@mrhavens Mark Havens is also running:
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/2020_Statement_of_Intent_Mark_Havens
Feel free to ask candidate-specific questions below.
Well, since you askedâŚ
Mark, I see from your SoI you say:
Unify our community, regardless of past grievances, by means of grace, forgiveness, willful forgetfulness, mutual respect, and an open mind
What do you have in mind, specifically vis-a-vis âwillful forgetfulnessâ? More directly, please cast a vote here:
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Mark,
given past transgressions in which you fraudulently listed DMS and various members as part of one of your personal non-profits, why should we overlook this if youâre given a position to be on the board of DMS? As a member of the board you become placed in a position of power, and when it comes to state filings you have a history of falsifying information. This is a serious risk to the operational capability of a legitimate non-profit.
Particularly, Iâm referring to you adding Dallas Makerspace as the registered agent of one of your non-profits, âFreedom to Fabricate the Future.â You additionally added two members as officers of that organization without their consent.
Even after being asked to remove DMS and those members from your org, you would not do so. Ultimately, notification to the state was made (minutes from the DMS meeting on the matter here for those unaware: https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors_Meeting_20140618), and the state shut down your organization.
According to those present at the time when they asked you to remove them, your response was âsue me.â
Please, elaborate on why this should be ignored? This kind of behavior is jeopardizing to the organizationâs ability to operate, and in terms of due diligence having such a member trusted with fiduciary duty of the organization would be highly suspect.
I additionally find it fascinating that you chose not to mention this on your âfull disclosure,â but you had no qualms about listing the drug distribution charges (Iâm not even going into the cherry picked choices of words by claiming itâs just pot brownies there).
Regards,
-Tails
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Mark,
I would like to know why, back in 2017, you threatened to sue DMS when the board wouldnât supply you with the email addresses of all members?.And further, what were you planning on doing with everyoneâs personal email addresses?
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I should also note, this occurred after you had been caught using DMS membersâ personal information to falsely list them as members of your nonprofit as I wrote about above.
Denying a request such as this to someone known for committing identity theft against members is considered reasonable in the state.
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Mark, you mentioned your felony conviction and pass it off as pot brownies, but the indictment says you had over 500 grams of hash oil, 1.5 kilos of marijuana and two handguns.
Between this possession with intent to distribute and the attempted fraud and identity theft listed above, please explain how you would be a trustworthy and safe choice for the board?Havens_Grand_Jury_Indictment_-_Copy.pdf (106.6 KB)
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1.5 kilos!
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Yeah, no idea what the street value of that would be. ButâŚ
I looked up a pot brownie recipe and they are made with cannabutter. 4oz per tray. To make 8 oz of butter you need 7 grams of cannabis. There are 1500 grams in 1.5 kilos. So his stash would make 428 trays of brownies, or 3424 individual brownies. And thatâs without the hash oilâŚ
The personal use excuse doesnât seem real believable.
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@mrhavens in case you missed this thread. Iâm also curious about the pot brownies story on your statement of intent. Seems disingenuous to say the least.
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Hey Marshall,
It didnât even occur to me that âwillful forgetfulnessâ might be interpreted in that way. I was thinking of a much, much bigger picture than any single issue. I was thinking in terms of anyone holding on to a grudge that might be faced with working with someone they have personal, political, ideological, or philosophical problems with. But, I think Iâve already answered the issue with Kris in a past thread.
But Iâll still try to answer again it to your satisfaction. Yes, I support her lifetime ban. The circumstances, narrative, facts, and absent defense warrants a ban. Objectively, Iâm unable to make any other decision.
As for the other points in the thread, I am more than happy to add my perspective. But if I miss something critical, please be patient, I will likely address it at some point. Right now, I canât afford to be careless with how I spend my time, so forgive me if I overlook a point that is important to you. I am making an effort to address everything and will come back to anything I feel is important, whether it is on Talk or elsewhere.
Let me start with a deeper perspective that is more in line with how someone in an executive leadership position should be thinking.
When you make the sacrifice to serve in leadership, you never truly understand the sacrifice until after the fact. Make no mistake, serving in leadership is truly a sacrifice in every sense of the word. And that is something that we as leaders learn and accept, sometimes long after the fact, through the suffering onslaught of slings and arrows, through our loss of friendships, through our loneliness, and through our struggle of self-doubt. We face these things whether we are ready for it or not. And while no two experiences in leadership are quite the same, those who adapt and survive are able to see the patterns that make the experiences very much alike. Obviously, this isnât my first rodeo.
None of us have ever been ready for it. Least of all me. I only know that, when it comes to volunteer leadership, whenever the community is in dire need, I require much convincing and interpersonal support from many people in order to be persuaded into service. Frankly, I never expected to ever run for the board again. The time I served years ago was more than enough for me. But a lot of people have changed my mind, and Iâm doing this for them, knowing that it will be brutal and at the expense of my mental health and life outside DMS.
