Dear Residents,
As we have announced in our previous blog post about the upcoming elections for the Lionheart Chamber of Commerce (CoC), we’re going to introduce you now into the candidate who has applied to run for the position of the chairperson of the CoC. This time, we had one applicant for this position, which is why the electoral procedure will differ from the previous elections. The exact procedure will be explained in the next blog post about the opening of the elections on friday, as well as on the electoral meeting.
The election will take place next weekend, beginning on Friday, August 26th 2.00pm SLT, ending on Sunday, August 28th at midnight.
Right before the election weekend officially begins, we’ll have an electoral meeting on Friday, August 26th at 1.00pm SLT (PDT) at our Lionheart Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room, where you can meet the candidate, hear about her program and ideas for the CoC, and ask questions. At 2.00pm SLT the voting officially begins.
Please watch out for updates on this blog or follow our Twitter feed.
The Candidate’s Introduction
The candidate has prepared a text where she introduces herself to you and tells you a bit about her ideas for the CoC. Please don’t hesitate to contact her in-world if you want to get to know her and ask further questions if you have any.
Sookie Slafford
My name is Sookie Slafford and Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman (October 2010 – June 2011 term). More importantly, I’m a long term merchant resident at Lionheart with two successful brands under my belt in part thanks to the wonderful amenities Lionheart Estate has to offer businesses. I am currently in the stages of revamping my year plus old business Jolly Farm with a new direction and a variety of lessons learned regarding Second Life business.
After proudly serving my elected six month term (and then some), my vision for the CoC has greatly changed. Of course I want what anyone would want – to provide and oversee a successful group where you are free to share experiences and exchange information related to running a successful business on Second Life. But I have learned that the CoC is so much more than that.
I’ll be the first to admit to you that being in charge of the Chamber of Commerce is a lot of work and it sometimes feels thankless. There were times where I slacked off because I felt as if the members didn’t care. It wasn’t until the end of my term that I realized that people stopped caring because they thought I gave up on them. In final attempt to make sure the CoC was left with something, I instated our planned bi-weekly event, Roaring Reductions and saw the meetings and overall chatter multiply. It was then that I realized the members were just waiting for the direction they were lacking from me.
It wasn’t until I stepped down that I realized how important the CoC had once been to me and that I’d simply forgotten. I elected to not run for a second term in June because I didn’t feel I had the time to dedicate to the group and my real life was a little too up in the air for my liking. I didn’t want to make another promise to you that wouldn’t be kept. I’m happy to say that life has settled down and I’m confident in my ability to give you the time and attention you deserve.
The CoC needs direction from someone who understands its potential and ultimate function. It needs consistency in meetings, events and information. If re-elected, I promise to you the following:
- The Roaring Reductions event will pick back up – this time with more organized planning and tools that are easier for you to use.
- We will make better efforts to work with the Lionheart Mentor group to exchange resources and information so that you get exposure opportunities and perhaps even knowledge about the inner workings of Second Life.
- The CoC will get with the 21st century, focusing on using the power of social networking to its advantage – including link and social handle exchanges between members.
- We will provide more workshops, focusing on a variety of Second Life business related topics organized by willing members.
- A much more engaging, hands-on Sookie Slafford this time around.
In closing, I hope you will consider me for re-election for this term. I look forward to working with the CoC regardless and hope to provide my unique experience and expertise regardless of the election outcome.
