Gangrel Coordinator Election 2010

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Displaying output for plurality voting

Open Votes

Proposal Type: Coordinator Elections (Full Term)
Opened: 15-Nov-2009 1:00AM EST
Closing: 22-Nov-2009 1:00AM EST


The Gangrel Coordinator application(s) are included below.

Feel free to discuss the elections and applications with your CM.

The options for your CM to vote in this Election will be:

* Scott Michalek
* Mandie Valandingham
* Reject All Candidates
* Abstain

~ Jenn Louise Bahrs
OWbN Head Coordinator

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Coordinator Position Applied For:
Gangrel Coordinator

Applicant Name: Scott Michalek
Applicant Email: js.tremere@gmail.com
Applicant Home Chronicle:
Night ... Falls (NVA) - HST
Vitae Aeternus (SMD) - Player of Zacharia Datillo, Tremere
Shadows on the Mall (DC)- Player of Nelson Barrington, Ventrue

Introduction/Background:
Greetings everyone, I'm Scott Michalek, and I'm running for Gangrel Coordinator. In real life I'm a Sr Systems Administrator for an IT company working to help students become college and career ready. Obviously one of my major side hobbies is gaming and telling stories. To that end, I found table top gaming in 1993 when I was a freshman in College. My first RPG was 1st ed. D&D which I continue to enjoy, though I am switching to Pathfinder instead of 4th Ed.I was first brought to an OWbN in 1997, where I made up a character to learn the rules with and hopefully in 6 weeks I could then start my real first character. That Character was Garmen Lilly of Clan Gangrel who to this day still gets cameo appearances as an NPC tied to the Shadows on the Mall Chronicle. It was by playing Garmen in an extremely competitive climate with amazing role players around me that I learned clan Gangrel and found my love for it. I first started STing in OWbN in 1999 in Night...Falls (NVA). Since that time I have ST'ed on and off ever since in NVA, SMD, and SotM.

Administrative Experience:
In real life my job history I have had to lead teams and work with people from across the USA. In OWbN I have HST and ST'ed as part of teams with chronicle attendance numbers regularly in the 90+ range. In the last few years I helped regain attendance back in games I have ST'ed in. I have in the last 5 years ST'ed Night...Falls (NVA) and Vitae Aeternus (SMD) simultaneously with very good results for my players. In OWbN I have nearly 8 years of consecutive STing experience across three chronicles. I have experience running and staffing large events the most recent being NonClave 2009.

Goals:
My Goals for being a Coordinator for clan Gangrel are really pretty simple:

1. Preserve and expand the IC history that has already been played out and developed for this wonderful clan over the last 14+ years in OWbN.
2. Work with the STs, Coords, and Council to develop story which will let players expand their individual stories based on the Gangrel Clan Genre.

Personal Statement:
I like to tell stories, its why I have been part of the OWbN for the last twelve or so years. Helping people to explore complex issues while having memorable experiences along the way are something this org has brought to a lot of lives. I have been pleased to assist with developing those stories as a player, ST, HST of several chronicles in the OWbN.

Support From:
Coordinators:
Teresa Jester - Gangrel Coord
Brendan Ammerman - Malkavian Coord

Jenn Bahrs – OwbN Heaad Coordinator

Rojir McCrady – Assistant Head Coordinator
Dawn Ireton - Archivest

Chronicles:
Night...Falls (NVA)
Shadows on the Mall (SotM)
Vitae Aeternus (SMD)
Dark Harbor (Baltimore)
Caine's Chosen (Fredricksburg)

Caught in the Eternal Twilight (Collinsville, IL)

Balneario Camboriú by Night

Sorocaba by Night (SC)

#############################################

Proposta para a Coordenadoria Gangrel.

Nome: Scott Michalek
E-mail: js.tremere@gmail.com
Crônica:

* Night ... Falls (NVA) - HST
* Vitae Aeternus (SMD) - Jogador do Zacharia Datillo, Tremere.
* Shadows on the Mall (DC) - Jogador do Nelson Barrington, Ventrue.

Introdução / Histórico:

Olá, eu sou Scott Michalek, e estou concorrendo para Coordenador Gangrel. Em meu dia-a-dia, sou um Administrador de Sistema Senior (TI), trabalhando para auxiliar estudantes a tornarssem profissionais e estarem pronto para o mercado de trabalho. Claro que um dos meus maiores passa-tempo está relacionado ao jogo e a narrar histórias (RPG). Comecei a jogar RPG (Tabletop - Mesa) em 1993, quando conheci os suplementos era um calouro no colégio. Minha primeira campanha foi D&D 1º edição, o qual eu continuo jogando até hoje, porém estou jogando Pathfinder ao invés da 4º edição. Em 1997 tive meu primeiro contato com o OWBN, fiz um personagem para aprender as regras, e em 6 semanas estava pronto para criar meu primeiro personagem real. E este personagem se chamou Garmen Lilly, do Clã Gangrel, que até os dias de hoje aparece como NPC, na crônica Shadows on the Mall. Enquanto joguei com Garmen, foi um ambiente extremamente competitivo, com uma interpretação incrível, onde aprendi e conheci quase tudo que sei sobre o Clã Gangrel. Tornei-me narrador no OWBN em 1999 em Night ... Falls (NVA). E desde deste dia, tenho auxiliado NVA, SMD e SotM como Narrador.

