P: Where can I refer members to contact about not receiving their member packets? A lot of people have been questioning this on the list and have not been receiving a response.  Does this fall under the nobody has any idea category?
A: Members who did not receive their Member Packets should contact Jana Wright at memberservices@camarilla.white-wolf.com.

Q: I am concerned that a lot of the coordinator questions that come up in their reports are not being answered. The majority of them that I see not being answered are those that ask a question of the regional staff. Should we defer the coordinators and ask them to contact the national offices themselves to get their questions answered? I think that would be a little off color since we have always asked that they utilize the chain of command.
A: I answer every question I see in the Reports, Anna.  If the answer need to come from National, they still need to come through us.  By putting their questions in this report, National does have the ability to see and respond to them; and I have no doubt that Mr. Childers and Mr. Contreras both read this report.  I would imagine that if I answer any question incorrectly, or if the question requires an answer from the National Staff, that Mr. Contreras will either address those in his monthly Report, with an FAQ to the NC Website, or directly to the Coordinator.  It is not prudent to conclude that because we don't see the answers, that they are not being given.  If you have continued concerns, I would suggest verifying with the Coordinator, whether or not they have checked the NC Report, the FAQ, or received a direct response from National.  If not, we will certainly continue to pose them in this Report.  Beyond that, there is little we can do.

P: We had some rumor control regarding rumours that certain members of the SWRE staff were sandbagging with the intent to make the event fail.  These rumours have proven to be completely false and attributed to high tensions and misheard conversations. The staff has been reminded to be aware of what is said and to whom as perception is reality to most folks.

Q: I have had to bounce requests for prestige from last year as I could not find any documentation from the previous staff on the awards. From reading the reports that the membership in question turned in, I have found that some Coords are awarding Regional Prestige to the membership before reading the RC reports.  I think most of the problems could have been avoided if those coords had waited to read the report and then sent their inquiries in immediately thereafter when they realized that their prestige recommendations were missing.
A: The only report where Regional Prestige is awarded for the Southwest Region is this monthly report.  Coordinators (or members, for that matter) should not be recording Regional Prestige until it appears in this report.  If they do so, there will be errors in their Prestige Logs, which will show up when MC Reviews or Audits are conducted.

C: I have suggested to Peter, that he take on another ARC-Prestige to speed up the process.
A: I would like to see how well you and Sharon are able to handle the load before making this decision.  If it proves necessary, then we will put out an all-call for applications and hire another ARC-Prestige.

C: The review queue website seems to be working well, despite some initial member resistance.
 
C: A few of the logs I am working on seem to be particularly hard in that the members seem to have a problem understanding what the requirements for a review.

C: I am re-finishing Ben Wintersteen's log as I mistaken thought I finished it.

C: I am currently trying to track down a returning member's prestige.  He has been gone for quite some time, and the paper trail is less than good.
A: If you'll send me this member's name and Camarilla number, we can send the request up the Chain and see what the National office my have on them.

C: Members of the region need to realize that we are all volunteers and that we are also human and make mistakes.
Too many people have decided that now is the time to push on personal agendas and the region is suffering.
They need to give Wes, Peter, and their staffs the time they need to fix the issues rather than taking up time fighting over them.

P: RC Column (its starting to look like a joke).
A: Gah!  Don't hate me!  I'm still trying to find the time to write that for you...I know, you're getting tired of hearing that from me..

C: Congrats to my new ARCA Nick Demeter, he is awesome!

1. Setting up a system for accepting Prestige Logs for Audits.  The key goals of this system is to display the current queue to the membership, to be able to provide members with a way to check if their logs have been received, where the log is in the process (waiting, being reviewed, etc.), see who is handling their Audit, and see an expected completion date.
2. Setting up a similar system for handling Arbitration issues.  This system will require security so that only those involved in the Arbitration will have access to any of the information.
3. Setting up a system to allow Coordinators to submit their monthly reports on the Website.  The system will parse the reports to extract demographic and all other relevant data to provide overall reports for myself and the ARCs in order for us to better do our jobs.  This system will also serve to archive the Chapter and Domain reports on the Regional Website.
4. Redesigning the Website to give it more of a "professional" look. A new ARCA has been brought on-board to handle this, Nicko Demeter, and some of the mock-ups he's done are very exciting.  As we have lost other talented Web developers to the National and Tech Development staff in the past, I am asking the National staff to please not try and lure him away.
5. Mapping all the Chapters and Domains on pages on the Website that will allow members to find organizational units by their geographic location.

Other non-Website-related Projects include:

1. Running various Domain Coordinator elections.
2. Membership recruitment drive and materials contest.
3. Introduction of the new "SWR Champions" program.

There are currently no other Regional Events being planned for our Region through the end of the calendar year, though we are on the cusp of several Domain Events with TINHARE in Phoenix, the Annual Garou Campout in L.A., and Midsummer's in Salt Lake City.

P: Have members who have not received confirmation Emails from White Wolf regarding Pre registration to ICC 2K4. The monies from the accounts were removed but no Email was received by those individuals. ( not answered from last month)

ARC-Admin: Should you have questions about the upcoming ICC you may contact the ICC Lead Coordinator Kelley Barnes-Herrmann at kl.barnes@prodigy.net . She will direct your question to the appropriate parties to help you with your question.
A: Send an e-mail to Mrs. Barnes-Herrmann; include in it a list of those members (with Camarilla numbers) who registered but did not receive confirmations.  I am sure Kelley will be able to check with the Registration team and get you what you need.
 

