2019 Annual Report

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The 2019 Annual Report was released in 2022, much later than anticipated, due to different reasons related to the staff availability.

A wiki format report is under preparation.

A PDF format is available.

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TarValon.Net

413 Graycroft Drive, Huntsville, AL 35815

2019 Annual Report

TarValon.Net, Inc.

Property of TarValon.Net, Incorporated (hereafter referred to as TV.Net)

Compiled and edited by Erin DeSimone

Statement from the Board of Directors

This has been a difficult year for TarValon.Net. On February 28, 2019, we lost James Beattie after a short but hard-fought battle with cancer. We will remember his dedication to the site and to the board, his wicked sense of humor, and his ability to look at all sides of an issue. We also lost two other members of the Tar Valon community - Strelok Stormhorn/Steve Godecke, and Liam al'Eire/Sean Kerby. We mourn their loss and pass on our condolences to their families.

We also saw both the resignation of the Amyrlin/CEO, Rhed al'Tere, and the Keeper/COO, Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach. A search was held for both positions. Serinia Edoras was selected by the Board to be invested with the Amyrlin's stole. Mieriana Souvra was selected by the Board to be invested with the Keeper's responsibilities.

A new Chairperson was selected in March 2019 - Crystal Dumonceaux was selected unanimously during that board meeting, and took the reins from Joe Pistritto, who remains a board member. In order to keep the number of seats at five, we invited Elizabeth Beattie to be our newest Board member.

The Board looks forward to 2020, with the investitures of both a new Amyrlin and Keeper. We thank the Officers for their determination and fortitude in navigating the future as the TV show comes to fruition.

Crystal Dumonceaux, Chairperson of the Board of Directors

Keeper/COO

This position serves as the Chief Operations Officer of TarValon.Net. It is responsible for all the Administration ("Admin") positions, and daily functions of the community.

Annual Overview

2019 was a difficult year for the TarValon.Net community. We lost three beloved members, and saw the resignation of both the CEO and COO. Though we have been through a lot, the membership is still strong and we continued to gain new members each month.

Departments Overview

We had three staff changes this year. Calen Velervron stepped down as the Director of Community Outreach and has been replaced by Elia LePhant. Jeffan Caliarthan has stepped down as Director of Marketing and been replaced by Alenya Al'Roran. Asandra al'Terra has stepped down as the Director of Moderators and Operators and been replaced by Nymala Ingasy.

Looking Forward to 2020

In 2020, we will focus on improving internal processes at TarValon.Net. This will entail documentation for transition of positions, job manuals, process documentation, and improved internal communication. We will also endeavor to increase member engagement, member satisfaction, bring back the Keeper Awards and to make preparations to welcome new members, who are fans of the Wheel of Time TV Show into our community.

Mieriana Souvra,
Keeper Elect for Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach, Keeper of the Chronicles

Tower Archivist/CRO

The Tower Archivist is responsible for maintaining the Tower's records.

Staffing Changes

There have been no changes to the staff under me this year.

Annual Overview

Last year we had several goals, which were met to different extents

  1. Update membership manual. This was partially done, but in reviewing it, we felt that it had more information that was necessary just to become a member and that a more extensive re-write to just include the essential information would be a good idea.
  2. Complete the Annual Report in a timely manner - this was not achieved, but we have put in place mechanisms that we are hopeful will do this in future years.
  3. Bonding survey - we did not manage.

Looking Forward to 2020

  • To re-write the membership manual
  • Work with Amyrlin to set questions for bonding survey

Toral Delvar,
Tower Archivist

Shatayan/CFO

As Shatayan, my duties include maintaining the tower general ledger; preparing the annual budget, monthly reports, and taxes; and making any payments necessary for tower events or the normal business or maintaining the website.

Annual Overview

This year the process was started to transfer the tower financial records from the previous bookkeeping method of spreadsheets maintained on the google drive to QuickBooks. This transition also includes starting the process of transferring the bookkeeping method from a cash basis to an accrual basis.

Looking Forward to 2020

Over the course of the next year, the transition to reliance on QuickBooks and use of an accrual basis will be continued. Additional activities will include planning for 20th Anni and Euro parties to evaluate methods to minimize the ticket prices.

Financial data is given in Appendix A.

Amanda Beckman, CFO'
Cassie Dainar, Shatayan

Department of Community Outreach

This Department is responsible for TarValon.Net's online events, organizing the official fundraisers and philanthropic efforts for the community, and recognizing the good works done by our members.

