first of all, thank you everyone for the kind words, and thank you austin for the nomination. i really appreciate it.
to address nate specifically, i'm not sure why it would be surprising. i joined HSL shortly after I moved to arizona in may, during arnob's fantastic maker party because i felt welcomed by the people who were there. I joined straight up at the $50 level so I could get myself as involved as possible as quickly as possible, after having had a practically lifelong dedication to hackerspaces and the maker community, hoping to bring more of that energy back into the space (and I still think we need even more of that!)
it has now been almost 7 months. in that time, I have gone from a member to board member. i have run almost every HYH since August or so, and part of the reason a card membership would admittedly be handy would be so that I can help open and close for HYH - right now I have to play a guessing game of not being there too early and getting locked out but early enough that I can set things up to help the meetings run as smoothly as I am capable of running them.
i have helped reboot our website. i spearheaded our halloween candy giveaway, and donated much of the candy that was given out and that was well received by our local mesa neighbors. i helped with friendsgiving, which had record turnout. i am working on running a fundraiser to help close our real fiscal gap that has been made worse by people who wish to divide us rather than unite us. heck, i learned to drive and leased a car partially to make it easier for me to get to HSL (but I'm still not great at driving, so I try to avoid visiting the lab after dark unless my partner sofia is with me, so, i assist with open hours most saturdays.) i would hope that all of this speaks for itself.
i'll also quickly note that I recused myself from the vote to make cardholders eligible after 2 months - even though I was already eligible for card membership under the old 6 month criteria - specifically to avoid any allegations of misconduct or self-dealing. i also specifically asked at least one person who volunteered to nominate me not to nominate me in order to address concerns certain people have raised at HYH about the narrow cardholder nominator pool. i always strive towards what is just, moral and fair with the understanding that not everyone agrees on a common definition of the common good and that's okay.
i know that being a board member has meant i have had to make some unpopular decisions and enforce some unpopular rules that I didn't make. some of the decisions i've had to make are things I don't even necessarily agree with, but which i think align with the best interests of the lab, and the best interests of the lab will always trump any of my personal opinions. if the concern is that I have not been a member for long enough, then I understand, though I'll note that I joined HSL practically as soon as I moved to the area after having a long history at multiple other spaces - CRASH in LA, Area515 in des moines, iowa, QC Co-Lab in Davenport, Iowa, etc. if enough people feel this way, please speak up, and I will ask Austin to rescind my nomination. but know that lack of a card is hurting my ability to deepen my contributions to the lab further than i already do.
if, however, the concern is that there is more I could be doing for the lab, but am not doing, please feel free to let me know and I will do my best to accommodate. :)
if it's something else, then I'm sorry, but without further context I cannot do anything to address those concerns.
brett