Inasmuch as I strongly believe that any organization like the GFA should have Transparency as one of their core concepts, I hope you will forgive me for taking a moment to be clearer about who I am and why I will bring a new perspective and dynamic to the GFA Board of Directors:
I am part of the third of four generations (so far!) of my family who have lived and worked on the Flow. Starting with my grandparents (Lot 15), to my parents (Lot 187), to myself (Lot 47), and now on to my beloved teenage son, my family and I have have been ardent supporters of the Flow for generations. I have personally been on the Flow since 1961. In 2018, I increased my presence on the Flow from ten months per year to living in my camp full-time, year-round.
I have lived and worked most of my adult life outside the USA, however I returned home frequently due to my affinity for my homeland. I am the founder and (kinda, sorta, semi-retired, but not really) CEO of what is a now a virtually fully integrated MNC, with our headquarters in Singapore where my son lives with his mom in my home there. We presently have satellite offices in London, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur, with our Kyiv office presently suffering from construction delays, our Tallinn office expected to come online by the end of 2019, and our Belgrade office planned for 2020. I am blessed to be allowed to work with the hardest-working, most qualified team of professionals I have ever come across, all of whom has given me a deep understanding of group dynamics and effective leadership styles in the 21st century across a multitude of cultures.
Owing at least in part to the fact that I have had perhaps slightly more than my fair share of uncomfortably close brushes with the Grim Reaper over the course of my lifetime, I have absolutely developed the mindset that life is meant to be enjoyed, and not merely endured. To that end, I freely admit that I like to be joyful and to dryly poke fun at the foibles of Life. I absolutely am unconventional, and I absolutely have led an unconventional life. But it would be incorrect to presume that my sometimes off-kilter perspective on Life should be interpreted as a lack of any serious thought or ability on my part. Whilst I am NOT smart (almost everyone I know is much smarter than me), I have been blessed with a decent education, an incredibly driven work ethic, and an unshakably strong dedication to simply being as truthful and transparent as I possibly can.
I believe that no presently sitting GFA Officers or Directors are year-round residents of the Flow. Whilst I am absolutely not suggesting that year-round residency should be a pre-requisite to serving as a GFA Office or Director, I do believe that the GFA deliberating excluding the inclusion of at least one year-round resident from the official GFA ballot of handpicked "candidates" which will be presented the the Members at the AGM is at best misguided. I believe that working hard, telling the truth, being transparent and simply conducting oneself fairly are the very fundamental tenets by which we all, including the GFA, should do our best to model our lives after. These absolutely are the guiding principles I shall employ when you honor me by electing me to the GFA Board of Directors at the AGM, to be held this year on August 31 at 09:00 in the Newcomb Central School auditorium.
Thank you very much for your DEEPLY appreciated support!! :-)
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