04-18-2012, 03:37 PM
Hey all. My name is Jon Polen and I will be running for the Treasurer position for the upcoming year. Most of you I have met before, but for those who I haven't met yet (Looking at you Kaan) here is a link to my facebook to connect the name to a face. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.facebook.com/jon.polen">https://www.facebook.com/jon.polen</a><!-- m -->
This past year with MM has opened my eyes to a lot. At first I was disappointed with the way the club ran and how the officers communicated. I talked a lot with other members and alumni about the problems. Then one day Dan and I got to talking and decided to run for office with Chris Chrzan and Tyler M as the other members of our potential office.
So let's get this started. Obviously as the treasure, I would be in charge of the financial aspect of the club. In the past I know there have been many fundraiser ideas that did and didn't work. My goal for the upcoming year is to have at least 2 fundraisers for the club (One per semester).
1) Talking with alumni, one of the main fundraising events of the past has been stadium cleanup. This would be a great way to get the club some money while having fun and really not asking to much of everyone. Coming together as a club and hanging out while we use minimal effort to pick up trash seems like a no brainer to me. This can be done multiple times earning us many doll hairs.
My second fundraiser idea at the moment is going to be a bigger hurdle to pitch to JMU, but with enough effort and planning I see it passing with little problems.
2) This fundraiser would be implemented during midterm or finals week (other times are feasible, but stress is higher during exam week). I would like to purchase or preferably have a "dead" car donated to us from a local salvage yard. This car would then be placed on the commons and MM would sponsor a "swing your stress out" type of event. We could charge between $5-10 for a certain number of swings. I would like to use a car with little cosmetic damage so people can see the dents they are making. All glass would be removed prior to destruction day. With proper safety gear (helmet w/ visor, gloves, closed toed shows, and maybe a waiver) I feel as though we can convince JMU that this is a safe way to raise funds. I have seen this done on other campuses so we won't be pioneering it, but it will be a first at JMU. Advertising for this will be key and will be done through flyers, posters, word of mouth, and table tents. I would also like to bring one of JMU's student Djs out to create a hyped up atmosphere.
Obviously these are not the end of my ideas, but just the beginning for you guys to get a feel for my style.
A second thing of contention, mainly between the alumni, is the ability to see the club's books. I do not want to make the books public knowledge, but I would have no problem opening the books to interested members or to those who have donated money and would like to see where their money is going. I do not think this needs to be a secret and if knowing where your donations are going will make someone want to donate more than I am more than willing to open the books.
The last thing I want to address is not so much the task of the treasurer, but the whole executive team. This year, the officers lacked communication and the ability to execute plans. Communication is key between a small group of people to make sure everything runs smoothly. We saw what happened this year when this did not happen. As a club, we were not prepared for various events and things seemed to always be last minute. As part of the new executive team I vow to communicate with the other officers on a more than regular basis. As of now, Dan and I have lunch, dinner, or meet up at least once a week. I have regular lunches with Rex and hang out with Chris all the time. The idea of video conferencing came up today at lunch and I really liked the idea. Dan proposed a weekly video conference with the officers this coming summer to come up with ideas for next year. Building on that idea, I proposed we make the regular weekly classroom meetings available to anyone who is not in the area that would like to sit in. Alumni, this is where we are thinking of you. We know most of you live in Nova with some others peppered around the US and cannot attend meetings regularly. Utilizing Google+ and the hangout feature, we can video chat with an unlimited number of people. This is a way for you to participate without being in Harrisonburg.
Another key item I want to make sure is up to par is logistics. I know MM runs on MM time and is always late and that is fine, but I want to make sure as a club everyone knows what's going on at least 36 hours before any scheduled event. I want to make sure that when we go to Gforce, we know who is driving, who is riding with who, and that driver's gas tanks are full before the morning of. The car show flopped because of logistics. No one knew who was doing what, where the supplies were, and even when to get supplies. If I am elected to office, I promise to get plans to the members at least 36 hours in advance of any event. Obviously things may come up or plans change, but even then I want to make sure we have back up plans in place.