Experiência Administrativa:

Em toda a minha vida e carreira profissional, aprendi a trabalhar em grupo e com pessoas dos mais diferentes lugares dos Estados Unidos. No OWBN, como HST e Narrador, sou parte de times que possuem uma média de 90 jogadores. Nos últimos anos, auxilio os projetos dos quais faço parte a recuperar a média de jogadores e o interesse pelo jogo. Nos últimos 5 anos como Narrador de NVA e SMD, simultaneamente tenho mantido resultados bastante satisfatórios e gratificantes para os jogadores. No OWBN tenho experiência de oito anos consecutivos como Narrador entre as três crônicas, e conto também com experiência na organização de grandes eventos, como posso citar o mais rescente, o NonClave deste ano (2009).

Meus Objetivos:

1. Preservar e desenvolver / expandir a história (IC) que já é utilizada no OWBN, e continuar melhorando para os jogadores deste incrível Cla, utilizando a experiência que já possuo nestes últimos 14 anos.

2. Trabalhar com os Narradores, Coordenadores e Councils para desenvolver uma forma de incluir as histórias individuais baseadas no gênero do Clã Gangrel.

Declaração Pessoal:

Gosto de contar histórias, e modéstia a parte, faço isso bem. Acredito que isto é o que mais me motiva dentro do OWBN, nos últimos anos. Auxiliar as pessoas a explorar contextos complexos e tirar disto, momentos memoráveis, fazer amigos, e compartilhar com eles esta experiência durante os anos, trazendo a diversão para as reuniões e eventos, é sem dúvida o principal motivador para alguém como eu.

Brasil:

Antes de começar a planejar o gênero para o Brasil, preciso saber o que há atalmente. Meu primeiro objetivo é levantar informações sobre o que aconteceu e o que acontece no País. OWBN possui hoje, 14 anos de história, e muita coisa foi perdida no caminho, que não é lembrado. Pretendo levantar informações, para sincroniza-las com o restante da organização, gerando diversão e principalmente, alinhando as ideias. Teresa fez um ótimo trabalho começand essa documentação, mas ainda há muito mais o que fazer. Alguns dos melhores plots que já vi, começaram com o passado sendo explorado. Atualmente, não há ideias formadas sobre grandes plots (como Cameratta, The Fist, etc...), mas existe sim a intenção de trabalhar melhor com os três aspectos do Clã (Camarilla, Sabbat e Anarch/Independente).

Apoiado por:

* Coordenadores:
o Teresa Jester - Gangrel Coord.
o Brendam Ammerman - Malkavian Coord.
o Jenn Bahrs - OWBN Head Coord.
o Rojir McCrady - Assistant Head Coord.
o Dawn Ireton - Archivest
* Crônicas:
o Night...Falls (NVA)
o Shadows on the Mall (SotM)
o Vitae Aeternus (SMD)
o Dark Harbor (Baltimore)
o Caine's Chosen (Fredricksburg)
o Balneario Camboriu by Night (SP)
o Sorocaba by Night (SC)
o Caught in the Eternal Twilight (Collinsville, IL)

==================================

Mandy Valandingham

Home Chronicle: L'Ange Noir, Iowa City
Position Sought: Gangrel Genre Coordinator

Support for Position

Council/Chronicle Support:

Wasting the Dawn, Berkeley CA

Sacramento by Night, Sacramento CA

Under Night's Cloak, Tampa, FL
Last Crusade, Jerusalem Israel
Chaos&Entropy, Bradenton, FL
Faces of Change, St. Petersburg, FL
Blood on the Lake, Sheboygan WI

Coordinator Support:
Assamite Coordinator

OWbN/Gaming/Administrative Background:

HST of Dead Until Dusk (Independant chronicle) 2002-2005

HST of Voudon Nights (Independant chronicle) 2005-2006

HST of Boston: the Final Masquerade (online chronicle) 1999-2002
Assamite Midwest/Public Relations Sub-Coord for OWbN under Cheri Foster-Dupont
Website Admin Sub Coord for Ventrue and Giovanni

Gaming Experience:

I first started role-playing in 1996 with AD&D, and quickly moved from that to expand to other such games as GURPS, Hole, Cuthulu, and of course the World of Darkness series. I joined the local V:tM LARP troupe Kindred Theater my first year of college and never turned back. I worked with my now husband and a friend to create our own game in 2000, and got my first real taste of what it means to be a storyteller.

While running that game I did everything from doing behind the scenes influence work, to running personal plots and gradually became a HST in my own right. During my tenure as HST, I began to hear about OWbN for the first time but made the decision to keep it a small and intimate troupe game. We finished the chronicle with a Gehenna storyline and moved on to a new game with new settings, set in New Orleans. My husband got a great job offer that led us to move to the Quad Cities area, and we dissolved our troupe. Since then I have moved on to play in Iowa City's OWbN chronicle L'Ange Noir as the gangrel Bethany Nevermore and most recently as the Toreador Masako Hara.