Staff Changes

Department Staff
Outreach Activities Team
Servant of All

No Staff Changes.

Annual Overview

Philanthropic Outreach Activities

Real Life Events
  • North American Anni 2019 - The charitable focus for this event was Ronald McDonald House charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington. We raised $100 in funds, as well as a sizable donation of physical goods requested by the organization.
  • Euro 2019 - The charitable focus for this event was Beogradske mačke. This is a local organization to the host city of Belgrade which runs a valuable "Trap, Neuter, Release" program for the stray cats of Belgrade. It also pays vet bills for sick animals, and takes care of stray kittens and cats in the area, as well as finding them loving forever homes. A total of 31000 RSD was raised in total, which is roughly the equivalent of $291 US dollars.
  • Fall Ball 2019 - The charitable focus for this event was Friends of Texas Wildlife. This organization rescues and rehabilitates injured wildlife of Texas, and we raised $5 US dollars at our event.
Fundraisers

Maintaining the Tower Fundraiser - Our maintenance fundraiser in 2019 had the theme of "The Leaning Tower of Tar Valon." We ran a successful event, surpassing our goal of $3,000 US dollars with a total of $3,235.14 raised.

For a complete list of donors, please see Appendix B / Maintaining the Tower Donors.

Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship

Our annual Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship awards two scholars $500 each to help with the cost of education. Our winners this year were Amanda Brainard and Angela Mcelroy. Their winning essays can be found in the Library.

2019 Blood Drive

This year we had a whopping total of 27 pints donated by 13 members! This was our highest number of pints donated since 2015.

For a complete list of donors, please see Appendix B / 2019 Blood Drive Donors.

Servant of All Program

This program was dormant in 2019.

Outreach Activities

Beltine
Group themes
  • Blue Ajah: Bless Your Heart
  • Brown Ajah: Rude AF Hedges
  • Gray Ajah: Bunnies
  • Red Ajah: Rose Garden
  • White Ajah: Steampunk Tea Party
  • Yellow Ajah: Save the Bees
  • Dai M'Hael: Knights and Dames
  • Novices, Recruits, Accepted & Soldiers: Down the Rabbit Hole with the JMs
  • Citizens: Citizens ROCK the Garden
Shaoman
Group themes
  • Blue Ajah: House Scamander
  • Brown Ajah: House Deletyrani
  • Gray Ajah: House of Graytness
  • White Ajah: House Eireweiss
  • Val Cueran: House Snufflepelt
  • Accepted, Novices, Soldiers and Recruits: House Rana
  • Citizens: House of Old Lore

Looking Forward to 2020

The upcoming year of 2020 should hold several changes and exciting ventures for the Department. The department itself is in need of restructuring, and I will be auditing our positions and teams to see what is most beneficial to our future progress, and which positions or programs are ready to be retired. I plan to finally relaunch the Servant of All forum and program to the community, as it has been sitting on the back burner for quite awhile and deserves focus. In 2020, Homecoming will be replaced by a birthday holiday surrounding the time of Harriet McDougal's birthday in August, as we would like to honor Harriet and her years of dedication both The Wheel of Time and its fan community. Finally, the department will be running several Library projects to compile a more detailed history of the department, past holidays, and our philanthropic efforts. I look forward to growing and refining the Department of Community Outreach in the year to come.

Elia LePhant,
Director of Community Outreach

Department of Events and Conferences

This department is responsible for all aspects of finding locations to host physical events worldwide, planning, and executing them.

Staffing Changes

Vivianna Sedai and Aduiavas Sedai have continued in their roles as Mistress of Revels North America and Mistress of Revels Europe, respectively. I wish to thank them for their hard work and dedication to planning fun parties while respecting people's pocketbooks. Ivanor Gaidin is our Conference Coordinator for JordanCon, and he made sure that things went smoothly at that event.

Annual Overview

Anniversary Party

Anni 2019 was held in Ariel, WA from March 22-26, 2019. 25 people attended this year. Jeffan Caliarthan was our local liaison. Ariel was a lovely place to hold Anni, with both separate cabins and rooms within the main meeting lodge. We once again ran a successful silent auction, as well as having available enamel pins for purchase. We supported the Ronald McDonald charities of Oregon and southwest Washington with donations of toiletries and arts and crafts supplies. We also held a remembrance for Jaim Gaidin, where we were able to share our favorite memories of such a wonderful human being.

