2017 Annual Report

From Tar Valon Library
Revision as of 09:01, 9 November 2020 by Ilverin Matriam (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

<< 2016/2018 >>

The 2017 Annual Report was published in October 2018.

A wiki format report is under preparation

A PDF format is available.

2011ARImage1.jpg

TarValon.Net

413 Graycroft Drive, Huntsville, AL 35815

2017 Annual Report

TarValon.Net, Inc.

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

Compiled and edited by Erin DiSimone

With Assistance from Christopher Berger and Ashley Morgan

State of the Tower: Amyrlin/CEO Welcome

This year was a tumultuous one, to say the least. Tumult, however, often brings about change, and I expect this year’s to be no different.

In March, we had a homecoming of sorts, when Anni took us back to Estes Park, Colorado, a long-time favorite destination for members. I was very happy to raise Elania to Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, and to conduct a sneaky raising and bring Analiese up to Soldier. We had a staggering amount donated to our charity, Ronald McDonald House, and I was overwhelmed at the generosity of members who donated items for our raffle. Many people brought items to raffle off, and many people bought raffle tickets with which to bid on those items. My personal favorite was Jeffan donating a bag of glitter and confetti to allow himself to be glitter bombed. Shockingly, I won, though I wasn’t trying to, and I duct taped Jeffan to a chair and glittered him up, inviting attendees to join me in causing him much outrage. Ah, memories.

At Anni, I had the privilege to announce the Amyrlin’s Awards. These four awards are the highest honor to receive at TarValon.Net. Ne'mireth Delvar of the Green Ajah was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for her service in the position of Social Media Manager. Philanthropist of the Year was awarded to Onis O'Leia, for her consistent donations to fundraising as well as her efforts within the community. I was proud to award Kitan Tataru the Unsung Servant award; her passion is an inspiration to me. Finally, Melisande Arneil was named Member of the Year for her service to the Tower not just in 2016, but also in her many years as a member at TarValon.Net.

Shortly after Anni, the Spring Executive Meeting took place. The Executives meet four times a year, and the Spring and Fall Meetings are when the big changes or news tends to come out. And we had news in the Spring. Testing of the new forum software was well underway, which was one of the bigger changes of the year. We also announced that we were not planning on moving forward with same-path bonds at this time. It’s not a closed issue, and we’re open to revisiting it, but there didn’t seem to be the interest in pursuing it as we would have liked to have seen. After that announcement, conversations ensued, both in that thread and in private forums. Everyone was much more vocal about the possibility, whether they supported the change or not, and we have much more data to work from in the future. A bonding change that did occur was allowing the Companies to determine if their Gaidin would be allowed to have a second bond, and all Companies opted in.

I was sad to miss Fall Ball, which was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this year, but all reports made it sound like a fabulous party. So too was the British and Ireland party, held in Callandor, Scotland, what with their wellie tossing.

I did my best to keep up with sending congratulations cards to newly raised Senior Members, and other members who had a special life event or who I just wanted to send a kind word to. So often, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ins and outs of running the site, and overseeing what’s going on, and forget that the most important part of our community is our members. I try, as often as I can, to participate throughout the site, in public and private, because I embrace the idea of being Of All and None. I do my best to embody that, and live that, and I want the members to see me as All and None rather than any one Ajah or Company.

One of my goals for 2018 is to find a way to open up the behind the scenes stuff that happens. I see a lot of distrust of how certain things are handled, and I want to get to the bottom of that and see what we can do to change that distrust. I want members to have the same confidence in the Executive and Administration team that I do, and I want members to be able to speak out if they feel something is unfair, and for them to receive an honest answer. I want the Administration to be able to apologize openly, fix what went wrong, and continue doing their jobs to the best of their ability. I want to foster a feeling of inclusion, rather than exclusion of any person or group, and I want everyone to be celebrated for what makes them unique.

Most of all, I want TarValon.Net to continue to be a place that welcomes everyone, and celebrates everyone. I hope that you, as a member here, will help me in that goal. Yours in the Light,

Rhed al’Tere
The Watcher of the Seals
The Flame of TarValon.Net
The Amyrlin Seat


Statement from the Board of Directors

We fortunately had another year of calm for our Board of Directors and the management structure of the organization. At our annual meeting in August, Joe Pistritto was elected our Chairman, replacing Jim Beattie who remains a member of the Board. We also added Crystal Dumonceaux (known on the site as Melisande Arneil) fulfilling a long standing goal of bringing the Board back to 5 members after the current Amyrlin left the board to assume that role. Crystal is also our first non-US-based board member.

On the Officer front, this has been a very stable year for TV.Net. All of our Officers completed the full year serving in their respective roles. We thank all of them for their service. We look forward to 2018 and all it will bring for TarValon.Net and its members.

Joe Pistritto, Chairman TarValon.Net Board of Directors