Hey Marshall,
It didn’t even occur to me that “willful forgetfulness” 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 I’ve already answered the issue with Kris in a past thread.
But I’ll 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, I’m 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 can’t 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 isn’t 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 I’m doing this for them, knowing that it will be brutal and at the expense of my mental health and life outside DMS.
For what it’s worth, I appreciate everyone’s diligence in safeguarding Dallas Makerspace. I don’t share the perspectives in this thread, nor did the district attorney who quite literally thought I didn’t deserve to be prosecuted. First degree felonies aren’t 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 don’t know why my ex-wife wasn’t brought to justice, and I don’t know why she wasn’t 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 weren’t 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 it’s worth, thank you. Truly, thank you.
I’m 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 haven’t taken the time to get to know one another in half a decade, or if we’ve been too caught up in the politics to really take the break required to get to know who we’ve become over years of life’s 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 that’s one of the ways I work with people. By putting aside all the stuff that doesn’t 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 doesn’t matter if you started the fight. It doesn’t matter if you make me angry. It doesn’t 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, I’d 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 that’s 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 isn’t something that’s 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 doesn’t matter if you’ve 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. I’d 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.
Mark Havens. Help me out here, I feel like I’m missing something. From a DMS perspective, how would this 5K not be better spent on education, tools, and so on?