2013 Annual Report

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TarValon.Net

413 Graycroft Drive, Huntsville, AL 35815

2013 Annual Report

TarValon.Net, Inc. Annual Report 2013

Property of TarValon.Net, Incorporated

Compiled and edited by Anne Vanolli

With Assistance from Nissa Reichenbach, Jessica Beaushene, and Christopher Berger

Contents

State of the Tower - Amyrlin / CEO, Welcome

2013 has been a year of rebuilding and reflection. This year saw the publication of the final volume of The Wheel of Time in January which, at least for me, has brought about so many memories of reading each new book over the years. When you have been reading a series since you were a teenager, there is something just a bit sobering (on top of the anticipation) about opening the newest edition one last time. Many of our members served as "Memory Keepers" at various events throughout the country (I myself attending the signing in Baltimore, MD!) and it was amazing to see the excitement and feeling of community in everyone who waited in lines or chatted with the strangers around them at each event. The Wheel of Time family is truly an extraordinary one!

Our own events in 2013 were great as we visited Flint, Michigan for our 12th Anniversary, had a huge presence at JordanCon in Atlanta, visited the beaches of Belgium at Euro Party and finished up the year in Salt Lake City, Utah for Fall Ball. Attendees once again reached out and donated to various causes (Ronald McDonald House, Televil in Belgium, and the Utah food bank) making a great impact on local communities. I love that even as we are enjoying each other's company and having a great time at each event that we still keep others in mind and strive to represent the title of "Servant of All."

The spring admin meeting was held and we began the long term conversation of "where do we go from here?" We began to discuss various options of potential changes including possibly opening up both the Aes Sedai and Gaidin "tracks" to people of all genders. This is by no means a one time chat, so we continued it in the admin meeting discussion forum and then the department of administration put out a survey so that everyone could make sure that their voice was heard. This is by no means a short process, so we will continue into 2014 to see if this is something we truly want or need to do.

2013 saw a few changeovers in officer staffing and in membership on the board of directors. A new Shatayan/CFO was named at the end of February and it was my distinct pleasure to welcome Ubahsur Kindellaer to the officer team. She jumped right in and set up a monthly reporting system for the Board of Directors, amended the tracking system we had set up as an interim measure and got straight to work on getting our taxes squared away. She has been a true asset to all of us, and I cannot thank her enough for taking on the enormous task of getting us back to financial solvency. We are still paying on one debt from 2012, but are continuing to make payments and progress there.

In that same week, Leora Oldessroth stated her intention to resign as Keeper. Leora did so much in that role and for me, and I could never thank her enough for it! We asked for applications, did interviews between the Board of Directors and finalists; ultimately Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach was chosen to fill the position in March. Lireina has brought a wonderful energy to our team and I look forward to working with her for some time to come!

Finally, in April Caerwyn Gaidin was named to the position of Chairman of the Board for 2013, and Rhed Sedai was asked to take up a seat on the board bringing the number to five.   Ultimately, 2013 saw us re-establishing our financial footing and looking forward to where we will go next. 2014 I am sure will prove to be an exciting one with potential changes in our basic organization; we are hoping to add an event in the South Pacific to our schedule, and the continuation of now nearly 13 years as a Community and family. TarValon.Net has truly come through the fire and I have great optimism and anticipation to see what 2014 has in store for us. Thank you everyone for your love and support for each other and for showing what it means to be a true "Servant of All."

Vivianna L'antreau
The Watcher of the Seals
The Flame of TarValon.Net
The Amyrlin Seat

Statement from the Board of Directors

Through hard work and an amazing amount of dedication from our members, 2013 saw TarValon.Net resume normal operations and largely recover from the calamitous events of late 2012.

On the administrative and financial side, members came forward, took positions of responsibility, and cooperated to create new systems of accountability and transparency for the organization's finances which are described elsewhere in the report. Suffice it to say that without the hard work and sacrifices of these members, our organization likely would not have survived to put together this report.

This work has resulted in greater efficiencies and safer practices for the entire organization and has allowed us to get back to accomplishing our goals and evolving the organization to serve the needs of its membership. We continue to acquire new members, grow from within, and have a healthy core of dedicated members who help "keep the lights on" for all of us.

The organization is now back on track and heading forward with confidence in this new year as can be seen by our successful events and fundraisers in 2013, ensuring continuation of our many traditions as a group.

Your Board of Directors thanks all of your for your patience, your cooperation, and your continued commitment to our organization in 2013.

Joseph Pistritto, on behalf of the Board of Directors

In Memoriam - Henry Skyn - August 6, 2013

Henry Skyn avatar

My dad (known here as Henry Skyn) passed away at the weekend and naturally we are all devastated. I promised him a while ago to post on the Old People's Table if anything happened, and I thought I should maybe also add a new thread somewhere to inform anyone who might be wondering about him. Any suggestions would be welcome as to what might be appropriate, but this table was where he posted most.

I would also like to put in a link to his obituary for anyone who would like to read about him, as he was an extraordinary man as well as a great dad.

The comfort is, although he had been very tired for a long time, he was able to be at home with my mum and family rather than in hospital, and I spoke to him every day. He was out walking his beloved dog Pudding in the orchards when it happened. My mum called his mobile as he was longer than usual and he told her he was very out of breath but coherent still. He was not in any pain. My mum drove to find him with my aunt and uncle and he was still conscious when they arrived but sadly died shortly afterwards.

The link to his obituary is here.

I hope I have got that right. As it is in the latest news section it may move to a different link, so if it takes you the wrong place please let me know.

Dad greatly enjoyed his chats with you all on this site, and his mission lately was to get our whole family here! He was doing pretty well and had succeeded in getting most of my brothers, sisters, and however many of his 10 grandchildren that were old enough, to read the books. Perhaps some of them will carry on his example of making mischief here!

Dad is now at rest in a beautiful and peaceful corner of St Martin's Church in the same burial plot as my grandparents, shaded by trees and next to his plant nursery. We had a small family funeral a few weeks ago, then last Monday we had a memorial service for him in the bigger church in the nearest town as so many of his fencing friends wanted to come we couldn't fit them in St Martin's (nearly 300 people came!). My eldest brother spoke at the service about dad's life, and along with the fencing and family stories had to mention dad's love of the WoT series.

Karin al'Skyn, Citizen

Keeper / COO

Annual Overview

2013 has been another very eventful year for the Tower as we have continued to be an ever evolving work in progress under the eye of our current Amyrlin, Vivianna L'antreau, who has completed her first year in this role for the Tower. Change has definitely been the theme of the year, following in the footsteps of its predecessors.

