carlashivener

In March, we will be electing six board members to serve until March 2011. Two new positions, and four incumbents are up for re-election.

If you are interested in helping out, please note your nomination, a short bio, and how you can help SOFA below. You must be a SOFA Premiere member to run and to vote in board elections. To become a premiere member, click the "subscribe" button on the upper right of this page.

Here is the formal announcement:

Special Election Notice
To: All SOFA members
SOFA is heading into a critical year, with an ambitious agenda that includes more and better educational workshops, benefits for members, collaborations with other arts groups, fundraising, membership growth, plus re-invention of Underneath Cincinnati and a special 10th
anniversary celebration.

To that end, the SOFA board has voted to expand its membership from seven to 11. Two will be elected in March 2009, to serve until March 2011. Two more additional board members will be elected in March 2010 (alongside the four seats open in the regular board election rotation, bringing the total seats available at that election to six)  to serve until March 2012. Only premiere (i.e., paid) SOFA members are eligible to run for and to vote in board elections.

These positions require commitment, of time and energy. While specific task loads vary depending on what needs to be done at any given point in the calendar, board members will need to spend a minimum average of four to six hours a week on SOFA business. Obviously, the job also
requires the ability to work with a group, to interact with outside organizations and to respond when circumstances change on short notice. Regular board meetings happen monthly, just before the monthly social mixers at the 20th Century. This year, we have also held two special planning meetings. Much of our business is conducted online.

We particularly need people with relevant experience and skills. For
example, we have work to do in these areas:

-- Business. We need to establish working infrastructure for keeping
thorough records, writing budgets, preparing accounting and tax
reports, etc. This includes managing member information.

-- Communication technology, including internet and social media.. We need to re-organize and modernize our online presence and expand our regular communications with members and the rest of the community, as well as within the board itself. This is an area where up-to-date technical skills would be most helpful.

-- Public relations. We need to continue to cultivate a higher profile
within the filmmaking community and the community at large, via
traditional media, social networking and personal contact.

-- Fundraising and event planning. We need to create more avenues for raising
funds to sustain the organization, including special events from
workshops to happy hours to what we hope will be a memorable
anniversary event in the fall. We also hope to create a new local film
production contest.

-- Grants. We have put together a good group of volunteers to start
researching potential arts grants to help SOFA provide more and better
programs. This is a long process that will require sustained effort.

-- Underneath Cincinnati. After nearly a decade in existence, this
local festival is in need of top-to-bottom re-thinking, re-defining
and re-organizing. There is much work to be done before we can
re-launch Underneath in 2010.

-- Collaborations. We already have worked to greater or lesser extents
with NKU's Media Arts Festival, the 48 Hour Film Project, College
Movie Festival, (the soon-to-be-renamed) Oxford International Film
Festival, Cincinnati World Cinema, Media Bridges, Enjoy the Arts, Fine
Arts Fund and Know Theatre Company. All of these groups and more offer
tremendous opportunities to serve both our members and the broader
community. Doing so requires significant time and attention, as well
as a collaborative mindset.

If you can contribute in an active, material way to these needs, now
is the time to step up and do your part to support independent
media-making in this region. Please consider this message a personal
appeal to consider nominating yourself or another strong candidate to
fill these spots.

If you wish to put your name on the ballot, please post your name, some information about yourself, and what you can bring to the board, in the comments section below.

If you are not now a premiere member but want to run or vote in this election, you can join and pay your dues at sofanetwork.org. If you have been a premiere member but have not paid dues within the last 12 months, you can renew your membership at sofanetwork.org too.