For Coordinator, Patrick Campion and Raymond Offord
For Vice-Coordinator, Patrick Campion, Raymond Offord, Morgan Canady
For Secretary, Ashleen O'Gaea
For Member at Large, one year term, Jim "Canyondancer" Law
For Member at Large, two year terms, Daniel Nail, Morgan Canady, Robyn Garden
Hi, I have been nominated for the position of Vice-Coordinator and also for one of the vacant Member-At-Large positions.
My reason for running this year is to support TAWN through yet another growth period. I am willing to serve in which ever capacity you believe I would best fit, Vice-Coordinator, or Member At Large. So please renew your membership and vote for me.
I have been active in TAWN since about 1997 and have served on TAWN BOD several times in these past 13 years. During that time TAWN has seen good years and bad years and been through several lean periods when the membership/leadership for one reason or another shrunk small enough that we weren't sure we were going to be able to pull it out of trouble and get it back on the road to being the active Pagan Network it was meant to be. As we all know this has happened again in just this past year. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly say how much I appreciate the efforts of Raymond, who stepped up to fill the empty position of Coordinator, and Gannd, our Treasurer, and Raya and Daniel who have all done a fabulous job of keeping it all together since the near disaster.
A thought that just came to me, as many times as TAWN has been resurrected from near death I think we could easily justify attaching the slogan "Can't Kill the Spirit" to our TAWN logo. I might try to accomplish that if I'm elected, not that it's really all that important, just something I'd like to see.
I am a professional Taroist/Psychic, a Neo-Pagan Priestess, an energy working healer and I am the Crone of SAGE Circle. Add all that together and all it means is that I'm just one old witch.
There are not many Pagan Networks that can say they have been in existence for 23 years. It is largely because of the activities of TAWN over the years that we Pagans who live in Tucson are able to come together in celebration of our Holy Days out in the open and expect to be accepted without fear by the greater Tucson population.
For this reason I encourage everyone to support TAWN. Run for the board or volunteer to lead one of the open rituals or teach an Adult Education Class. These are only a few of the many ways you could contribute to what kind of network TAWN becomes. It's is your network, so get involved and become part of TAWN.
Merry hi! I'm Ashleen O'Gaea -- say it oh-jee-uh -- and I've been around since the beginning. I'm a co-founder of TAWN, and I've served on six Boards, four times as Secretary/Scribe, and I'm pleased to be running for that combined position again. I'm also the author of several books about Wicca, the writing priestess for Mother Earth Ministries-ATC, a co-founder of Adventure Wicca, and a member of Foursight Coven -- and in all of these capacities, I consider myself an ambassador for TAWN.
I am immensely proud to see that the work TAWN does and the opportunities it provides are so important to this community that rather than disbanding, we've resolved the difficulties we've faced over the years -- including the recent ones. A lot of the groups we looked to for guidance before TAWN was formed are defunct now, many of them as the result of lesser troubles than we've seen. In all networking groups, disagreements and mistakes are normal. They're also challenging, and TAWN has successfully met those inevitable challenges for 23 years. Right now we're reestablishing ourselves as civil and respectful, and rebuilding our membership; I look forward to being part of that process. Thanks to the hard work of current Board members who are doing much more than they were elected to do, we've still got a solid foundation, which I hope to help expand.
Specifically, I'll work to
Remember that nominations close and voting begins at the end of the August Cauldronluck, and voting closes at the end of the September Cauldronluck. Our new Board will be introduced on September 18th at Fall Fest XXIII. I hope to see you there -- and I hope you'll elect me to the office of Secretary!
Patrick is a third-degree eclectic Wiccan who has been on the Wiccan path for over twenty years. He is the High Priest of the Circle of Sage coven, and has been a member of two other covens (now disbanded) in the past. He has held the positions of Coordinator, Secretary, and Treasurer on past TAWN boards, and is the current Treasurer for Mother Earth Ministries. He also organized and ran the 2009 (20th Anniversary) Fall Fest for TAWN. His hot buttons are recycling and the care of our Earth, and his biggest pet peeve is religious intolerance. Patrick is an accountant in mundane life, employed as the Finance Manager for the Food Conspiracy Co-op grocery store. Patrick and his wife Deborah live in a 1927 house near downtown, which is run by and for their two dogs.
All TAWN board positions are valuable and each has important roles to play in serving our community. One of the functions I believe a member at large serves is as a foundation. Members at large do what needs to be done for the community. They volunteer to serve in capacities others are unavailable for and fill in for others whenever the need arises. Members at large keep communication flowing between board members and the membership generally. Members at large need to have a lot of energy and time available to be of service to their community. They also need to be dependable.
My name is Daniel Nail. I have been a member of TAWN for nearly two years now. I have served TAWN as one of its now two certified Master Recyclers. I have been the Food Bank coordinator and I am the local "Tree Guy." For TAWN's benefit, I have participated in linking two additional groups - Sonoran Sunrise Grove and Water of Life Community Church - through planting "Tree Beard" at the church, where the grove meets. This is merely the beginning of how I intend to serve our community. I have a county position at a local branch of our Public Library here in Tucson. I am a Student at a local Tibetan Buddhist seminary college and a student generally of everything. I am an active member of a number of local and not so local groups within our community including but not limited to: Ar nDraiocht Fein, Sonoran Sunrise Grove, The Fellowship of Isis, The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, Witchschool International, and the Rosicrucian Tradition AMORC. I have studied and practiced Wicca and many related religions and traditions for over fifteen years. I have the time, quite a bit of it, in fact. I have the energy, will and excitement to do what our community needs and I will continue to show you how dependable I am. Where I lack, I shall improve. You can count on me as a member at large. Now, can I count on you for your vote?
Jim has been a TAWN Board member off and on since TAWN's had a Board, and has been an active member since its founding. He's running now to bring continuity to the current rebuilding cycle and to help prepare for TAWN's 25th anniversary in 2012.
I've lived in Tucson since 2006, and have been Wiccan for about 10 years, since I realized that my religion had a name. I'm a jeweler, a cat-mommy, and a volunteer with Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitators. I'm a 2nd degree co-priestess of Foursight Coven, and I'm running for the TAWN Board to show solidarity with Neo-Pagans everywhere.
Raymond is currently TAWN's Coordinator, a position he assumed last year when the incumbent resigned.
We apologize for not having a photo or better bio for Raymond. Due to a number of unhappy circumstances, which will not affect his ability to serve if he is elected, he has not been able to submit one.