Ann DeSanctis' August Update
It’s been interesting how the weight of my duties seems to shift from month-to-month and, August was no different. The PFPC took a very commanding lead with PGE work picking up steam as well, but my responsibilities in regards to my groups’ SCA service project, was the dark horse of the month.
PFPC- The routine things did not change: we had another monthly PFPC meeting and I took the minutes, which I cleaned up, condensed, and distributed. We welcomed two new additions to the group, Nicole from councilwoman Rudiak’s office, and Laura, a graduate student at U Pitt. The symposium planning is what much of the month revolved around, namely trying to figure out exactly who we wanted and how the day would go and then, venue searching. This was achieved through surveys and conference calls. The venue search is still underway but we have commitments from several FPCs for speakers and are working on grants for funding for said speakers thanks to some tips from PFPC members.
PGE- With the Harvest After Party (HAP) looming near and the summer session of classes coming to a close, a whirlwind of planning took place between me, Jeff, and Katrina to brainstorm for the rest of the year. Several classes took shape including canning, and seed saving and several more, including a nutrition class, are in the works. I blogged on all of these, meetups were made, and a flyer was designed to promote the seed saving class. Going forward I am working on a media checklist for future events and to promote sales of t-shirts.
Penn State- Besides getting CPR and AED trained and certified (which was a nice surprise since I didn’t have to use conference funds) the rest of my work for PSU was mostly social media related. I posted frequently to the Yum facebook page, saw a 12% increase in facebook “likes” and blog about several events. I did venture out to a GBA Lunch & Learn regarding sustainable agriculture and supported two PFPC members, Leah Smith and Julie Pezzino.
SCA- Another month chock full of useful trainings: time management, resume and job search tips, graphic design, Global Links sorting, and campaigning and advocacy. The latter made me break out of my shell and confront people and was highly uncomfortable, but I think I made the most of it.
The service project group really stepped it up a notch with planning and completed the MOU for the project, met with Kathryn and others from the MWCDC, and generally got the ball rolling on everything that needs to be done for the event.
Other- Volunteered at Global Links again (I hope to become a regular) and was a mock interviewer and job speed dating candidate for the SCA Youth Crews.