For what itâs worth, I appreciate everyoneâs diligence in safeguarding Dallas Makerspace. I donât share the perspectives in this thread, nor did the district attorney who quite literally thought I didnât deserve to be prosecuted. First degree felonies arenât dismissed for no reason. And part of that reason is that the faith built by the prosecution was brought about by the same person who defrauded DMS out of thousands of dollars. The same person that Dallas Makerspace retained an attorney to prosecute, but failed to follow through on. I donât know why my ex-wife wasnât brought to justice, and I donât know why she wasnât banned by DMS for actual fraud. This was never documented. But I would like to say thank you to everyone who caught her. Because if it werenât for our DMS leadership and their diligence on the matter, my life might be very different right now. The district attorney for my case noticed her malfeasance here at DMS, even without the followthrough of her being prosecuted, and I have everyone in the leadership community at the time to thank for following through, even to the extent they did. Again, for what itâs worth, thank you. Truly, thank you.
Iâm an open book. People I form relationships with know this. Some of them may no longer support my narratives or perspectives for personal or political reasons, but I am nonetheless an open book that frequently overshares the personal details of my life. So, if we havenât taken the time to get to know one another in half a decade, or if weâve been too caught up in the politics to really take the break required to get to know who weâve become over years of lifeâs joys and sorrows, then we might be missing out on a lot of rewarding conversations. I for one, have plenty of stuff to talk about. Probably to the point of fault. But thatâs one of the ways I work with people. By putting aside all the stuff that doesnât really matter, by tearing down walls, by building bridges⌠by building relationships that not only enrich our lives but also help us achieve our goals. Building solid working relationships makes accomplishing goals easier and more efficient. It doesnât matter if you started the fight. It doesnât matter if you make me angry. It doesnât matter if I think someone is an awful person. For the good of all of us, I will work with anyone, and I will always appeal to the good of Dallas Makerspace. Not as a building, but as a family of makers.
If none of you have examined my platform, Iâd like you to think about our culture for a moment; both our membership culture and our leadership culture. Our culture is one area that I believe I can help. It is a passion in which I have long been qualifed. Few others running focus on this, and thatâs okay. We need all types of priorities, passion and ideas when it comes to board leadership. I am willing to trade on any other policy issue in exchange for support on my issues regarding our culture. If culture isnât something thatâs important to you, you will want to work with me on the basis that we can help each other achieve both of our goals. If culture is something important to you, then we will be able to achieve our mutual goals together.
It doesnât matter if youâve been rude, offensive, or judgemental in the past. From this moment forward, in the interest everyone who demands a voice and future at Dallas Makerspace, all has been forgiven. This is a cold boot; a hard reset; a blank slate. I will have no memory of past wrongs.
I believe there are only two groups of people here at Dallas Makerspace. First, there are those who want us to be divided with insults, disrespect, and grievances, brought on by old grudges and personal conflict, in a manner not unlike Lord of the Flies. And then, there are the rest of us.
We will all be working together soon. Iâd like for you to think about which side they are on. Consider what is best for Dallas Makerspace. In my estimation, those who want us divided are clearly outnumbered.
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So not going to address any of the other concerns in this thread then?
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Directors have access to billing records and other personal information for members. Considering your history of fraud and identity theft and the large amount of marijuana and two handguns in your posession when you were arrested, what would you tell people to reassure them that you will safeguard their personal information if elected? Could you please answer @Edenblueâs question about your threatened lawsuit to try to get membersâ personal information? What were you planning to do with this information?
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Considering you had previously used membersâ information to falsely register them as officers of your company (you still havenât addressed that BTW), there is legitimate business reason to deny such things.
Even if now the contact directory is more accessible, it made sense to deny you access then. But if you were on the board, put in the same situation with a member requesting another membersâ information after they previously committed identity theft would you not deny it?
Why did you think it was OK to place DMS and its members as officers on your org then refuse to remove them when asked?
What kind of behaviour is this for someone who wants to be on the board of the organization he did this to?
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If I remember correctly (and this is just Things I Heard in the Common Room), Mark wanted the info so that all the members could receive information about that yearâs election. The board disagreed, either about the info being relevant or about that being the best method of getting the word out.
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Hereâs the original thread that includes Markâs reason for making the request. https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/attention-dallas-makerspace-members/25877
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Yeah I donât want my information out there. I rather not make getting my address any easier. Like I could understand asking members to send me their contact info voluntarily⌠But to legally sue over it. I would like to have some expectation of privacy from our 1800+ other members. Or not end up with a series of secret admirer presents on my door, been there done that, not fun.
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What was the outcome of this charade?
@mrhavens What was the reason for you to stop perusing this. Do you still feel the information you were requesting should be available to all members?