Departments Overview

The Administrative Department has once again seen some noticeable changes for the year, starting in February with the selection of a new Shatayan/CFO for the community, Ubahsur Kindellaer, who in turn had to give up her role as our Director of Administration. Ubah has jumped into her new role, putting in long hours working to get the Tower's finances back in line and moving towards healthy. Thanks to her diligence, the Tower has made significant strides in that direction, and she continues to work to help rebuild the financial strength of our organization. In May, Ubah was succeeded as Director of Administration by Calypsa al'Nicolai, a familiar face in the Administration department and long-time member of its Legal Advisory team, who has served most recently as our Community Care Coordinator in the Community Outreach department. The transitions have gone smoothly, and Calypsa has become a valuable member of the Admin team.

This year also saw Leora Oldessroth, our Keeper/COO since March 2011, announce that she would be stepping down. Leora was replaced by Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach, a long standing member of the community who most recently served as one of the Tower Gatekeepers.

We have also seen some changes elsewhere in the Executive team. Karassa Souladrin, Director of Moderators, stepped down in July and was succeeded by Kelgan al'Moranwin, a regular member of our Moderators. Our Director of Marketing, Kytheria al'Shea, also stepped back from her duties and was succeeded in December by Ariadne Davion, who had most recently served as Calypsa's successor as Community Care Coordinator.

Our Director of Technology, Erin al'Denael, has settled into her position, working with a great team of tech savvy members that keep our community active and happy on the boards. Our Director of Membership, Sa'areah Britthorn, keeps our community Admins hopping and her email box open to address the various needs and concerns of our membership population, and our Director of Events and Conferences, Sonea Ilandred, has also capably stepped into her role, working with teams both in the US and in various other locations to plan many exciting events for the Tower community all over to participate in. Tree, our Director of Community Outreach, has continued to come up with great ideas to keep our community's philanthropic endeavors ticking smoothly along, benefiting not just the Tower and its members, but the charitable organizations that we donate to via fundraising/donations at our main Tower events. Serenla Tamowith, our Tower Archivist, has tackled the ever daunting task of the Merit Awards system and the never ending process of keeping our documentation organized and archived for future reference. Alongside Serenla in the documentation process is our Head Librarian, Toral Delvar, who continues to make the Library a fantastic and ever-growing resource of WoT and Tower knowledge.

Looking Forward to 2014

With so much change during 2013, a big focus of 2014 will be on building solid working relationships within the Administration, as well as throughout our membership community. We will be continuing to work with our members in finding new and exciting ways to keep the site fresh and going strong. We will also keep looking for opportunities to help our members to reach out and contribute in positive and meaningful ways in their own communities, as well as this one.

Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach, Keeper

Tower Archivist / Secretary

Overview

The position of Tower Archivist did not undergo any major changes in 2013. Ongoing projects include updates to Membership Manual, Merits, archiving information from the forums, and Membership Awards.

Archives

The process of archiving the old forums has been completed, and our current focus is on continuing to archive relevant threads from the current forums.

Merits

Merits were awarded in January. For a variety of reasons, no other Merits were awarded in 2013. New members have been hired for the Merits Team for 2014. Members have also been selected to participate in a group dedicated to creating new Merits.

Membership Manuals

Due to the ever-changing nature of our organization, the Membership Manuals will never be a finished project, but we work to keep it as updated as possible. No major changes were made to the Membership Manuals in 2013.

Legal Status

TarValon.Net, Inc., remains a legally incorporated 501(c)(7) non-profit entity. No changes in its status occurred during 2013 other than the addition of Ashley Morgan (Rhed al'Tere) to the Board.

Members Choice Awards

Members Choice Awards were presented in March of 2013. Awards are presented in person if feasible at one of our official events. A full list of the awards is posted in Site Announcements.

What Is Next?

The next year will be spent updating documents that need to be updated (such as the Membership Manuals), creating new merits, working with the new Merits team to award items already earned and assisting other Officers or Directors as needed.

Serenla Tamowith, Archivist

Shatayan / CFO

TarValon.Net, Inc. finances in 2013 has seen a lot of back end improvements and no changes from 2012 to members, vendors, or otherwise.

In February a new Shatayan was hired, Ubahsur Kindellaer. Over the course of the year, retaining the services of an assistant became critical, and due to her qualifications, Cassie Dainar was selected to fill this role.

The backend improvements included an update to tracking financial transactions, reporting, and access to accounts. A formal book of accounts, General Ledger, and accounting reports were developed and tailored to TarValon.Net, Inc. Procedures established in 2012 require the accounting report on Cash Flows monthly, 2013 saw the addition of the Income Statement and Balance Statement monthly. Access to accounts is limited to Officers and the assistant; because account numbers are visible / accessible, everyone with access has had a background check performed. Finally, a child board to Exec was created to increase transparency and communication regarding finances.

The year began with the Tower being in debt, owing reimbursements to many as well as having outstanding loans. At the conclusion of the year all reimbursements have been made as well as payments toward the loans. We anticipate that the remaining loan will take a few years to be paid off; the amount remaining on the loan is $4,780.00.

Additional projects this year included review of procedures, fees, and review of past taxes. Procedures were expanded upon and recorded on a Google Site accessible to Execs and the assistant. A review of fees was performed, which resulted in no changes to where the Tower maintains bank accounts but did result in a massive savings in PayPal fees (>$600) and currency conversion fees (>$150).

The taxes for 2012 were filed timely as is required of TarValon.Net. Due to the events that came to light in late 2012, the review of past taxes was a large undertaking that continues into 2014. No action, such as filing an amendment, has yet been made on prior tax years. Taxes are publicly available documents, should you wish to see any taxes that have been filed please reach out Officers@tarvalon.net.

Please see the appendix for the estimated 2014 Organizational Budget, 2013 Statement of Cash Flows, and 2013 Income Statement. The 2013 Balance Statement is not included as it can be misleading and confusing.

Please note that the budget includes items that are not crucial to running the organization but we include just in case, things like fees for retaining a lawyer and accountant. The budget also includes estimates based upon existing known factors (such as for Britain and Ireland and Anni) or from previous events (such as Fall Ball.) Some items on the budget (such as membership gifts) are on the back burner until the financial status of the organization is more stable (i.e. no debt, larger cushion.) An arbitrary cushion of $2000 in case of emergencies has been set for the organization.

In sum, 2013 was a busy year. A great deal was done to improve the financial health of the organization and streamline processes and procedures while adding in checks and balances. It will take an estimated five years to return to the position we were in previously, but we are on a great track to do so if donations and event attendance continue at their current rates.

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Ubahsur Kindellaer, Shatayan

Department of Administration

2013 was a busy year for the Department of Administration. In February, Ubahsur Kindellaer accepted the role of Shatayan and moved on from her role of Director of Administration. Calypsa al'Nicolai was selected to replace her as Director on May 1. Previously, all Directors of this department had been appointed; this was the first time that applications for the role had been accepted.