JordanCon

JordanCon 2019, or Shai'con, was held in Atlanta, Georgia from April 26-28, 2019. Over 50 Tar Valon members attended, either as staff or as event goers. Time was set aside to remember Jaim al'Bearach and Strelok Stormhorn. We had a table to let others of the Wheel of Time fandom know who we are and as always, welcoming new members.

Fall Ball

Fall Ball 2019 was held in Tomball, TX from October 25-27, 2019, and entailed a visit to the Texas Ren Faire. Viv was the local liaison for this event. A smaller gathering (11 members) this year, but a great time was had by all. Our philanthropy focus this year was the Friends of Texas Wildlife - an organization that rehabilitates sick and injured Texas wildlife.

EuroParty

Euro Party 2019 was held in Belgrade, Serbia from October 4-6, 2019. 14 people attended our first visit to Belgrade. Our charity of choice was Beogradske mačke, a local charity that takes care of abandoned kittens. Theolyn Maryash and Lithiel Morn were our local liaisons. A great time was had by everyone, as they toured around the city of Belgrade.

Looking Forward to 2020

Planning has begun for all our events for next year. Anni will be held at the Booker T. Washington State Park in Chattanooga, TN from March 27-30. Fall Ball will be held at Walt Disney World in Florida, and EuroParty will be held in Umeå, Sweden from August 21-23. Planning is underway for our 20th Anniversary Party in the fall of 2021. We will only be having one party in North America in 2021, and this is a huge one, so keep this in mind! We are also looking forward to updating our banners in North America, so please visit Site Announcements to find the thread regarding bids for this endeavor.

The department also announced changing the timing of our events, beginning after our 20th Anniversary party. In 2022, we will be having Spring Fling, with Anni party moving to the fall. We want to give this format a try, so that we are not running into timing issues with JordanCon, and we believe that change can be a good thing! We will be monitoring member feedback about the change, and we welcome any and all thoughts about Events. Please keep an eye on Site Announcements for requests for bids and other event announcements. We are always looking for new places to visit, and we would love to hear from you!

Melisande Arneil,
Director of Events and Conferences

Department of Marketing

The Department of Marketing runs all of the social media outlets for the Tower. It also determines the face of Tar Valon and maintains all logos. Marketing is responsible for the Tar Valon Times blog and putting branded merchandise in the store, as well.

Staffing Changes

Director of Marketing
Social Media Manager
Tar Valon Times Editor
Graphics Development Team
Social Marketing Team
Tar Valon Times Staff

Annual Overview

2019 was a year of great change for Marketing. The Social Media Manager changed over in January and a new social media initiative was launched in May 2019 and has been running ever since in order to keep content running. The Director changed over in July and the Editor for the Tar Valon Times changed over in September. The blog for the Tar Valon Times launched in February. The majority of the year has been spent trying to get reliable people into needed positions to smoothly run the department. There was also a purge of anyone who no longer wished to be a part of the team and those who did not respond when asked if they wanted to stay.

Tar Valon Times

The format was changed to a blog. The Editor changed over this year, as well. Writers who were no longer contributing were replaced with new writers. Focus was adjusted to publish more Wheel of Time and Tower related content and less personal content. There were no member spotlights in 2019, but we are planning to bring them back in 2020.

Graphic Development Team

We were able to work with the Director of Technology to open a new board for the Graphics Development Team and expand the team from what it was. They have created graphics for social media, created logos for live events, and started working on new designs for merchandise items to go in the shop.

TarValon.Net Shop - CafePress and Zazzle

I had no idea we had a Zazzle account, and will now need to do some digging to find out what is going on there. On Cafepress, we had $24.95 in sales and made $2.50. More options were added to the store, but we did not do a good job advertising that, so that is something we will work on for 2020.

Social Marketing

A new social media manager came on at the end of January and launched a new social media plan in May to feature each of the member groups of Tar Valon. With the launch of the TV show on the horizon, we have also been sharing as much as possible for the show.

On January 1, 2019 the Facebook page had 4,433 likes. On December 31, 2019 there were 5,593 likes. A steady increase began at the end of February and spiked in June followed by a continuously steady growth for the rest of the year. We reached an average of 5,614 people per day. It does appear, though that showing up in someone's news feed is driving our post views, because the page is not getting many. It is averaging about 20 a day.

