Changing of the Guard

Dearest Red Feather Roleplaying:

First section, from Joy:

After 10 years, I am “retiring” as RFR President. My Board term is (finally) up this summer, and it feels like the right time to let someone else take the helm. We’ve come a long way since we started. A short retrospective: when we were founded in spring of 2013, larps were more likely to have “dark elves” than conduct committees. We ran out of a small camp without a mod hall (but an extremely large Adirondack chair), as a single larp thrown together in 8 weeks, funded by out-of-pocket contributions from 7 trustees. Now we mostly run at camps with large mod halls and small chairs, we have three varied games to choose from, and RFR has paid out all the original trustees, owns itself, and is in good financial health. And, thankfully, the larp community overall has mostly come around to the value of robust codes of conduct. It’s been an adventure, and an honor and privilege to play my small part.

I am handing over the presidency (via unanimous vote of the board) to the exceptionally capable Sarah Walden McGowan. Most of you, I expect, know her already. For those who don’t, some of the things that make her an excellent fit for the role: familiarity with all our games, experience on our board, ability to track things that need doing (she’s been single-handedly leading the camp search for alternate campsites this fall), good judgment, good communication, and a steady temperament for navigating the occasionally-rocky seas of a nonprofit board of directors. I have complete confidence in her ability to run the organization, and am excited to see how RFR continues to evolve under her leadership.

Thanks to all of you for putting up with me this last decade, and for making our fantastic community what it is!

Now, logistics: I am still technically the board president until my term expires this summer, or until Sarah says to hand it over (I told her “it’s yours when you want it”). We’re planning on transitioning responsibilities gradually over the next 2-3 months, so there’s a sort of co-presidency going on at the moment. Sarah and I will be co-authoring at least a couple posts together, and this is the first.

Sarah, take it away.

Second section, from Sarah:

Thank you, Joy! I’m truly honored to be accepting this position, and I have big shoes to fill. Joy has ably led Red Feather from a small organization running one larp to overseeing three larps and setting the standard among New England larps for responsible community building.

The Red Feather community was my introduction to larping with the start of Port Katherine in 2018, and I never would have guessed that I’d become the president of the organization five years later. But I’ve come to understand that that’s the kind of organization Red Feather Roleplaying is: a community where folks who don’t think of themselves as a “typical” larper can find a home, a big tent that welcomes everyone, and an organization that cares deeply about the health and safety of its community.

I accepted the position of president when Joy nominated me because I think I can help carry forward the values of the organization, and also because I know I have a robust support system in the other officers, including the rest of the board, the conduct committee, and the ombuds, as well as the game directors of our games. I care deeply about Red Feather as both an organization and a community, and I look forward to collaborating with you all into the future.

Signed,
Joy and Sarah

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