P: Justin Doty, the past Domain Coordinator misplaced the regional canned food donations. He did not separate them from the standard prestige awards for the Domain. In December 2003 Dominic Mottola and I, each dropped fifty items of canned food to a donation center. Is their anything we can do to get this prestige backdated?  ( waiting two months, never answered. )

ARC-Admin: I am going to direct you to Charmain Hopkins the SW ARC for Charities and Events. She should be able to further assist you with this issue. Her email is sw_events@hotmail.com.
A: This will be up to the ARC-Events, Charmain Hopkins.  If you can provide the proper documentation to Mrs. Hopkins to meet her criteria for making those recommendations, it will be put into her Report.  At that time, I will look over her recommendations and post the awards in my monthly Report.  Don't always expect stuff to hit in the same month; sometimes these things take a little longer.

P: Have a member of my Domain who forks out Thirty Dollars a Month to support a National website. Is there anything I can do to award him for bonus prestige or perhaps move the site to a White Wolf server? ( not answered, from last month)
ARC-Admin: I am going to pass this question up to see what resolution we can find. I know that there is the one time web hosting prestige, however this is more constant. We will find out what is available for you. Please contact me in email if I haven’t gotten back to you in one week.
A: Prestige for a National Website would need to come from the National Coordinator's office.  I would recommend contacting Mr. Contreras' office about this.  Contact information can be found on the USNC Website.  At the local level, there are no Prestige Awards you could make for this service to the club, unfortunately.  Moving the site to the WW Servers would also need to be addressed with the National Office.

ARC-Admin: http://www.embraced.net/usancprestige/MiscPrestigeLinks/ncawards.htm
A: You can also try the National Prestige DB.  If none of those resources helps, please contact the ARC-Prestige directly and have them tap what other resources they might have.

P: I’m concerned that we seem to have a number of members moving in and out of our domain over the last month. I have yet to see any paperwork cross my desk other than Jennifer Anderson’s in regards to this. I should in theory be seeing Prestige Records forwarded to me from the Regional level for these people initiated by the originating CC’s. I am not.
ARC-Admin: What would be assumed from this issue is that the transfers are not being handled appropriately. Please inform these players that until their prestige is forwarded to you from their original CC and Regional staff that they cannot earn prestige. Go ahead and send me a list of these players, along with their previous CC information if you have it so I can see if it is simply error or negligence. If these members have not transferred properly then they are not transferred and you are not their coordinator.
A: The short answer to this is that if they are not going through you, they have not transferred.  You might want to approach these members directly and ask them if they requested their Transfers through the Chain.  If not, please instruct them as to the proper methods, or refer them directly to the ARC-Mentor & Outreach for assistance.

P: I have not received confirmation of Jennifer Anderson’s transfer from the Regional Level.
A: You can also try the National Prestige DB.  If none of those resources helps, please contact the ARC-Prestige directly and have them tap what other resources they might have.

Q: Another question:  National Prestige is not being posted on the NST or the NC sites regularly.  I make sure that my member's have someone e-mail me of any national prestige that they earn for tracking purposes.  How should these be presented on reports?
ARC-Admin: Until such a time as they are verifiable on a website, make sure that the person verifying that level of prestige awards contact information is on the notes in the margins of the prestige log.
A: The standard for Regional and National awards is either a verification URL, or an e-mail from the Awarding Regional/National Coordinator.  If the member cannot secure either, then the Award should not be entered into a Log until such time as one of those verifications can be obtained.

ARC-Admin: You can request it from your friendly neighborhood ARC. His cam number is US2002021608
A: I also have access to this information if you are unable to contact the ARCs.

Q: Regional report for February?
A: This item was addressed above in the "Problems" section..  Please do not repeat questions in more than one section of your Report.

Q: On what date should we start filing claims for membership cards never received?
A: There are no "claims" to be filed.  If you are referring to cards issued from the National Office, simply compile a list of those who did not receive their membership cards, and send that to the ANC-Prestige, Cathryn Emerson.  If you are referring to the cards that were included with the Membership Packets, then again, compile a list of those who did not receive them and send it to Jana Wright at memberservices@camarilla.white-wolf.com.

Q: In regards to the national survey currently being conducted. Can we get an exact web address of where the 5 national Prestige will be awarded for it as well as an expected date for it?
A: I would imagine the NC will include these awards in his Report; or that they will be posted on the USNC Website

Q: Can I get a copy of all the national reports sent out September 2001 in order to scrub them for prestige awarded and recommended for my people?

From Anna: That query would be directed to the USANC Admin. Her name is Ammie Hague and her email address is ammieh@comcast.net
A: You may also check the USNC Website; Mr. Contreras posts his reports there.

Q: Can the DST call for a blanket election for VST’s across the board on a specific date or does he need to let each VST fulfill his or her full 1 year term.
A: The DST may not call for VST elections. The only way to remove any elected officer from their office before the end of their term of office is through a Referendum Vote of No Confidence (which is detailed in the Handbook).  Otherwise, it would take the VSTs resigning to hold a new election.

Q: What is the ETA on the National Prestige Database?
ARC-Admin:  Has not been announced.
A: The Membership Database is the first priority at the moment, as it will tie into the eventual National Database.  At present, we have no timelines for the National Prestige Database.

Q: What is the ETA on the Membership Confirmation Database?
ARC-Admin: Has not been announced.
A: I have not been given any firm dates, however, I expect that we will see something soon.  I have had access to a beta version for a while, so I know it will not be too much longer.

A: I believe that you just did.  Thank you for the kind words.