Surveys: Membership and Integration

Membership Survey
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The 2012 Membership Survey ran from January 15 - February 1, 2013 and 218 responses were submitted. The theme this year was to "Stop the AMEERKATlyn!" In order to stop the AMEERKATlyn from usurping the Amrylin Seat, we needed to collect as many completed Membership Survey responses as possible. In addition to keeping our community free from rampaging meerkats, each member who completed a survey was entered into a drawing for a t-shirt. The winner of the t-shirt drawing was Satara al'Caelahn!

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Integration Survey

In September an advertisement for the Integration Survey Hive Mind Focus Group was placed. This group was to be convened to aid in the drafting of the Integration Survey. After reviewing applications and selecting participants, members gathered in the Bee Hive forum to discuss potential questions, angles, and how the topic ought to be approached. Our Survey Project Manager sported the title of Queen Bee to commemorate the occasion.

Members of the Hive Mind were:

The Integration Survey was released on October 31 and was open for submissions through November 9. Survey results are expected to be published in early 2014.

Annual Reports

Release of the 2012 Annual Report was delayed for many reasons primarily relating to the upheaval within the Department of Administration. Our hope is to see it released in early 2014, and to begin work on the 2013 Annual Report soon after the New Year.

Progress is under way on the 2008 Annual Report. Sections are mostly completed and we are looking at a late winter 2014 release.

Departmental Restructure and Staffing Updates

On December 6 the department underwent basic reorganization. Unlike most departments, our team members do not all work together but instead are doing completely different jobs. Staff members were either assigned to a task or were floating around generally within the department to go where needed. In December the department was organized into four main areas:

  1. Surveys: Instead of surveys being primarily created and run by our Survey Project Manager and then analyzed by the general staff, a Survey Team was created. This team consists of individuals committed to the cause of generating survey questions, ordering them, proofing them, and generally working with our Survey Project Manager to get the survey launch-ready. Following the survey, this team will be responsible for data analysis and helping the Survey Project Manager to get the information presentation-ready. This group includes our Statisticians.
  2. Legal Research Team: This team was formally known as the Legal Team and was renamed to clarify the distinction in role between our official TarValon.Net, Inc. Legal Counsel and those other individuals who assist with legal research but whom are not representing our corporation in a legal capacity.
  3. Human Resources: In the past we have had a Human Resources Project Manager (staff) role in the department. This role has morphed around in the past a few times and has been vacant for over a year. Looking forward to 2014 we are hoping to once again revamp and staff this role.
  4. Annual Report: We will continue to have a single Admin, the Annual Report Project Manager, in charge of compiling and editing the annual reports.

The concept of "General Staff" is no longer applicable to our department; every staff member within the department will have a defined role and task. Along with the change of Director, there were several staffing changes in 2013. Isarma Maracanda stayed on as the Annual Report Project Manager. Mirandha Laflor retained her role as Membership Survey Project Manager, though the role has been retitled Survey Project Manager as her duties expanded to manage other surveys. Pol Rohanson has stayed as a Statistician, Hammar O'Justice remains the official TarValon.Net, Inc. legal counsel, and Xander Silverstar remains on the Legal Research Team. Yelenia Hylraren and Zashara Sho'am, current members of the Survey Team, were joined by Morrighan Daghdera in December. Also in December, Loraella Melodie stepped down from her role as Senior Statistician, and Emory Sheldon and Ennairam Lamp left the department.

Looking Forward to 2014

We have several informational releases coming in 2014 including several Annual Reports and the Integration Survey report. The 2012 Annual Report is expected to be released in mid-January 2014. As of the end of 2013, the report is nearly finalized and ready to go. We also have been working on compiling historical data to release the 2008 Annual Report. The expected release date for that report is late winter 2014. Gathering data for the 2013 Annual report will begin shortly after the New Year with an ideal release of early summer 2014.

The Integration Survey report should be released in February 2014. This report is the long-awaited compilation of data gathered from the Integration Survey that ran from October 31 - November 9, 2013. Information contained within this report will be used by the administration to aid in making a decision as to how best to move the community into the future.

In early 2014 we will be looking to hire for both Survey Team Staff and Survey Team Statistician roles, and also for the Legal Research Team. Later in 2014 the role of Human Resources Project Manager may be revamped and, if so, we will look to fill the role.

Calypsa al'Nicolai, Director of Administration

Department of Community Outreach

Staff Changes

Department Staff

Calypsa al'Nicolai, upon assuming the role of the Director of Administration, stepped down from the role of Community Care Coordinator on May 1, 2013.

Ariadne Davion assumed the role of Community Care Coordinator on May 27, 2013 but stepped down and assumed the role of Director of Marketing on December 20, 2013.

Outreach Activities Team

Jenalla Selar stepped down from the role of Outreach Activities Coordinator on July 16, 2013.

Amarande al'Kalin assumed the role of Outreach Activities Coordinator on August 11, 2013.

Ivien Tarkand stepped down from the role of Outreach Activities Graphics Coordinator on September 15, 2013. This position was vacant for the balance of 2013.

Servant of All

There were no administrative-level staffing changes within the Servant of All program during 2013.

Philanthropic Outreach Activities

Real Life Events

North American Anni 2013

After an extensive survey process that included two surveys with the community at large, the North American Anniversary Party Charity for 2013 - and subsequent years going forward - was selected; Ronald McDonald House Charities. They were selected for their work with youth outreach and their overall low operational costs including volunteer executive staff members in some locations.

For our 12th Anniversary event we partnered with the Ronald McDonald House of Southeastern Michigan, based out of Detroit, Michigan. Members were asked to bring household items to the party for donation, and beads were sold on site to collect monetary donations. In total a donation of $300 was made to the Ronald McDonald House of Southeastern Michigan as well as cases of household items including batteries, stamps, plastic bags, cleaning materials, toilet paper, and even diapers!

Tree, Director of Community Outreach, after unloading our donation at the Ronald McDonald House of Southeastern Michigan.

Fall Ball 2013

For Fall Ball in Salt Lake City, Utah the Tower chose to support the Utah Food Bank based out of SLC members were asked to bring, or even ship ahead, some pasta as a donation - one of the items identified by the Utah Food Bank as most needed. Additionally beads were sold on site for a donated amount.

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Under a whimsical Noodles for Salt Lake theme borrowing from the Flying Spaghetti Monster meme, a total of 43lbs of pasta were donated to the Utah Food Bank, as well as $125 USD.

43 pounds of pasta donated at Fall Ball in Salt Lake City, awaiting being boxed up and dropped off to the Utah Food Bank.

