Shawn “Rico” McHenry

[MnFurs Election Committee]

Tell us about yourself

My name is Rico (Shawn McHenry) and I am rerunning for a seat on the Board of Directors for Minnesota Furs. I was introduced into the fandom probably like most others, a deep fascination and interest in anthropology and cute cartoony animals that walk and talk like humans. Who doesn’t love that?

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

I will continue to make sure our community is served by providing a safe, inclusive place for everyone to feel like they can be a part of something bigger.

How do you view events like Furry Migration and MidWinter Frolic impact the Minnesota Furs community today and tomorrow?

I believe these events provide a wonderful central point of organization, and structure. Sure its easy to run a small event in your house, or at a bowling alley, bringing your close friends. But I believe MNFurs provides a wonderful vector for people to get out, meet new people and make new friendships. All while learning exactly what makes the Furry Fandom great. Its community.

What are your strengths that you will bring to the board?

I believe my strengths lie in organization, leadership and listening to the community when applicable. When aligned with something that Minnesota Furs can accomplish, I am all for hearing what the community wants out of the organization. As a board member, I believe firmly that as a board member; MNFurs is not “mine”, but more so everybody’s organization to contribute to, and expand upon. In my previous term on the board, I brought and expanded the group into online avenues (Such as Discord, VRChat, and several online events) during a time where in-person socialization was not possible. As we start to ease back into in-person events being the norm, I want to help get that started back up, and look into more events that bring in more interest groups within our fandom and community.

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

There’s a lot that I want to improve. But to name one: From my experience on the board, I’ve learned that there are a lot of people that aren’t quite confident to make the leap from participating online to getting involved in-person. Its been really heart warming for people to join our Discord, and other online events, to see what our group is all about, and eventually start easing into in-person events. I want to make MNFurs more accessible to those that aren’t ready to attend in-person.

How can Minnesota Furs reach out to other communities local and national in furry and other fandoms?

This is a two-way street. I believe we should find which other communities work nicely with our mission statement, and also work closely with those that reach out to us. I want MNFurs to more clearly show that we’re welcome to partnerships.

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

I was hopeful to see a new website reboot to replace what we have now. That didn’t happen during my two year term previously. That is one avenue. I would also like to see where MNFurs can expand into having more community led events, opposed to staff run events.

One goal of MNFurs is to promote education. How do you intend on helping promote education?

Providing more resources online of what Minnesota Furs is, what Furry is, and how people can get more involved. Either through us, or in general.

Minnesota Furs can become a second life and a second job. How do you plan to keep yourself active in other things and other communities?

Its all about knowing a healthy balance between what is not enough, what is just enough and when its too much. Burnout is a real thing and I want to watch out for that myself, as well as helping others within the org know when they should probably start stepping back and delegating out more. I’d love to onboard more staff and offloading responsibilities from those that may be overloaded.

What are your hobbies and can those be separate from Minnesota Furs?

I love gaming, our community, technology, rock climbing, socializing, video production and collecting weird tech. They’re all common interests of those within the org and outside of the org. I think a good lifestyle balance between fandom and outside of the fandom is a healthy approach. I also like sharing my interests with others who share interest or those who may be interested in such things.

 

• This topic was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kurst Hyperyote.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kurst Hyperyote.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kurst Hyperyote.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kurst Hyperyote.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Kurst Hyperyote.

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