August 17, 2020

Hackforge News – August 2020

Hey folks, I hope this finds most of you well. I also hope that it finds you excited to find something to do, even if it’s yet another few hours in front of your favourite LCD screen.

Too Long, Didn’t Read: We’re having an AGM and PayPal is back up, if you’re interested in supporting us and getting involved in organizational politics. We’ll be organizing a video Happy Hour, and you can join us on Discord to discuss.

Patronage

Hackforge has always been a membership-driven organization. What we have learned over the years is that membership in the Hackforge community means many things to different people.

Being a member of our community is as free as friendship and good conversation. Our video meetups and chat rooms on Discord are open to everyone. It may not be common knowledge, but it doesn’t cost money to “join Hackforge.”

If you are interested in supporting us by pledging a monthly donation, we fixed PayPal and now have Patronage levels of $5, $10 and $20. As before, the $20 monthly commitment does include a Voting Membership which – in addition to supporting us monetarily – confers eligibility for getting involved in organizational politics.

We hope many of you will volunteer to plan and run virtual events, moderate the Discord chat and video meetups, join in on discussions and have a lot of fun with us. We want you to help shape the community, the way the earliest Hackforge pioneers did when we first started out in a room in the Library. That’s what being a member of Hackforge really means.

AGM

An Annual General Meeting is where Voting Members get to decide who will replace exiting board members and run Hackforge for the next few years, and get caught up on current organizational status. We almost had an AGM in June, but postponed to leave oxygen for other, more pressing social concerns at the time.

I’m happy to deliver official notice to all of you now. We have several board positions opening, so I hope we will have lots of interested candidates.

Note that to be a “Voting Member in good standing”, you just have to go to our website and get a Voting Membership subscription with our new PayPal account before the day of the AGM. If you weren’t a member before, you can get on board in time for this AGM.

AGM NOTICE TO VOTING MEMBERS

All Voting Members of Windsor Hackforge in good standing are invited to join us for a virtual Annual General Meeting on Friday, September 11 at 7pm. Voting Members in good standing have paid their monthly memberships dues at the time of the AGM. Please RSVP with a free Eventbrite ticket to reserve a spot in the video call and check your email on the day of the AGM for a message sent through Eventbrite with a video conference link.

MEMBERSHIP DUES

To renew your membership or to join as a member to be eligible to vote at the AGM, go to https://hackf.org/join-us/ and make a monthly or annual pledge at the $20 Voting Member level before the AGM.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

If you are interested in joining the Board of Directors of Windsor Hackforge, send an email with your expression of interest, relevant personal and/or professional information, and any questions to Jeff Szusz, Chair, Board of Directors jeff@hackf.org by September 1st.

Members who submit their names for election will be added to the slate to be voted on by the membership. The Board of Directors are responsible for managing the activities and affairs of the corporation in accordance with the articles and conditions set out in the by-laws. Executive positions will be determined at the next Board of Directors meeting following the AGM.

PROXY VOTES

If any members are not able to attend the AGM, you can submit a proxy vote by September 8th to Jeff Szusz, Chair, Board of Directors jeff@hackf.org who will vote on your behalf.

AGENDA ADDITIONS

If you would like to add an item to the agenda please send it to Jeff Szusz, Chair, Board of Directors jeff@hackf.org by September 1st.

AGM AGENDA

1. Call to Order – Chair, Board of Directors
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of 2019 AGM Minutes
4. Report from Chair and Program Updates
5. Report from Treasurer and Approval of 2019 Financial Statements
6. Updates to Bylaws
7. Election of Directors
8. Adjournment

The AGM package will be emailed to members one week prior.

HAPPY HOUR

We’ll be organizing a video call to hang out and chat and catch up in the next week or two, prior to the AGM. There’s no agenda, just bring your coffee, beer, soda, etc. with you to a video call and have a chat. If you want to get in on that discussion, head over to our Discord chat and we’ll figure out date and time together. First download the client and then click this invite link.

Thanks for all your support! I hope to see many of you soon!

Jeff Szusz, Hackforge Board President
jeff@hackf.org
@jeffszusz