Fundraisers

The Tower Still Stands Fundraiser

The Tower Still Stands Fundraiser began December 28, 2012 to raise funds to rebuild the Tower and repay debts incurred. This fundraiser began with no set goal and with no set end-date. By mid-February 2013 this Fundraiser raised a whopping $3,035 USD! For a full list of donors please see appendix B, Tower Still Stands List of Donors, and note that we also had multiple generous anonymous donations as well as a substantial donation from The Gray Ajah of TarValon.Net.

Summer Fundraiser

Chocolate and bacon duked it out in an epic grudge match to see which sinful treat TarValon.Net members cherished most during the 2013 Annual Summer Fundraiser. An ambitious goal of $4,500 was set for this fundraiser, including €750. In total $3,822 and €311 were raised for a grand total of $4,238.74.

TarValon.Net banner for team Chocolate

Bacon won out in the competition overcoming chocolate as the sinful food of choice and several members who donated were selected at random to receive fabulous prizes. The grand prize, a copy of A Memory of Light signed by Team Jordan was awarded to Melisande Arneil and additional prizes were gift cards and certificates awarded to Ibon Caseï, Aduiavas Ida, Irinia Argyvni, Kitan Tataru, Brandon Tat'vakja, Ealandrelle Melyma, Ilissa al'Nari, and Onis O'Leia. Finally Niere al'Aman was chosen to receive a $50 USD Gift Card and opted instead to donate that $50 back to TarValon.Net!

Also, a special forum for role-playing was established, Tarlomens Bridge, where members fought it out, Bacon Vs.Chocolate. This grudge-match also prompted chocolate-loving board member Caerwyn Jolan to do a sweet-tooth event, matching donations made in the name of chocolate with either a donation to the Tower or a sweet chocolate treat delivered to donating members.

TarValon.Net banner for team Bacon

For a full list of donors, please see appendix B, Annual Fundraiser List of Donors.

Feast of Light 2013

After postponing the 2012 Feast of Lights fundraiser and instead holding the emergency Tower Still Stands Fundraiser in the winter of 2012/2013, Feast of Lights returned in 2013 to support Partners in Health. Being the third fundraiser of the year a goal of $1,500 was set for the 2013 Feast of Lights fundraiser at the Fall Admin Meeting.

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Overall, we raised a total of $870 from 20 generous donors and although we fell short of our goal a great deal of awareness for the work that our Feast of Lights organization, Partners In Health, was generated making the event an overall success. For a full list of donors, please see Appendix B: Feast of Lights List of Donors. For their generosity three winners were selected using a random number generator. Members Taika Vinh and Tazren Talamar won custom avatar design provided by Ariadne Davion, and Raeviendha al'Toma received a t-shirt donated graciously by Ta'veren Tees.

Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship

In 2013 the competition for the Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship was fierce but in the end of the day, after multiple rounds of blind voting by the Hall of the Tower, Rachel Little was selected as the 2013 Scholarship recipient. Rachel is also known as Yelenia, a long-time member of TarValon.Net studying Humanities and Pre-Law at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. Her winning essay can be found in the tower library. She was awarded a certificate in a small ceremony at our 2013 Fall Ball event in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Congratulations Rachel!

Pop-Up Awareness Events and Fundraisers

Heart Healthy February

During the month of February the Department of Community Outreach ran a campaign including fitness and lifestyle challenges to raise awareness during Heart Health Awareness Month. Heart Healthy February challenges ran in Health and Fitness and Home and Garden with general heart health information including how the heart functions, what blood pressure is, and simple lessons on common - but serious - heart diseases.

Blood Drive For Boston
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Following the bombings on April 15, 2013 at the Boston Marathon the Department of Community Outreach organized a Blood Drive For Boston, asking members to donate blood if they can to their local blood banks. A few days later when there was an explosion in Texas, Texas was added to the campaign.

The overall success of the Blood Drive event triggered a year-long Blood Drive campaign to launch in 2014.

Servant of All Program

After the December 2012 initial beta launch of the Servant of All program, entries were received to test run entry forms and develop and test the tracking system that would be required for a full-scale launch of the entire program. Entries for this purpose were received for the first quarter of 2013. These entries as well as additional feedback from the community have been used to tweak and alter the pilot system in anticipation for a full launch.

To date, the full Servant of All program is still forthcoming and it is the expressed hope of the department to fully implement this program in during 2014 with the revamping and redesign of the Merit Badge program.

Outreach Activities

Following the Fall 2012 Admin Meeting, it was decided that going forward rather than running four festivals annually the Outreach Activities Team (OAT) would instead run two annual festivals and maintain the practice of sending out Birthday greetings to registered members. In light of this decision during 2013 the OAT held two festivals, Bel Tine and Shaoman.

Bel Tine

Bel Tine ran from March 29 to April 7 in celebration of spring. To celebrate, the Faire Ground Fairy hosted a member match-up, while the OAT hosted trivia and apples to apples in IRC chat. On the boards this Bel Tine celebrated with a spring Bunny Hunt, several rounds of scattegories, and the ever popular spam-a-thon- this time won by the Yellow Ajah. To help celebrate the season, the following membership groups dressed up for the feast with the following themes:

Shaoman

Shaoman ran between October 24 and November 1 with a generally spooky Halloween theme. This year we saw the return of fun crowd pleasing events including a spooky themed game of apples to apples in IRC chat and the spam-a-thon on the boards, won this time by the White Ajah. The Faire Ground Fairy, with the help of the OAT, also facilitated a Haunted Match Up, pairing members for fun and sent out spooky tricks and sweet treats in candygram style.

Several membership groups also participated in the event dressing up in themes as listed below.

At the Fall 2013 Admin meeting it was decided between the Departments of Community Outreach and Moderation that #owah, one of our IRC chat rooms, would no longer maintain year-round moderation and would instead remain registered on irc.sorcery.net and open with moderation only during OAT festivals. This change will begin and be implemented in 2014.

Tree al'Rotture, Director of Community Outreach

Department of Events and Conferences

2013 was a much calmer year for the Department of Events and Conferences, delivering three official events of varying sizes.

Our 12th Anniversary event was held at YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan with 69 people in attendance. The Amyrlin's Tournament ended with a first place tie; the winner was decided by a momentous game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (no Lizard or Spock on this occasion). As you would expect from our group, there was a heated Trivia competition and a costume contest, and members generously offered themselves as Da'covale in our traditional auction to help raise money for the Tower.

Sadly 2013 went without a Britain and Ireland party again; however the Europeans held up their end of the bargain and threw their very own beach party in Oostduinkerke in Belgium. With sword form lessons and Beach Party Olympics (including rebuilding the tower and making sure they were Seanchan attack worthy), there was plenty to do before the BBQ and evening activities.

