Kia ora koutou,
SpecFicNZ is an incorporated society, and every year we have an Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is where members get to decide what priorities we set as a society for the next year. What would you like us to focus on? Come along on Thursday the 13th of June at 8pm and meet other members, hear about what we’ve done over the last year (sponsoring Geysercon, launching a podcast, revamping the website, attempting to launch a critique group, and lots more).
You will also get the chance to volunteer for officer roles, and if enough people are interested participate in an election for those roles.
As we’re a national organisation with limited resources we don’t expect our members to physically attend the AGM. Instead we use the popular online chat and planning tool ‘Slack’. You can use this on your computer, phone, or tablet.
If you think you would like to attend - and make your voice heard - please RSVP using the link below and complete the quick attached form (it will take two minutes).
We will send you joining instructions for the Slack nearer the time.
SpecFicNZ is run by members who volunteer a bit of their time to help out.
We have five named officer positions; president, secretary, treasurer, webmonkey, and publicist; of which two are currently vacant. But even if a role is not currently vacant you can still put yourself forward for it.
We also have the “core”, who are committee members who help out with the day to day decision making of running the society, and try to meet regularly to make sure things happen. A few members of the current core will be moving on to other things (and other countries), so new members will be really welcome.
Grace Bridges our current president has this to say:
Let me tell you why we do it.
Way back at my first Con, I was jokingly nominated as President of SpecFicNZ, when someone pulled my name randomly out of a hat in the basement of the Surrey Hotel. But the joke made me think, and I ended up stepping into this role. Since then, I’ve become certain that we get more back from volunteering than we ever put in. Credit where it's due: this idea comes from Lee Murray, and you can read more about that at https://www.leemurray.info/blog/what-s-in-it-for-me.
We get colleagues and camaraderie. We get to come up with ideas and then help make them happen. You’ve seen that in things like our group anthology, Te Korero Ahi Ka, and the way SpecFicNZ members and Core (aka committee) are frequently involved to the gills in the Natcons.
In the SpecFicNZ Core, each person has an important part to play. Each is a piece of the puzzle, and again, you get out of it in proportion to what you put in.
Perhaps we don’t always see the results directly, but I'm certain the seeds we plant now will bear fruit in the lives of the Core and our members. Come on board and your life might change as a result of the connections you make. That’s one end of the scale. But on the other end, we’re also here to celebrate ideas—new thoughts and concepts that bring passion to one person at a time.
It is our hope that you will join us in this collaboration, contributing ideas that excite you, and helping to shape our genre in NZ.
If that doesn’t make you want to step forward, but you think you might be interested - flick the current Core an email: admin@specfic.nz to find out more.
Or you can chat with some of us at Geysercon if you’re there (tickets still available).
Ngā Mihi
Mat (current web monkey).
Small Print: You recieved this email because our records say your either a current or very recently expired member of SpecFicNZ. If you think you’ve expired you can now renew your membership with Paypal and set up a recurring payment. You don’t need a Paypal account. Just visit this link - https://specfic.nz/login