What kinds of things canadates would like to see happen next year?
Also, if elected how would they address programing problems that happened this past year?
I would like to see even more attendee-run panels. Not only does that free some of our staff, it gives the convention the variety in programming that makes it fun. Last year, attendees ran panels on catboys/catgirls, Star Wars, and ball-jointed dolls... quite the range from the typical guest Q&A's and cosplay panels. I can't wait to see what they come up with next year.
As for the problems we ran into in programming.. I think better upfront planning will help that a lot. Some things were not as well organizes as I would have liked, and we were playing catch-up on it, but we know what needs to be improved next year, and we can plan to improve it.
How you the candidates plan on encouraging and enabling effective recruiting of new Programming staff and keeping those staff engaged and excited about the convention?
Recruiting for staff is by the most part word of mouth - staffers and volunteers tell their friends, encourage them to come to a meeting or mini event or even con itself, and they are assimilated
. I encourage people who are interested in stuff you can do at con - gaming or karaoke, fanfiction or cosplay - to join programming staff. It's long hours, little sleep, and zero pay, but you get to interact with people who like the same things you do, and that makes it worth it. (I've also been known to bribe staff with food).
As the President of Pocky Club I have already gathered a lot of data on what pocky our staff prefers. Things change though so Nominees, what is your favorite flavor of Pocky?
Men's pocky, or the chocolate mousse.
How quickly could you adjust your schedule to attend a board meeting? Less to do with Prog, just a general nominee question.
My schedule is more fixed than some (a regular 8-5 job), but still flexible... I generally don't have any trouble adjusting it as needs arise. This year, I was able to make all the general and board meetings.
In the past...well... every year the convention has opted to utilize our hotel's largest ballroom by putting up the air wall's at one end and using that space for a different event space. This year it was the Rounds, the year before it was the Rounds and the Workshop. In light of the explosive growth this year do you feel that the convention is better off with a slightly smaller Main Events Hall or fewer total event rooms?
2009 Fact sheet and 2008 Fact sheet
Smaller Main Events. Yes, it would be great if we could use the entirety of the ballroom, and there are times we can, but we have been filling the rooms we have, so I wouldn't reduce total event rooms. The numbers we would gain by using the Parlour Suites as part of Main Events, and not Rounds, do not outweigh the use we have for Rounds.
I understand that everyone wants the biggest room possible... and it would be ideal if all attendees could fit in Main Events. But we are limited by the space, and I won't favor one room/event over another (otherwise viewing rooms or the manga library would be in much larger rooms
). At this stage, with our space limitations, compromise is a necessary evil.
I feel that this is an important question and so I am posting in every staff elected election section:
Who do you plan to appoint as your assistant director and have they accepted the offer for the position?
A couple of my staffers have expressed interest in the position. As I don't have the job yet, I haven't offered the position.
Sorry for the long post... quite few questions piled up before I had a chance to sit down and respond to these
