Collin "Ridayah" O’Connor

[Yancha]

Tell us about yourself

Hi there!  Ridayah here.  Since some of you will not want to read my wall-o-text, I’ll TL;DR it for you:

About me:  I’m 28, been a member of MNFurs for a really long time, and have lots of experience with volunteers and formal organizations and love to help out.

1. I feel I can use my skills best to help MNFurs from the board, and feel it’s an honor to represent the community there.
2. I’m going to volunteer regardless, and am even hoping to start up a whole new group of summer events!
3. MNFurs brought me to furries, and they’re why I stay, cause y’all’re awesome, friendly, and cool critters.
4. All those characters from books who never gave up, and overcame everything that got thrown in their way.  It inspires me to never give up.
5. I try to lead my life as though the public is watching anyways, and always bear in mind what I do as a board member reflects on the community.
6. You guys are awesome.  No matter what I want to help MNFurs grow, and keep being so welcoming to new people, and would be honored to help do so from the board.

 

For those of you who want to read my full responses, here you go!
Hi there!  My name is Collin O’Connor, though most of you know me as Ridayah.  I’m 28, and am a born and raised Minnesotan.  A little bit about me:  I develop medical equipment for a living, as a computer software and electronics firmware developer.  I have a long background in volunteer organizations (several years of work with MNFurs as well as multiple student organizations, and ran my campus GLBT org for 2 of the 3 years I served there).  I have an even longer background with MNFurs.  I started coming to events 12 years ago at the age of 16, and it has been one of the greatest aspects of my life and probably the thing I’m most passionate about.  It is my hope that these questions help you understand a bit more about me!

 

Why do you wish to sit on the MNFurs board?

The MNFurs board to me isn’t just a role to be filled – to me, it’s a duty and an honor.  MNFurs directors of the board are the ones we as community members entrust to continue MNFurs and grow – to help make sure the con is successful, to help make sure the year-round events we love (picnics, furmeets, ZooBoo, Petco, etc) continue, and to represent furs in Minnesota and elsewhere as a positive force.  The things that matter most to me – namely that MNFurs remains open, inviting, and having as many chances for new members to come in and make friends and have a safe place to be themselves, as it was for me – I feel can be accomplished as a board director, and that’s what I want my continued tenure to be about.

 

How will you continue to volunteer in the community after being elected to the board?

Both before MNFurs was fully formed as a nonprofit and through its initial years, I served as a secretary, taking care of notes, tracking events, managing legal matters, and so forth.  This is something I have experience in, and was happy to take over so other people could work on more fun things.  I see that as part of volunteering to help the community.  Additionally I love to be involved in events, especially the picnics!  I love to cook, help plan and arrange, and clean up.  Additionally, I’m working to this summer expand upon our regular get togethers with light picnic lunch gatherings.

 

What brought you to the furry fandom?

I’ve been a ‘furry’ for over 16 years now, though only a part of the furry fandom for the last 12-13 or so.  MNFurs in fact was my first brush with the furry fandom as a whole, and when I met others at the early meetups, things just clicked.  It felt like a natural place, somewhere that others shared a like mindset, and I could be at ease with others.  To me, the furry fandom became a place of friendship, understanding, and fun!  So that’s what brought me in.

 

Who/What is your inspiration in life?

I could be really cheesy here and say “All of you are”, but that’d be so transparent as to be glass, and no one would be amused.  The honest answer would be a lot of the characters in books I read as a kid.  From the Boxcar Children, through the Animorphs, the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, the wacky worlds of Piers Anthony’s Xanth Series, to Mercedes Lackey’s Heralds series, I saw character after character face hard challenges that they thought were insurmountable.  But they struggled, and through hard work they persevered over the challenges.  I had some significant health issues as a child, so reading about those characters overcoming hardship helped encourage me to do the same, and to this day they are one of the biggest inspirations in my life.

 

Being elected to the MNFurs board makes you a public figure. How will you adapt to that?

Life in a spotlight isn’t something I’m as unused to – I grew up in a small town with very well known medical issues.  My parents were additionally small business owners.  While this made me shy, I spent two years working in a live theater, acting as well as other outward facing positions, to get used to having the spotlight literally on me.  As I grew older I oftentimes found myself standing up to others to support my views, or support the views of those around me.  Especially in today’s ultra-connected world I find it.

 

What message do you have for the MNFurs community?

You people are my friends.  Many of you have been my friends for years, some of you for only a short time, and sometimes we’ve argued.  But I still consider you all my friends.  It would be my honor to carry your desires for MNFurs and serve on the board, but no matter what happens I am going to continue to volunteer and do what I can to help this community grow, and continue to be the best part of my life, so that it may be the best part of yours, too.

I am always open to hearing any feedback, questions, comments, or criticisms from you.

I’m always, always, ALWAYS happy to help out where I can.  And I want to hear your feedback!  If you have issues with me, please.  Email me.  Talk to me at meets.  I want to be someone you can come to and will trust will help get things done.  I can always be reached at [email protected].

 

Furry Migration Staff (programing & help desk)

Come say hi on the MNFurs Discord!

Posts on the MNFurs forums are of my own opinion and do not reflect that of MNFurs or chartered events unless otherwise stated.

[Ridayah]

Hi there! If any of you have questions, please don’t hesitate to send me a message or reply here. I’d love to answer any questions you have.

[Cencewolf]

Ridayah,

i talk a lot (more than i should need to) about a certain internal quality “Conviction”. Defined it is simply “a strongly held belief or opinion”.  this is what brings a soldier to a fight, even if its a tough one. Its like integrity, you cant “learn” it, you either have it or you dont.You wear yours on the outside, and it shows. you carry with you the passion of soldier for what it is you do and you have the experience to know how to do it well.

The most interesting thing i heard you say this election is (synopsized) you look forward to serving another term, but if you fail to get elected you will persist doing what it is that needs to get done as an appointee to the task as opposed to a board member. It is THAT important to you that it gets done right. You can loose an election, and instead of throwing your arms up in the air and walking away you persist.. You remain,.. You keep working for the community.  You can forget what i have to say about it. That speaks for itself. I truly hope others see it too.

-Cence

[Ridayah]

Cence, thank you for your words. Hearing it from you means a lot to me – as I know you aren’t the type to say things without meaning it. So thank you. Knowing others can see how much I care and want to commit to seeing MNFurs managed right and that the jobs that need to get done, GET DONE, means more than you can know.

[Author]

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