-Create regional mailing lists for organizing events in areas with sufficient HRSFANS populations. In addition to Boston, we seem to have substantial contingents in New York, DC, the Bay Area, and many other cities.
-Organize HRSFANS SIGs that people can participate in remotely (such as the already ongoing online Magic drafts).
-Organize large-scale alum gatherings in places other than Boston (such as Tom Lotze’s famed 4th of July party).
-I think a newsletter that encompasses both undergraduate and alum news would be a great way to keep the two groups in touch. This could include not only information about HRSFA and HRSFANS as wholes but also news from individual members, such as HRSFen/ANS who are publishing books and games, running for political office, etc.
As you can see, I have some specific ideas for things HRSFANS could do. Specific ideas are useful, but I’m not wedded to this particular batch. I think the first job of the new board will be to collect a much more comprehensive list of ideas, both broad and specific. The next step, obviously, is to start implementing those ideas. However, I think the ideal is not for the board to take it upon itself to implement those ideas, but rather to create infrastructure and a support network that will allow everyone (board members and non-members alike) to implement their ideas as easily as possible. To take HRSFA as a model, the bulk of HRSFA activities are run by SIG leaders (who may or may not be officers as well), and the officer board’s role is to provide the structure in which those SIGs can best function. I think HRSFANS will benefit from a similar model, in which the board provides the support necessary for “SIG leaders” (or regional coordinators, or whatever forms they take) to implement their own ideas. This will undoubtedly involve a good deal of mundane logistical work: keeping up to date contact information for members, providing technical support for mailing lists and websites, and so on. More interestingly, it will also involve finding those SIG leaders (a serious task in itself!) and working with them to determine what sort of support is necessary for their various endeavors.
Strictly speaking, the board isn’t necessary. Most of what I’m proposing could happen without a board or an official organization. Some of it already does. But much of it doesn’t. The board’s ultimate job is to turn more of these ideas into realities.
The secretary should help with logistics and communication. Whoo, paperwork. A more interesting task is keeping lines of communication open between HRSFANS, its “SIG leaders”, and HRSFA. Of course, this is a job for the board as a whole, but the secretary in particular should be in touch with everyone, aware of who is doing what, and ensuring that people get the support they need in their various endeavors. In the collaboration-with-HRSFA department, I would particularly like to see the secretary and the HRSFA alumni liason working together on a newsletter as described above.
I’m a freshly minted alumnus, having just graduated in ’07. I’m now doing a Masters degree in Cognitive Science at the University of Amsterdam. (Yep, in the Netherlands!) My strongest HRSFA-related interests are puzzles and games, followed by reading fantasy and science fiction.
2) I love organizing things.
1+2 = 3) I love organizing things for HRSFA(NS).
As an undergrad, I was Vericon Chair for two years (’06 and ’07). I was also very involved with coordination and logistics for the HRSFA Puzzle Hunt. I’ve been Acting Secretary of HRSFANS since our incorporation in the fall. I make lots of to do lists.