JordanCon 5 was themed "TarVa'Con" and we had a great attendance; thank you to our members who make such a great effort to keep this event going outside of their TarValon.Net responsibilities!

Salt Lake City hosted us for Fall Ball, starting with an Oktoberfest themed meet and greet. Saturday was filled with tours galore including shopping, history, and wildlife! Those that attended will have plenty of stories and I am sure Outreach will delight in explaining the purpose of their noodle collection! We had hoped that Brandon Sanderson would have been able to join us, but sadly his schedule kept him away on this occasion.

With regards to staff, we saw a great event delivered by Alyssa Letherio and Shariyan Al'Feay, however as there were no bids for 2014 in Europe and they were unable to find a suitable location themselves, we had to say goodbye to them for now. In January Reniel Killan joined the team as Mistress of Revels for Britain and Ireland, bringing some American sparkles to the position. In May we welcomed Mhór Rioghain Blathnaid as Mistress of Revels for the South Pacific, balancing the position with that of Head of Ajah for the Blues until 2014. In August, Lilli O'Neeus joined as Mistress of Revels for North America in a managed handover process with Yelenia Hylraren.

2014 switches things around a little with Britain and Ireland taking place before Thirteenth Anni due to an expected change to the JordanCon date. Sadly there were no bids for 2014 in Europe but we hope to have a South Pacific event instead!

Sonea Ilandred, Director of Events and Conferences

Department of Marketing

Staff and Position Changes

While there have been a few shifts in our staff in Marketing, the most noted is our change in Editor for the Tar Valon Times. On August 22 Stephen Lightheart stepped down from his post and was replaced by his assistant Taelinn Dolivras. Both have done wonderful things in with the Tar Valon Times, and Taelinn still remains our Editor in Chief moving into 2014. There has been no replacement for Assistant Editor as of 2013.

Unfortunately, during 2013, Kytheria al'Shea, became too busy with her real life to continue to perform her duties as Director, so on October 31 the role of Director was posted and on December 20 Ariadne Davion was chosen to replace her as the new Director of Marketing.

The Graphics Development Team (GDT) and that Tar Valon Times Staff (TVT Staff), which was previously made up of staff members who served with no time limit, has continued with a six-month rotation to a varying degree of keeping on active staff. This process will be continuing into 2014. Currently there are postings for Staff Hirings moving into the month of January 2014.

Tar Valon Times

Our monthly newsletter released editions in February through May. It was then picked up again in July by our new editor, Taelinn. 2013 also saw the TVT Staff forum moved from the public eye to a more private location allowing the team to brainstorm editions with more surprises for the community. This was first proposed during the 2013 Spring Admin Meeting and was implemented in December.

Member Spotlights of 2013

Marketing Team

Over the course of 2013 we had subtle shifts in staff, currently lead by Siera al'Cere. Most of the major projects in Marketing were placed on hold as many of the volunteers did not have the necessary skills for their continuation (see Goals for 2014). However, they were able to produce many logos for various events, including Anniversary Party 2013, Fall Ball 2013, and Summer Euro Party 2013.

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Community Tagline

At the beginning of the year, Marketing made an open call for suggestions for a Community Tagline to use on various forms of advertising, from flyers, ads, and even business cards. These suggestions were then put to vote in late April. The winning Tagline was "Where Fiction Becomes Friendship" with 33.3% of the vote, "Reading. Belonging. Doing." was a close second with 21.4% of the vote and may be used as a secondary tagline in the future. The winning submission was suggested by Alyssa Letherio.

Tar Valon Shop: Cafepress

When we moved our forums from the phpBB3 Hybrid to vBulletin, the visibility of our store changed along with its hosting. Visually the store took a negative hit as it was no longer hosted through a page on our site but then now only hosted through hits host; Cafepress. Store visibility on the site was improved after the Fall Admin Meeting when a more visible link was made available. It was also brought to question whether we wished to continue using the products of Cafepress or to use a different venue due to the quality of the products. It was decided at the Fall Admin Meeting to poll the membership base in 2014 and for new Director to decide on the direction of this project.

2013 saw some new products along with product description and updates. It also included a little rearranging and better fluidity of locating desired products.

Projects of 2013

Ongoing projects of 2013 are the Members Copyright Agreement, Graphic and Site Use Copyright, Event Fliers and Business Cards and Distribution Guidelines, Site Style Guide, and Ajah and Company Logos.

Goals for 2014: Moving Forward

Over the course of the past year, many of the department projects had fallen either behind or become stagnated in some form. While this is no fault of any one in particular we are looking at revitalizing the department in 2014 and not only picking up projects currently in progress but seeing them done with a realistic deadline.

Site Copyright policies were brought up over the course of the past year and have gone through many drafts. We are looking to finalize these policies and implement them sometime in the early part of the next year. Both Alyssa Letherio, a GDT member, and Hammar O'Justice, Legal Counsel in Administration, have worked hard on developing and approving official written policies to be published in our public Library and Membership Manuals. Once these have been published online, we will announce their location(s) to the community for reference. While this changes very little, this is to formally cover ourselves legally and to institute a line of what members can expect while contributing to the community - a simpler, formally composed codification our site policies to ensure they are well-documented, as befits a non-profit corporation.

There is a continued effort in improving the TarValon.Net CafePress shop, both esthetically and financially. We will be looking at more ways in advertising products, potentially redistributing the sites needs over different venues, and ensuring that we are able to provide a quality product while bringing in a profit. In the past the Shop barely has been able to support its weight in costs and we hope to address this specifically in the coming year.

One of our biggest projects that we have set aside is the Ajah and Company Logos. It was proposed back in 2010 to start the redesign of both the Ajah and the Company Logos. While we have received feedback and in 2012 we made great headway in coming up with the base design, we were unable to keep on the necessary designers for the project and it fell through. With hirings in January, and the base designs done, we are looking at continuing the process and moving forward to the next steps.

In the previous year we started to develop flyers to promote our site and make them available to the community. With the hiccups in funding this did not happen the way we had originally intended. We are looking to have them still made available with distribution guidelines to ensure that it maintains the level of quality we would expect from our products. The External Marketing Coordinator, Reniel Killan, also continues to work on our site SEO and on proposals for site email newsletters and marketing.

Ariadne Davion, Director of Marketing

Department of Membership

The Department of Membership is responsible for fostering a sense of community within TarValon.Net. 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.

Citizen Status

During 2013, our membership stays at a consistent level from 2012, with an average of eight members a month (although this is slightly quieter towards the end of the year). There have been a total of 96 applicants for this year, with more applicants being male. Gender distribution of the site as a whole still favors the females, although the gap is relatively small in comparison to last year.

