Governing Body Report November/December 2010 | The Society of American Fight Directors

Friend/AC/AAC Representative Mike Speck: Hello Friends, Actor Combatants, and Advanced Actor Combatants:

Just a brief note to remind you of what’s going on in the SAFD.

1. Governing Body elections are coming up. While Chuck and Lee are running unopposed, the positions of Vice President and Secretary are both contested. Take the time to read through the candidates’ statements, talk with your friends and classmates, and think through how you’re going to vote. These positions are key to the SAFD’s functioning, so consider carefully who you’ll vote for.

2. The GB’s next onsite meeting is coming up in November. While our agenda will be set by the time you read this, please let me know what you think the GB should be concerned with. In particular, I’d like to hear how you feel about the website’s new features, and about the potential return of the SAFD Forums. How should we structure our web presence?

3. Speaking of the website, please take the time to visit the site and fill out your member profile. ACs and AACs should all have pages by now, and I’m told that Friends pages are in the works. Take the time to add some detail to that page, so that browsing fight choreographers and directors can not only find you, but get a sense of why they should hire you.

4. As always, let me know if you have problems or questions in anything relating to the SAFD.

5. A reminder that SAFD Regional Workshops are still moving forward. Arguably these are the backbone of the SAFD: a chance to make new friends, see old friends, and kill them with swords. Repeatedly. The Winter Wonderland Workshop is gearing up for 2011, and of course my own Carnage in the Corn is just around the corner as well!

Thanks all!

Certified Teacher Representative D.C. Wright: It is with great excitement that we present a new updated SAFD Glossary of Terms. With suggestions and support from many, a reconstituted Glossary Task Force consisting of CT’s Tiza Garland, H. Russ Brown, and DC Wright edited and compiled this new document. Our priorities were: to simplify and streamline, to reformat and have the Glossary agree stylistically with itself, to allow the glossary to better reflect what we actually say when teaching, to remove irrelevant or outdated items, and to avoid using the definition to try to teach the technique. We feel confident that we have achieved these goals, and the Governing Body has reviewed the document and ratified it as the new official SAFD Glossary of Terms.

I hope you will take a look at this new glossary, as I think you will find it is much more accessible than the old document. If you have any questions or comments about the new glossary or specific definitions, please send them to DC Wright as the Glossary Task Force Chair,at dc-wright@wiu.edu.

Fight Director Representative M.J. Johnson: Ladies and Gents,

The Governing Body will have our next face-to-face November 7 -8 in Denver. By now you've gotten the email blast I sent out telling you about two of the topics on our agenda - the Fight Directors Workshop (FDW) and tweaking the language for CT's applying for FD status. Some of you may have already send me your comments on these topics. Please, keep sending them.

If you have any suggestions, comments, and/or concerns about any other topics, let me know. And for those of you who still need to renew your status for the next three years, do that as soon as possible. It is very easy to renew on the SAFD website. Let's have everyone renewed by December 31.

Secretary Willie Meybohm: In the past three years, the Governing Body has accomplished a lot. Sometimes we stumbled, and sometimes we leapt bravely into the unknown, all in the pursuit of driving the organization forward into the twenty-first century. Now, as I begin to look towards 2011, I am thankful for my time as Secretary and grateful for the honor you bestowed on me for allowing me to serve the organization. It is my hope that the SAFD will continue to both pursue its growing relationship with professional unions, and make efforts to deliver even more targeted member services in order to help promote our Society to the professional world. Going forward, I hope the SAFD and the Governing Body will continue its endeavors to secure outside funding, grants and corporate sponsorship to facilitate Outreach programs, so that we may truly embrace our charge as a nonprofit entity and provide meaningful educational experiences to those less fortunate than ourselves.

Too often, I think, the crux of these pursuits tends to fall on the shoulders of members of the Teaching class; but I challenge each and every member, regardless of status or rank, to contribute and be inspired to participate in the process of growing and developing this organization. Remember, you are the Society of American Fight Directors. You are, in immeasurable ways, the backbone of this Society, and we need you. Thank you, for allowing me to serve.

Now, time to finish that Great American novel.