I have also built from scratch several online chronicles that had as many as two hundred players across the United States, Canada and parts of Europe. Some of these games even exist still today, years after I resigned from the HST position.

Personal Statement:
I have been playing V:tM since 2000, and have spent a vast majority of that time as a HST, AST or Influence ST. I have also built from scratch two of my own LARP chronicles and several MMO V:tM games. Since joining OWbN, I have really come to enjoy the diversity that comes with playing on a national level. I really like to encourage both inner-city story lines and larger world-wide ones and find a nice balance between the two. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and plan on assimilating a great sub-coordinator team to best serve the Gangrel of OWbN. I feel that is who a coordinator works for, the players. I feel as a Genre Coordinator, my job is to do exactly that. Coordinate the behind the scenes aspects of the clan. Players have an enormous amount of creativity that should be expressed, and I want to help facilitate that creativity and make it known to the Org. . There are probably any number of great plots going on right now that with a coordinator to make the cross-country connections could move from good to great.

What I want to do as the next Gangrel Coordinator

Record Keeping and Administrative detail:

I know that one aspect of the coordinator position is to keep viable and well-documented records that will secure continuity from one office to another. This also involves keeping records of actions, communicating to other genre, sect and head coordinator's. I will work to secure records from past offices and make sure that everything is in order.

Exploration of Gangrel sub-groups:

The most prominent gangrel sub-groups is the vikings known as the Erinjhar. I feel that this shouldn't be the only major sub-group and want to expand it to cover other areas such as Native Americans, American Bikers, Celts, Mongols, etc. This will give the Gangrel clan a little more diversity and give players a few more options to choose from in order to make a fun and dynamic character.

Website management:

The current gangrel website is missing some key information that could really be of use for the players of the Gangrel. I want to have a fully functional online resource for the players of the Gangrel genre that will not only attract new players to the clan but also give them viable information. Also, I feel that since a major part of the clan is telling stories that there should be a section devoted to just that. You should be able to click on a current or deceased character's name and be able to read stories told about them by the viewpoints of other characters.

I happen to be a freelance website designer, and can take on this project with ease.

Gangrel Event games:

Currently there are two Gangrel event games, both on different parts of the coast. I hope to create a third event game taking place in the Midwest to accomodate those characters who are often left out of this loop. There should not be any special emphasis on one area of the world, as Gangrel roam everywhere.

Communication:

For any position in the Org, communication is vital. If I am elected, it will become one of my top priorities. I plan on appointing a "secretary" sub-coordinator who will work as a secretary to ensure that all e-mails sent to my office are responded too quickly and efficiently. I am not a fan of dropping the ball, nor of keeping players and characters in limbo. Apart of this position is coordinating efforts with storytellers, players and coordinators (sabbat and camairlla).

The "Winds" Gangrel Communication Network:

Recently it has come up in-character that there are non-gangrel on the gangrel "communication network." This has caused some to discontinue using the group alltogether and some to cry out as to the effectiveness of this communication method. I plan on simply creating two new lists, fueled by the actions of various PC's. One will be a network of animal messangers, and can involve gangrel who choose to use that method as well as those who have been "adopted" into the clan.

The other can be of hard-core Gangrel who refuse to believe that someone can be "Gangrel in their heart" and not by blood. This idea can also be expanded to include a world-wide network of animal messengers who could be accessed by anyone with proper animalism.

My thoughts on the following:

NPC's:

NPC's are meant to be a kind of supporting role to assist the players. NPC's can be anything from a random person walking down the street all the way up to a Justicar or a member of the Inner Council. They are supplements, plot devices and something not to be taken lightly. Nor should they take away the spotlight from the PC's.

I have never been a fan of someone creating a all-powerful NPC just so they can waltz into a game and take control. This is a hobby meant for everyone to have fun in, and I do not feel that those kind of actions benefit the game as a whole. A NPC should be used to continue the genre, assist the players and keep things running smoothly and in-check.

Teaching Protean:

Gangrel is a clan of individuals, as as that they are often differing on the thoughts as to if they should teach their sacred gifts to those not of the blood. I feel that due to that nature that there should not be a hard and fast rule about teaching protean. However, that does not mean that if someone is caught teaching their gifts, that someone else won't take offense and remove their head for it. A player should teach a non-gangrel at their own risk.

However, we play in a world of darkness, where around every Gather fire there runs the whispers of what happened to those who taught Protean too freely, and spoke of it too openly. The reasons why Gangrel do not teach their gift lightly are myriad, but in every Wanderer's mind there lingers the most basic: Fear of what might happen if they do.

Playing a character of the same clan that you are a Coordinator for:

I do not feel that it is appropriate for me to play a Gangrel character, or someone who has direct ties to the gangrel while I am coordinator.

Thank you for taking the time to read my application!

Mandie Valandingham

Email: Mandie.Valandingham@gmail.comRunning sneakersBoots

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Ballot Options
Mandie Valandingham
Scott Michalek
Abstain
Reject All Candidates