Tower Members

43 People applied for the next level of Junior Membership status this year, well up from last years report. 32 applied for Novice and Recruit levels, and 11 for Soldier and Accepted. This brings the totals to 144 and 140 respectively.

In addition to this, we had a grand total of 31 raisings to Senior Membership Level in 2013.

Summary of 2013

The male mentoring system has been implemented successfully, and recipients seem to be taking full advantage of this.

We have had no issues with the guesting process so far, and groups have been utilizing it well during this year.

There was a motion to send Junior Members to their respective Admin in a fun way, although there have not been many instances where this has been used, hopefully we may see that coming in 2014.

The female dorms have been reshuffled, and this has proved to be a fun way of ensuring that members integrate and do not feel left out of larger groups.

Looking Forward to 2014

A second review of the mentoring system will be taking place, with maybe a restructuring.

In addition, the Membership team will be working with other departments to develop a new raising test for Junior Members.

Feedback will be gathered to ensure that the male mentoring system is still working as it should, with the possibility of a similar structure with the female side.

Admin activity will be monitored more closely, with more discussions within the Membership Department between groups.

A larger change to the way citizens are viewed is hopefully to be set in motion.

It is my hope that as we move to 2014, more emphasis is placed on the members feeling as though they all have voices and can report any concerns they have about issues that affect them. As per the bullying survey and the membership survey from 2012, this is a subject that the majority of members felt was a large sticking point. With that in mind, there may be a few PSAs put out in an attempt to combat this.

Due to the financial situation of the Tower, membership gifts had to be postponed. We recognize we are three to five years behind in some cases and those will be a priority once we are financially able to reinstate this benefit.

Sa'areah Britthorn, Director of Membership

Department of Moderators

2013 included a number of changes in this department. Not least among these, Karassa Souladrin stepped down as the Director of Moderators and was succeeded by Kelgan al'Moranwin.

The Moderators side of the department was relatively unchanged. Significant progress was made towards the goal of a new Moderator's Handbook and Moderator Guidelines. We hope that once these are completed and implemented, they will lead to increased consistency in moderation and a shorter, gentler learning curve for new moderators.

The Operators side of the department saw several significant changes:

  • At the Fall Admin Meeting, we decided to resurrect the Master of Chat as a staff position responsible for managing the tech back end of our IRC offerings. We decided to hire from within the department for this role, given the skill set necessary, and Deoan Kakarot was selected and has been doing an excellent job in this role.
  • Also at the Fall Admin Meeting, we decided to implement terms for chat ops with the dual goals of raising awareness of chat and giving a definite timeframe to rotate out inactive ops to make sure our staff are always fresh, attentive, and active. Terms will run for six months, as with mods, with no pre-defined limit on the number of consecutive terms allowed. This change will be fully implemented in 2014.
  • Of our three official chat channels, #wheel, #ww, and #owah, the great majority of activity is centered in #wheel. We re-evaluated our IRC offerings at the Fall Admin Meeting and concluded that #ww is still necessary as a place to house more mature conversations. On the other hand, #owah only sees use during festivals and therefore does not need a dedicated team of ops at all times. We will maintain the Tower's registration for #owah and will continue to staff it for festivals but Tower ops will no longer be present in the channel on a regular basis following the implementation of op terms.
  • Following on these two changes, we will no longer be hiring operators separately for #wheel and #ww. All operators now have op powers in both. This change has been implemented with two caveats: (1) because we restrict #ww to adults, operators under 18 will not have op powers in #ww; (2) because we recognize that not all members are comfortable in #ww, operators are required only to be available to handle issues in #ww and need not keep #ww open at all times if they are uncomfortable doing so.
  • Following suggestions from several members, it was decided at the Fall Admin Meeting to reinstate the idle time rule in chat. Details of implementation and enforcement are being finalized internally within the department and should be announced within the first half of 2014.

This department deeply appreciates the community's continued willingness to serve as operators and moderators!

Kelgan al'Moranwin, Director of Moderators and Operators

Department of Research and Records

2013 was a busy year for the department. With the release of the final book of the Wheel of Time Series, a large number of articles needed expanding and completing. During the year, our core staff remained the same, though Aryela Dashtahd gave notice that she intended to step down from the position of Headmistress.

There are now 6,939 content pages, an increase of almost 300, largely due to new articles for A Memory of Light and more than 10 million page views in total, almost a 50% increase. Egwene al'Vere overtook Rand as the most viewed article, adding around 30,000 views to Rand's 10,000. Our most viewed pages are split between the community pages and the Wheel of Time page, though those figures have to be taken with a degree of caution, as there are individual members whose pages have over 10,000 views. There are now 88 pages with more than 10,000 views, four times that at the end of 2012 and 2,500 with over a thousand views, an increase of around 700.

Goals for 2013 focused on the book related sections, as the areas of the community that are not complete, such as Merit Awards and Annual Reports are not the direct responsibility of the department:

  1. Summaries for all the new articles – chapters, places, characters, etc.
  2. Updates for all the current characters.

Goal 1 was completed. For Goal 2, out of around 200 characters that featured previously, about 160 have been finished.

There were also a couple of minor goals, which were considered ambitious:

  1. Finish the re-writing of the principal characters.
  2. Continue to update and expand the chapter summaries.

Though some progress was made on these, the main focus throughout the year has been on the Memory of Light information.

For 2014, the goals are:

  1. Finish the character updates
  2. Work on other updates – places, concepts, etc
  3. Have expanded chapter summaries for books 1-5

The extent to which we can meet or surpass these goals will depend on if we are able to recruit people to write summaries, or to re-write pages. Most of the character summaries left will likely take a couple of hours with an ebook, longer without, and 1-2 hours for articles such as Aes Sedai and Asha'man. There are probably few articles that would take much longer than this. If we get people to commit to regularly writing for the library, then we can do all three. If not then aim 1 and part of aim 2 is more likely.

Toral Delvar, Director of Research and Records

Department of Technology

The Department of Technology supports the infrastructure of TarValon.Net. While the main objective is to maintain the availability of our website and message boards, members of the department are utilized as a technical resource for other projects.

Throughout 2013, we have been gradually settling in to our not-so-new anymore vBulletin home. Technology has been primarily working on maintaining current services, but some new projects were picked up. During our Spring Administrative Meeting, Technology received approval to implement a SSL certificate for our website. The SSL has been purchased, but is proving to be complicated to install effectively due to a few incompatibilities. In July, we hired on a new Site Designer (Siera al'Cere) to work with existing issues and bug fixes to our theme. In October, Elorenya d'Rahien began spearheading an effort to re-vamp the raising tests. Azi al'Thone also continues to work on an all-inclusive database, a project that was begun back in 2012.