Instagram started the year with 629 followers and ended the year with 1,618 followers. Twitter started the year with 3,302 followers and ended with 4,298 followers.

All gains in social media were done organically. We did not pay to boost any of our posts in 2019.

Looking Forward to 2020

  1. Run a successful marketing campaign at JordanCon. We were low on table giveaways and people like free stuff, so we need to look at what we did right in 2019 and decide what we can do better in 2020.
  2. Continue the current marketing plan on social media. More announcements from Amazon will continue to boost our following and likes. Sharing content about the Tower has also helped to increase our presence across all platforms, so that will continue, as well. The goal is always to

gain more followers, no matter what.

  1. The blog will have a minimum of three posts per week with a goal of getting to five posts a week by the end of the year.
  2. A comprehensive marketing plan will be developed.
  3. The landing page will be updated to reflect our growing community and to help show watchers feel welcomed.
  4. Promote the Library. We have an excellent Library that can be used to help market the site, and that is something we intend to utilize this year.

Alenya Al'Roran,
Director of Marketing

Department of Membership

The Department of Membership is responsible for fostering a sense of community within TarValon. It is involved with the administrative tasks that relate to the membership, and attempts to create a bridge between individual groups and the site at large.

Staffing Changes

Hall of the Tower – April 2019
  • Blue - Ibon Casei and Vivianna L'antreau
  • Brown - Elia LePhant and Stasia t'Andrei
  • Gray - Ilverin Matriam and Ashara Koh'inor
  • Green - Morrighan Daghdera and Onis O'Leia
  • Red - Keelinnea Isyne and Syera Faelron
  • White - Kelgan al'Moranwin and Aduiavas Ida
  • Yellow - Lithiel Morn and Avendaella Tikvah
  • Dai M'Hael - Drake O'Neeus and Kerwin Thaumiel
  • Mahdi'in d'ma Dieb - Barmacral Tigana and Bayrd al'Syeen
  • San d'ma Shadar - Arn Oakenskye and Analiese Sinclaer
  • Val'Cueran - Gedhan Audax and Randalren
Hall of the Tower - October 2019
  • Blue - Alyria Ess and Mieriana Souvra
  • Brown - Serenla Tamowith and Loraella Melodie
  • Gray - Ashara Koh'inor and Imzadi Hopwind
  • Green - Eveanyn al'Grace and Kelvin Sinclaer
  • Red - Theolyn Maryash and Yenie Antagar
  • White - Leala al'Dareis and Cattrin al'Modrah
  • Yellow- Lithiel Morn and Elania Al'Manir
  • Dai M'Hael - Kerwin Thaumiel and Drake O'Neeus
  • Mahdi'in d'ma Dieb - Raam Sho'am and Calen Velervron
  • San d'ma Shadar - Miliham Rastoubel and Soronhen Ciryaher
  • Val'Cueran - Alora Sionn and Braeden Fearghall
Welcome Committee Members

Spring Term

  • Greeters - Fern al'Thorn and Lithiel Morn
  • Scribes - Ilverin Matriam
  • Architect - Eluial Alderaan and Eliza Al'Shaw

Fall Term

  • Greeters -Alenya Al'Roran
  • Scribe - Ilverin Matriam
  • Architects - Jarl Lewin and M. C.
Junior Member Administrators
  • Master/Mistress of Novices and Recruits - Held by Kethaana Nia Khamara until March 1, replaced by Erin al'Denael
  • Master/Mistress of Accepted and Soldiers - Still held by Brandon Tat'vakja
  • Mayor - Held by Leo Kian until April 29, replaced by Jahily al'Karee
Senior Member Administrators
  • Head of the Blue Ajah - Still held by Cahalan Sothron
  • Head of the Brown Ajah - Still held by Eluial Aldaran
  • Head of the Gray Ajah - Still held by Siera al’Cere
  • Head of the Green Ajah - Held by Roheryn ni Galghandhrei t'al'Djinn from January 1
  • Head of the Red Ajah - Still held by Sailea Nerid
  • Head of the White Ajah - Still held by Ahmyra al'Ruley
  • Head of the Yellow Ajah - Held by Elania al'Manir until May 1, replaced by Sarramy Valtiele until October 1, replaced by Fern al'Thorn
  • Company Commander of Val'Cueran - Held by Reniel Killan until July 1, replaced by Randalren
  • Company Commander of Mahdi'in d'ma Dieb - Still held by Murasaki al'Aevon
  • Company Commander of Dai M'Hael - Still held by Qamra Daielin
  • Company Commander of San d'ma Shadar - Held by Ty al'Djinn until September 1, replaced by Analiese Sinclaer

Annual Overview

This year we have been overhauling the Membership Manual, to streamline it for both new and older members, ensuring that sections are up to date regarding changes made.

