Meet The Candidate: Euro

[MnFurs Election Committee]

The following is Euro’s responses to a set of questions given to all candidates by the Minnesota Furs Election Committee. These are the unedited responses given to the committee. The only changes made by the committee was to format them for consistency between the posts.

Tell us about yourself
My name is Euro Goldeneye, though I go by “Euro.”  While I have only been actively involved with MNFurs and the furry community in general since 2015, I have had a fursona since 2004.  My main fursona is a black wusky with glasses, though my secondary fursona and fursuit is of a jaguar named Kai Tak, which I just got in 2019.  I have been attending anime conventions since 2006 and furry conventions since 2015, where I do a combination of attending/running panels, photography, and cosplaying/fursuiting.  I am currently the secretary of MNFurs and hoping to help out more on the administrative side of things.

What brought you to the furry fandom?
I first learned about “Furry” through the movie “Balto,” and also met a large group of my current friends through that community.  It is through that movie and community I found out about things such as creating a fursona, fursuiting, art, and other furry-centric activities.  As I got more involved in the furry community, I found out more about the individuals behind these “fursonas” and their interests beyond the fandom, and my interest in the fandom has grown since then to what it is now.

What do you feel are areas where you want to further develop yourself? Why?

After I purchased my fursuit, I have focused more on fursuiting and less on photography.  I enjoy fursuiting and would love to do much more, both at conventions and elsewhere, and I am hoping this allows me to express a bit of creativity and be less introverted.

The other main area I wish to develop myself is taking on a larger leadership role and being more assertive.  Being an inherent introvert means that I am usually not the center of attention and it usually takes a bit for me to be able to express myself and get words into a conversation, which means that I am often overlooked and too anonymous.  I am also realizing that I need to more effectively respond to and defend any criticism and pushback I have for things I say and do, as no one action or opinion will be universally loved by all.  I believe being seen as someone who shies away from pushback and criticism will be detrimental in both my personal and professional life.

What are two things that you would like to see accomplished/improved during your tenure?

If I am elected for a stint as a board member, I would like to focus my attention on the MNFurs website, which I believe has significant issues regarding information and overall user-friendliness.  While I realize that there are certain legal aspects that need to be adhered to and certain technical limitations regarding the website, there are certain areas on there that need at best a cleanup and at worst a redesign.  While some would like to include a large number of functionality and cool features, I believe that the focus should be on functionality and usability first, aspects which have been left by the wayside.

 

I would also like to see more outreach with individuals and subgroups who over time have become less involved with or completely disconnected from MNFurs and on the side, also build up relationships with other furry groups from outside the state.  Currently, the Minnesota furry community feels more like a set of subcommunities, all with a certain amount of insularity.  There are certain individuals who wish to be more involved with MNFurs but are either facing roadblocks, being overworked and not being appreciated for it, or are putting in too much effort for the results yield.  On the other side of the coin, there is MNFurs’ constant need for assistance and the problem of not receiving enough if any, which results in a “chicken-and-egg” style of problem.  There are multiple disconnects and roadblocks and I hope to move the conversation from a rigid “Yes/No” to a more flexible “What can we do/How can we make this work?” and be able to better coordinate communication amongst everyone.

 

[Stereo]

If I am elected for a stint as a board member, I would like to focus my attention on the MNFurs website, which I believe has significant issues regarding information and overall user-friendliness.  While I realize that there are certain legal aspects that need to be adhered to and certain technical limitations regarding the website, there are certain areas on there that need at best a cleanup and at worst a redesign.

I partially agree with you. In my humble opinion, the website certainly could have some user interface updates, but I don’t think it would solve many issues.

I would also like to see more outreach with individuals and subgroups who over time have become less involved with or completely disconnected from MNFurs and on the side, also build up relationships with other furry groups from outside the state.  Currently, the Minnesota furry community feels more like a set of subcommunities, all with a certain amount of insularity.

This is the biggest issue facing MNFurs that I have experience with and can attest to. I would say something about members being overworked, but I can’t say much about it since I haven’t put a ton of volunteering work in. What I see are situations of drama and rumors getting out of hand and not being addressed to the public. What this results in is wild and overblown claims. For example, when suit up Saturday was formed, there were talks between members of MNFurs and suit up Saturday about collaborating and it fell through. I don’t know who said what to whom exactly, but it must not have ended well and there’s a good amount of animosity. Another example is when there was no adult content at Furry Migration 2019 and people believed that Furry Migration simply didn’t want to allow it. The reality of the matter is that the hotel itself actually shut down a proposed adult panel and the one other person that was going to host adult panels didn’t come to the convention.

Ultimately, this looks like it boils down to communication

 

[Author]

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