Looking ahead to 2014, Technology will continue to maintain TarValon.Net online offerings. Our staff will remain ready to jump in on existing and new projects. The Gatekeepers will continue to monitor, add, and remove people as needed from usergroups. The Masters of the Watch will continue their quest of server conquest. The Director will keep doing directory-things to address community needs as they arise.

Erin al'Denael, Director of Technology

Appendices

Appendix A: Financial data

2014 TarValon.Net, Inc. Budget
Category Annual
Debt Payments $1500
Domain $0.00 (Paid through Sept 2019)
Hosting $350.00
Scholarship $500.00
Lawyer Retainer $250.00
Accountant $250.00
Office/Printing/Shipping $350.00
Marketing $110.00
Anni $15,000.00
JordanCon $100.00
BandI $2,500.00
Fall Ball $6,500.00
South Pacific $5,000.00
Awards $500.00
Prizes $1,000.00
Membership Gifts $500.00
Back up Server $200.00
Networking Expenses $250.00
Grand Total $34,860.00

2013 Budget Usage

Category Projected Actual Variance Percent Used
Debt $6,430.00 $1,650.00 4,780.00 25.66%
Domain $0.00 $0.00 0.00 0.00%
Hosting $700.00 $475.25 224.75 67.89%
Scholarship $500.00 $500.00 0.00 100.00%
Lawyer Retainer $250.00 $0.00 250.00 0.00%
Accountant $250.00 $0.00 250.00 0.00%
Office $0.00 $0.00 0.00 0.00%
Marketing $110.00 $110.00 0.00 100.00%
Anni $12,000.00 $11,801.91 198.09 98.35%
JordanCon $75.00 $43.59 31.41 58.12%
Euro $2,550.00 $2,596.85 (46.85) 101.84%
Fall Ball $5,000.00 $4,542.21 457.79 90.84%
South Pacific 0 0 0.00 0.00%
Awards $750.00 $178.41 571.59 23.79%
Prizes $750.00 $476.90 273.10 63.59%
Membership Gifts $375.00 $5.92 369.08 1.58%
VBulletin Upgrade $209.00 $0.00 209.00 0.00%
Back up Server $200.00 $0.00 200.00 0.00%
Retro Membership Gifts $375.00 $0.00 375.00 0.00%
Networking budget $500.00 $209.19 290.81 41.84%
Misc $2,500.00 $1,992.50 507.50 79.70%

Statement of Cash Flows

2013 Year End

Cash flows from operating activities
Cash received from donations 12,996.21
Cash received from event tickets 16,259.29
Cash received from gaming 0.00
Cash received from inventory 112.00
Cash received from sales 100.14 Cash Received
Cash paid for event reimbursements 1,034.09 29,467.64
Cash paid for events 20,731.77 Cash Paid
Cash paid for inventory 24.24 25,626.80
Cash paid for General/Administrative 2,110.73
Cash paid for Membership Gifts 5.92
Cash paid for Tech 595.05
Cash paid for Community Outreach 1,125
Other 0.00
Net cash provided (used) by operating activities 3,840.84
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash paid to retire debt 1,650.00
Other 0.00
Net cash provided (used) in financing activities 1,650.00
Increase (decrease) in cash during the period 85.30
Cash balance at the beginning of the period 7,541.54
Cash balance at the end of the period 7,626.84

Income Statement

2013 Year End

Revenue Year to Date
Donations $12,996.21
Event "ticket" $16,259.29
Gaming $0.00
Less Event ticket reimbursements $1,034.09
Net sales $30,289.59
Cost of Sales
Cost of Inventory $24.24
Sales of Inventory $112.00
Sale of Goods (Cafe Press) $100.14
Gross profit (loss) $236.38
Operating Expenses
Events
Housing $17,666.31
Dining $2,449.19
Entertainment $173.67
Welcome $410.98
Decoration $31.62
Miscellaneous $0.00
Purchase equipment $0.00
Total Event expenses $20,731.77
General/Administrative
Professional Fees $0.00
Printing/Shipping $312.44
Insurance $0.00
Currency Conversion $0.00
Awards and Prizes $893.10
PayPal fees $376.70
Other fees $209.30
Office supplies $0.00
Networking Expenses $209.19
Marketing $110.00
Debt Repayment $1,650.00
Total General/Administrative expenses $3,760.73
Community Outreach
Scholarship $500.00
Philanthropy $625.00
Total Community Outreach $1,125.00
Membership Gifts
Marriage $0.00
Death $5.92
Birth $0.00
Other $0.00
Total Membership expenses $5.92
Tech
Hosting $475.25
Hardware $0.00
Software $119.80
Total Technology expenses $595.05
Total operating expenses $4,307.50
Extraordinary gain or loss $0.00
Net Income (Loss) $4,307.50

Appendix B: Donor List

Disclaimer:

The names and aliases given in these lists are taken directly from the donor statements, so there may be some misspellings or inconsistencies depending on what information was provided at the time of donation.

Tower Still Stands Fundraiser

Tower Name
Ebona din Casei
Alcyon Devrix
Taika Vinh
Javamar Stavros
Kerna Shedrian
Cassie Dainar
Niere al'Aman
Qamra Daielin
Loira al'Ramoidra
Taika Vinh
Onis O'Leia
Charis Delphi
Pip al'Dealys
Isarma Maracanda
Willow al'Meana
Mhór Rioghain Blathnaid
Keisha al'Benn
Rafka al'Aevon
Mellaine Murrai
Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach and Jaim al'Bearach
Chiyuki Nohara
Hanajima al'Cere
Kassina Tendar
Sonea Ilandred
Ninya Evoneigh
Belgareth Kiarc
Ilissa al'Nari
Tree al'Rotture
Atreyu Silverstar
Enelya al'Morna
Ajailyn Morrivinna
Rehtaeh al'Navi
Ealandrelle Melyma
Raelyn al'Thor
Rhed al'Tere
Zimone Zarasri
Lillian O'Neeus
Adra Ceana
Melisande Arneil
Raeviendha al'Toma
Mashiara Al'Kama
Lillian O'Neeus
Laniaden Ailoy


