notable personalities coming to our space because they've heard about the awesome that is being done here.

Now that we have a good helping of tools and we're keeping up with rent I want to focus more on our personal growth.  Lets take the time to grow our skillsets and enjoy the lab that we've created for ourselves.  The lab ultimately becomes better when we're in it working on what we love.  The kind of excitement and passion surrounding the projects people work on is contagious.  I want to foster and proliferate the idea that when you step into the lab it is to work on a project or learn a new skill.  I want us all to encourage people while in the lab to work on those projects they've been putting off.  What is that next piece of the project you can get done in the next 5 minutes?  Do that thing!  I will personally be asking people what they are working on in the lab and hope I receive the same.  Let's promote HeatSync Labs as a place for creation and getting things done.

I also want to see longevity and sustainability in the organization.  While Jacob and Jose focus on this with the younger crowd I would like us to encourage this by reaching out to college students; offering up internships opportunities, encouraging project collaboration possibilities, and having challenges/contests within the space.

Sponsorships and grants can help us get the requisite hardware, software, tools and consumables for on going projects and programs we want to do within the lab.  I want people to know that this kind of support is out there and available if we push for it and I want to work on pairing sponsors/donors we meet with project leaders in the space.  I've always felt that this should be the place where crazy big ideas don't receive an immediate "No".  We've got the resources.  Let's figure it out.

There is so much potential for good to continue to come out of HeatSync Labs.  I am so thankful and proud of all of the people that I have met over the last two years that have worked tirelessly to push this idea forward. 

To Jacob's question on if we're listening?  I'm listening.  Let's do this!

[Will Bradley]

I too nominate myself for the board next year. Since being inspired by Jeremy in 2009 to help make the best hackerspace on the planet, I've tried to spend at least one or two nights a week helping out. This isn't part of my duty as a board member, though. Most of it is as a volunteer. As a board member, I provide an operational perspective to the board, contribute to the vision and overall direction of the space, and try to rally support for fulfillment of that vision.

So, my vision for the next year is to increase the automation and smooth running of the space, and to help fulfill the goals of refocusing on what matters and of strengthening our relationships with each other, with the local community and with the worldwide community of hackerspaces.

Automation of the space will help relieve the burden from the members and volunteers of playing nanny, from leaving lights on to messes and tracking down stuff. Tools that self-manage and self-track, websites and systems for the members to interact with the space, and simple things like motion detectors and "parking tickets" can help us accomplish our goals with minimal friction.

Refocusing our activities on the awesome act of hacking, that is the hands-dirty creation, modification, or recombination of things into something novel, will (and has) keep us grounded, happy, and awesome. Since the beginning we've had the philosophy that none of this has to happen as long as people in the Valley are able to hack on what they want, creating things with minimal obstacles.

Whether it's one of our garages full of tools or a whole hacker campus, we are successful when someone can come in off the street and make their imagination a reality without spending a ton of money, time, or manpower just getting started. So having a nice Main Street location, a world-class blog, a couch, tons of publicity, and even a laser cutter are all incidental to the central goal of letting people make stuff. If one of those activities infringes on or distracts from creating, we should reevaluate.

So, maybe we don't need a talk every other week, and maybe we don't need signage or a blog or a speaker slot at the latest local convention. If nobody is able to make those things happen, they shouldn't be pushed because it doesn't matter to HeatSync. However, if someone wants to do those things, all the better! Essentially we shouldn't keep doing things just because we thought it was a good idea once.

As a board member I am also responsible for ensuring that our funds are used in furtherance of our educational 501c3 mission, which I believe can be fulfilled by simply being an operational hackerspace that people use to learn and practice their skills. Jacob is also doing a great job of volunteering with children to help them learn and create in an unparalleled real-world learning environment.

Finally, others have mentioned the goal of strengthening our relationships with the local community and worldwide community. I have and will continue to support that (visit a local business! Connect with other hackerspaces!) but I also want to emphasize strengthening ourselves. Human nature is to be lazy, and the comfort of a place like HeatSync can lower your guard. We should strengthen our unique HeatSync culture and sense of identity among ourselves, get to know each other better by working alongside and with each other, and keep in mind the hacker ethic, especially creation over consumption.

It's easy to slip into endless discussion, consuming media, or playing games; but HeatSync is a place for creation just like cafes are for discussion and consumption and arcades are for playing games. There are plenty of cafes and arcades nearby but only one place for creation, let's live up to our own goals and create some awesome stuff here without distraction! Bonus: since we've got places nearby for other things, they'll become more awesome by your visiting them.

The past year has been amazing for HeatSync, and I'm proud to see the start of a new, self-sustaining, increasingly-productive year for this group and everyone in it!

[Jose Diaz]

This is my entry for re-election to the position of Treasurer of
HeatSync Labs. It has been a great year for us all and I would love
the opportunity to help make the next year even better. With every new
member at HSL we expand our potential as an organization. With every
project new and old we bring to life we place ourselves in the
forefront of the Maker Movement and demonstrate to others that 'yes'
it can be done!

Moving forward into the next year I will be continuing my duties as
Treasurer and integrating the feedback from our membership. Next year
I will be forming a Financial committee with the help of the station/
project leads (e.g. Electronics, Laser Cutter, Metal Shop, etc). This
committee will help develop recommendations Board on how best to
allocate our monies, fund programs, maintain tools and facilites to
the Board to ensure financial integrity, sustainability and the growth
of HeatSync Labs.

I also intend on helping evolve our Young Makers program into
something bigger and stronger. Jacob and I have been discussing this
for quite some time and we see a lot of potential in our current
(under 18 years of age) members and envision growing this base. Young
Makers will carry on our mission of "... breaking down barriers to
innovation by providing equipment and facilities to people interested
in programming, hardware hacking, physics, chemistry, mathematics,
photography, security, robotics, and art ..." to the younger crowd
through various projects and workshops.

[Will Bradley]

Reminder, board elections are tonight. Come and help set the direction
of the lab for the next year!

[Jacob Rosenthal]

The results were (17 voting) (remember you can vote none in a
position, or no confidence)
Jeremy 16, Retains Champion
Jacob 15, Retains Champion
Jose 15, Retains Treasurer
Will 15, Retains Operations
Ryan 15, new Secretary

Congrats all and thanks to Paul for collecting, Andrew for counting,
and Fletcher for officiating the count.