We also changed the month's wait for bonding times to be sure that the application process is smooth and seamless.

Our annual membership cleanup took place in 2019.

Name Changes
  • Leala Gymorraine - Leala al'Dareis
  • Duderin Dedumo - Primus Dedumo
Tar Valon Citizens

19 new citizens, mostly in July

White Tower Members

Raisings for 2019

  • 8 to Novice
  • 5 to Recruit
  • 4 to Accepted
  • 3 to Soldier
  • 7 to Aes Sedai
  • 1 to Gaidin
  • 2 Demotees

Official Clean up figures:

  • 680 members pre-cleanup
  • 293 responded
  • 387 emailed
  • 143 here
  • 2 retired
  • 242 removed
  • 6 returning
  • Total - 442 members.

Looking Forward to 2020

There is a plan to restructure the City, to ensure citizens feel more a part of TarValon, and we are hopefully getting the raising test fully up and running.

Membership statistics can be found in Appendix D.

The complete list of volunteers is given in Appendix F.

Sa'areah Britthorn,
Director of Membership

Department of Moderators and Operators

The Department of Moderators and Operators handles maintaining the forum site, addressing any issues that may come up within the threads of the site, any issues on our IRC channels, and removing spambots.

Staffing Changes

This year, we added a new Mafia mod, Thaddius al'Guy as Zashara Sho'am's term ended. We also added Juliya Karisu and Thaddius al'Guy as forum moderators.

Annual Overview

This year has been a year of transition for Mods and Ops. We have been working to establish the newest forum, which will be for religious discussion. We have also started the process of planning to make the TarValon.Net Discord an official reality.

Looking Forward to 2020

In 2020, I aim to execute and complete implementation of both the Discord the religion forum. I also aim to start making reporting spambots a fun, winnable contest to encourage everyone to help get rid of them as quickly as possible.

Nymala Ingasy,
Director of Moderators and Operators

Department of Research and Records

The Department of Research and Records oversees the Tower Library and the Tower Histories. It is responsible for handling the research needs of our community to make us one of the top go-to websites for Wheel of Time research, as well as recording all aspects of our community, its organization and activities.

Staffing Changes

In May, Charis Delphi stepped down as Headmistress after serving more than five years in the position, and was replaced by Atarah al'Norahn. Alexstrasz Ruskein took over the Events Historian position after Imzadi Hopewind's resignation in July.

Annual Overview

Library projects undertaken during the year have included the creation and upkeep of Department History pages for each department, updating avatar sizes to reflect the new standard on the forums. Significant improvements have been made to the Events-related sections of the Library by the new Events Historian. Over on the book side, chapter icon images have been added to all chapter summaries, and strides have been made towards finishing both the Companion updates and the remaining A Memory of Light - related character updates. This work will continue during 2020.

Looking Forward to 2020

Goals for 2020 include
  • Formulating a plan for the inclusion of the upcoming TV show into our Library and starting to put it into place
  • Reorganizing the Tar Valon Times-related pages in the Library
  • Finishing the Companion updates
  • Finishing the remaining AMoL character updates
  • Encourage more contributors to the Library, expanding content whether book, site or community group related

Tallan Daar,
Director of Research and Records

Department of Technology

This department maintains all technological systems that TarValon.Net uses either directly or through maintaining the relationship with the owner.

Staffing Changes

Master of the Watch: Ariadne Davion has left, and a replacement is being hired.

Annual Overview

We successfully maintained all systems, with no big issues in 2019. We completed the Blog project - Blog was built and sent to production, and management was handed to the appropriate team.

Looking Forward to 2020

Our goals for 2020 are to set up a development environment, set up a ticketing system to more effectively track requests, and enable and train team members for a more appropriate distribution of work throughout the technology team.

Deoan Kakarot,
Director of Technology

Appendices

The Appendices can be viewed in the PDF file. We are working on adding them to this page.