Summer Fundraiser

Tower Name
Raeviendha al'Toma
Vendri al'Varrak
Natalya Laragan
Asine Dormandi
Ealandrelle Melyma
Isarma Maracanda
Ilissa al'Nari
Cassie Dainar and Soronhen
Melearlin Valar
Kerna Shedrian
Niere al'Aman
Sam Thayman
Irinia Argyvni
Belgareth Kiarc
Loraella Melodie
Alora Sionn
Rhed al'Tere
Mendo Cath
Adra Ceana
Raeviendha al'Toma
Melisande Arneil
Ebona din Casei
Shariyan Al'Feay
Kassidy Dai'Shan
Lireina Dormerus t'al`Bearach and Jaim al'Bearach
Calypsa al'Nicolai and Horatio Spifflewicket
Ivanor Winshaw
Ajailyn Morrivinna
Dars al'Kaskade
Charis Delphi
Aduiavas Ida
Lillian O'Neeus
Megana Vallentin
Zandera Sommers
Jahily al'Karee
Azi al'Thone
Lauraine Berryn
Taika Vinh
Keisha al'Benn
Tomeina Raieese
Jodea Kegan
Kassina Tendar
Onis O'Leia
Vivianna L'antreau
Nymala Ingasy
Tree al'Rotture and Atreyu Silverstar
Taika Vinh
Raeviendha al'Toma
Elorenya d'Rahien
Keladria Tulin
Enya Tawarwaith
Dareth d'Rahien
Winterdawn al'Lerlie
Syera Faelron
Caerwyn Jolan
Siusane al'Cuyler
Kitan Tataru and Brandon Tataru
Kelgan al'Moranwin and Naomi al'Moranwin
Ubahsur Kindellaer and Benjin Tomas

Feast of Light Fundraiser

Tower Name
Calypsa al‘Nicolai
Lillian O'Neeus
Charis Delphi
Jeffan Caliarthan
Onis O'Leia
Raeviendha al'Toma
Melisande Arneil
Niere al'Aman
Kitan Tataru
Ilissa al'Nari
Isarma Maracanda
Anonymous
Taika Vinh
Alyssa Letherio
Dart Marouvin
Keisha al'Benn
Tazren Talamar
Vivianna L'antreau
Belgareth Kiarc


Appendix C: Award Winners

Keeper Award Winners

Moderator of the Year
Halan.jpg

Halan Leion

A multiple-term Moderator for Current Events, Halan has always demonstrated a reliable, steady hand and level head in his duties - something that can be incredibly difficult in this particular forum - and has often had helpful input on various issues. His presence in this capacity is always most welcome whenever he chooses to volunteer.

Operator of the Year
Deoan.jpg

Deoan Kakarot

Not only was he extremely helpful to our Director of Moderators/Ops in transitioning to his current role, Deoan has worked tirelessly behind the scenes making sure that our channels remain up and running and working to get all chat functionality (particularly with the bots) consolidated under Tower control. When our channels went down in Dec. 2012, Deoan is the one who worked with the IRC admins to get everything back up and running. He's been invaluable in this setting.

Staff Member of the Year
Avatar Ebona.jpg

Ebona din Casei

For her staff work throughout both 2012 (after the Keeper awards cycle) and 2013 with the Servant of All Program. She has nearly single-handedly put the program together and worked to keep the Admins and Director of Community Outreach on track with this program, pushing it forward despite utter neglect and on the tough issues. She has also added an invaluable international perspective to the process since the very beginning. I cannot sing her praises enough, she has been amazing!

Staff Member of the Year
Amarande.jpg

Amarande al'Kalin

For his work within the Outreach Activities Team. Throughout 2013 and with the absence of our Outreach Activities Coordinator at the time Amarande continued his role on the OAT staff as the Birthday Team Captain without missing a beat. He ran the team (of three) to ensure that everyone on the birthday list continued to receive their well wishes from Nameday Narg. Amarande also has been the apples-to-apples go-to for OAT festivals, running the activity in #owah for quite a long time.

Membership Admin of the Year
Valadilene.jpg

Valadilene Aldieb

Vala has been involved in the TarValon.net community for many years and has held many positions. She's always been even-keeled, which is a blessing, as this year she was faced with managing our group during a unique task in her position as Head of the Red Ajah: the addition of the first Gaidin to our ranks. Through it all, Vala conducted herself with decorum and set an example for all Reds by keeping a level head in the face of a very challenging situation for a very particular group of ladies. I know that all Ajahs and Companies go through changes. Red is not much different- the Red Ajah is fiery through and through, and Vala was a big part of helping our group to work out the kinks during this radical adjustment to our way of life. She's an open, welcoming person and there's never a question too small or too big for her to take the time to answer.

Non-Membership Admin of the Year
Avatar Isarma.jpg

Isarma Maracanda

I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to Isarma and her amazing dedication to her work. Isarma is our Annual Reports Project Manager- she gathers all of the information from the Administrative team to assemble the Annual Report that we release every year to the community. The amount of work that goes into making this happen is pretty incredible, and not always the easiest when working with deadlines, assembling pieces from a team of people with incredibly diverse schedules and needs, and fitting it into her own schedule at the same time. She does this with incredible professionalism, dignity and grace, and her work is always top notch!

Members’ Choice Awards

Appendix D: Membership Statistics

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NB - some figures may be slightly off as of this report, but not enough to make a huge impact in the findings.

Appendix E: Executives

The Board of Directors
  • Melissa Dombrowski
  • Amanda Keen
  • Jim Beattie
  • Joe Pistritto
  • Ashley Morgan
Officers
Department Directors

Appendix F: Volunteer Lists

Administration

Annual Reports Project Manager
Membership Survey Project Manager
Senior Statistician
Junior Statistician
Survey Consultants
Other Staff
Legal

Community Outreach

Community Care Coordinator
Staff
Servant of All

Servant of All Coordinator

Servants of All Planning Committee

Outreach Activities

Outreach Activities Coordinator

Outreach Activities Team

Events and Conferences

Mistress of Revels - Britain and Ireland
Mistress of Revels - Continental Europe
Mistress of Revels - North America
Mistress of Revels - South Pacific
Events Marshals
Property Mistress
Conference Coordinator

Marketing

Tower Voice
Marketing Project Manager
External Marketing Coordinator
Graphics

Graphics Development Team

The Tar Valon Times

TVT Editor

Assistant Editor

TVT Writers

Membership

Hall of the Tower – Spring 2013
Hall of the Tower – Fall 2013
Junior Member Administrators

Mayor

Captain of Recruits

Mistress of Novices

Captain of Soldiers

Mistress of Accepted

Senior Member Administrators Head of the Blue Ajah

Head of the Brown Ajah

Head of the Green Ajah

Head of the Gray Ajah

Head of the Red Ajah

Head of the White Ajah

Head of the Yellow Ajah

Company Commander of Dai M’Hael

Company Commander of Mahdi’in d’ma Dieb

Company Commander of San d’ma Shadar

Company Commander of Val Cueran

Moderators

General and Frivolous Fun
Current Events
Olde Warder and Hen
Book Forum
Discussion A (Entertainment and Technology/Home and Garden/Creative Endeavors)
Discussion B (Sports Fanatics/Health and Fitness/Education and Employment)
Chat Operators

Research and Records

Assistant to Director of Research
Headmaster/Headmistress
Historian


Technology

Master of the Watch
Site Designer
Tower Gatekeeper
Staff