I know that there will be many questions so I will be collecting them and responding once I have a few questions posed. This way it will keep the thread a little less chaotic. Expect answers to your questions sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Thank for reading
Jon
This past year with MM has opened my eyes to a lot. At first I was disappointed with the way the club ran and how the officers communicated. I talked a lot with other members and alumni about the problems. Then one day Dan and I got to talking and decided to run for office with Chris Chrzan and Tyler M as the other members of our potential office.
So let's get this started. Obviously as the treasure, I would be in charge of the financial aspect of the club. In the past I know there have been many fundraiser ideas that did and didn't work. My goal for the upcoming year is to have at least 2 fundraisers for the club (One per semester).
1) Talking with alumni, one of the main fundraising events of the past has been stadium cleanup. This would be a great way to get the club some money while having fun and really not asking to much of everyone. Coming together as a club and hanging out while we use minimal effort to pick up trash seems like a no brainer to me. This can be done multiple times earning us many doll hairs.
My second fundraiser idea at the moment is going to be a bigger hurdle to pitch to JMU, but with enough effort and planning I see it passing with little problems.
2) This fundraiser would be implemented during midterm or finals week (other times are feasible, but stress is higher during exam week). I would like to purchase or preferably have a "dead" car donated to us from a local salvage yard. This car would then be placed on the commons and MM would sponsor a "swing your stress out" type of event. We could charge between $5-10 for a certain number of swings. I would like to use a car with little cosmetic damage so people can see the dents they are making. All glass would be removed prior to destruction day. With proper safety gear (helmet w/ visor, gloves, closed toed shows, and maybe a waiver) I feel as though we can convince JMU that this is a safe way to raise funds. I have seen this done on other campuses so we won't be pioneering it, but it will be a first at JMU. Advertising for this will be key and will be done through flyers, posters, word of mouth, and table tents. I would also like to bring one of JMU's student Djs out to create a hyped up atmosphere.
Obviously these are not the end of my ideas, but just the beginning for you guys to get a feel for my style.
A second thing of contention, mainly between the alumni, is the ability to see the club's books. I do not want to make the books public knowledge, but I would have no problem opening the books to interested members or to those who have donated money and would like to see where their money is going. I do not think this needs to be a secret and if knowing where your donations are going will make someone want to donate more than I am more than willing to open the books.
The last thing I want to address is not so much the task of the treasurer, but the whole executive team. This year, the officers lacked communication and the ability to execute plans. Communication is key between a small group of people to make sure everything runs smoothly. We saw what happened this year when this did not happen. As a club, we were not prepared for various events and things seemed to always be last minute. As part of the new executive team I vow to communicate with the other officers on a more than regular basis. As of now, Dan and I have lunch, dinner, or meet up at least once a week. I have regular lunches with Rex and hang out with Chris all the time. The idea of video conferencing came up today at lunch and I really liked the idea. Dan proposed a weekly video conference with the officers this coming summer to come up with ideas for next year. Building on that idea, I proposed we make the regular weekly classroom meetings available to anyone who is not in the area that would like to sit in. Alumni, this is where we are thinking of you. We know most of you live in Nova with some others peppered around the US and cannot attend meetings regularly. Utilizing Google+ and the hangout feature, we can video chat with an unlimited number of people. This is a way for you to participate without being in Harrisonburg.
Another key item I want to make sure is up to par is logistics. I know MM runs on MM time and is always late and that is fine, but I want to make sure as a club everyone knows what's going on at least 36 hours before any scheduled event. I want to make sure that when we go to Gforce, we know who is driving, who is riding with who, and that driver's gas tanks are full before the morning of. The car show flopped because of logistics. No one knew who was doing what, where the supplies were, and even when to get supplies. If I am elected to office, I promise to get plans to the members at least 36 hours in advance of any event. Obviously things may come up or plans change, but even then I want to make sure we have back up plans in place.
I know that there will be many questions so I will be collecting them and responding once I have a few questions posed. This way it will keep the thread a little less chaotic. Expect answers to your questions sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Thank for reading
Jon
2019 Accord Sport 2.0 A/T
2012 Civic Si - Sold
2012 Civic Si - Sold