Letter from the Chair: Changes to the Philly IGDA Leadership

[Matt Brenner]

Good Afternoon IGDA Philly Community,

Over the last 4 years I've gotten to run one of the most passionate, dedicated, and amazing chapters of the IGDA and it has been a delight. Spending the past 4 years coming up with new and exciting ways to promote the community's games and bring us all together for events has been a reward for me, and I truly thank you all for giving me the opportunity to do so. It is with a sad heart that today I must announce that at the end of the year I will be stepping down as the Chair of the IGDA Philadelphia. This decision has been one that has weighed on me for quite some time now, but I feel that it is in the best interest of the chapter that I step aside and let someone with more time available to dedicate to the IGDA run the chapter. My life has been pulling on me in multiple directions over the last 6 months and I feel that the time that I once had to run the chapter has shrunk and the chapter is suffering because of it. Change while hard more often brings about positive results and I’m really hoping that if I step aside and let some fresh blood come in and take the reigns that the IGDA Philly can be stronger than ever. Once again it has been an honor and a pleasure to deliver all that the IGDA Philly has to you guys over the course of my leadership. I’m always available by e-mail for any sort of help and will continue to tell anyone who will listen that Philly is an amazing game development community. Thanks again for the wonderful last 4 years and keep being amazing Philly.

Now with that knowledge we need to fill the 2 open leadership positions with elections. After speaking with Zenas and Ryan G (Ryan H will also be stepping down at the end of the year) the decision has been made to change up the leadership structure of the Philly IGDA. The format and function of the positions haven't been finalized but the idea moving forward will be to have an Philly IGDA Board with several members on it. Those members will be responsible for various tasks. The number of board members has yet to be decided. If you are interested in running for a board member position, there will be an election on December 13th at our December Chapter Meeting. Please submit any questions about the Board Leadership positions, and letters of intent to Phi...@igda.org More details about the election on the 13th will be available in a few weeks. For now we will have an election process of 3 weeks. Here is the breakdown.

Voting in an IGDA Philadelphia Leadership Election

To be eligible to vote during the IGDA Philadelphia elections, one must be a paid, core member of the IGDA before the end of the leadership nomination period (November 7th). Paid student members are not eligible to vote as they do not receive voting rights. To become an IGDA member, visit www.igda.org/join

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Running for an IGDA Philadelphia Leadership Position

Qualification for Office

1. Must be a paid, core member for at least the past six (6) months. (Cutoff date was May 26th) HOWEVER since we’re opening up the board to a new format we’re going to institue a policy of “Or become an IGDA member within 1 month of being elected”

2. Must in good standing with the IGDA at both the main organization and chapter levels.

3. The nominee must have read the IGDA and IGDA Philadelphia Bylaws and agree to be bound by its terms.

IGDA Bylaws can be found at http://tinyurl.com/3wcncx5

IGDA Philadelphia Bylaws can be found at http://tinyurl.com/3meqjzh

Deliverables

If candidate meets the above three qualifications, deliverables are as follows:

1. Inform Chapter Leadership of your intent to run and deliver a Candidate's Statement by November 7th (see official information on Candidate Statement below)

3. Be available to present your position and take Q&A from the chapter during the December 13th chapter meeting.

Candidate statements will be distributed to the chapter via E-Mail on December 8th. Change in leadership taking place the first working business day in January. (January 1, 2015)

Candidate Statement Guidelines/Requirements

Each candidate will have the opportunity to prepare a statement that will be published to the IGDA web site and emailed to chapter members as part of the election materials. This statement may be no more than 400 words long. Any statements longer than 400 words will be returned to the candidate and the candidate will be asked to provide a shorter one. If no statement of 400 words or less is provided before the close of nominations, the election materials will state that no statement was provided.

Candidates are advised to maintain a professional tone and focus their statements on their personal philosophy, priorities and goals for the organization (e.g., 3/4 of statement). It is acceptable for candidates to provide some  background on themselves (e.g., 1/4 of statement).

No candidate’s statement will be edited for any reason. However, Ryan Harbinson reserves the right to request edits or revisions if it is deemed that a candidate’s statement contains inaccuracies, false statements, or inappropriate language or content.

So here is a recap of the important dates:

Nov. 24 - Dec. 7 taking nominations for Board Leadership Positions

Dec. 8 letters of intent will be distributed to group.

Dec. 13 Interested candidates can speak about themselves at chapter meeting. Voting will take place at Chapter Meeting.

 

Matt Brenner
Senior Game Programmer
AMI Entertainment
Chair of the Philly IGDA