The following is for clarification purposes only and is not an endorsement.
Blackjack was a staff person for Creation Station at Otafest in 2007. Otafest is an anime con in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
She was a panelist for multiple panels in Creation Stations at various cons, including Anime Evolution.
I do not remember whether her title at Anime Evolution 2007's Creation Station was staff or contest judge/volunteer/panelist, but she was involved. <<EDIT>> She might have been staff for CS at AEv 2006, now that I think about it. Please accept my apology that I do not recall. I did not run the CS at AEv in 2008, so I cannot speak to that year.
She has volunteered for CS almost every year and was, as a volunteer, contest entrant, and panelist, one of the cofounders of the Beta Station, which was the precursor of the CS.
Her fanfics have won various awards in various contests. I think I remember her also winning years back in Karaoke.
The following is a statement of my personal opinion and should not be misunderstood as speaking for anyone else in the CS.
Amber, I believe you are aware that I care about and respect you as a human being and that I always have been and always will be a big fan of your writing and of your various volunteer, panelist, and contest entry contributions to Creation Station, at any con.
I do believe that many points you make are valid, but I also believe that there are times in which there are ways in which your attempts at ennumerating and clarifying your concerns range from perfectly logical, to slightly more emotional than would best benefit your accomplishing your goals, to needing to take a breather before coming back and communicating in the manner that would best accomplish your being heard and taken into serious consideration for the points that you raise. You are not alone in this. There are many people for whom this is true. Everyone has the right to participate in the ways that are within their comfort zones. My concern is that if you were to become an executive, there might be times that the pressure of that role could exceed your own comfort, or that the ways in which you name your concerns might be heard in a different tone than the tone that you intend them to be heard in. I believe that there are times that you are simply speaking your piece, that are heard as more accusatory or harsh than you intend them, in part because of your wonderful ability to project your voice, which is very helpful in certain performance contexts but not necessarily in meetings, and in part because you might on occasion feel unheard, even when others are attempting to address the overall gestalt of your concern, if they do not adequately in your eyes respond to every detail of your concern. It is possible that that might pose a difficulty within executive meetings. I would love to see you thrive within the convention community and feel at home there for the rest of your life. The concern I have is that if you were to experiment with being an executive, and that that didn't work out for you, it could sour congoing for you, as well as potentially being a challenge for other people at the time.
Please know that I say all of this with the fullest respect for you. I honestly have repeatedly advocated for you on your behalf and truly look forward to continuing to read your written work every year. If you choose to continue towards the election process, please consider how you could best work within the meeting framework required of executives. If you do not accept your nominations, please know that no one will think less of you for whatever you choose to do for yourself, to have the most fun and productive year within the con that you can.
Love,
Rem.
