Trent “Drake” Fleury

[MnFurs Election Committee]

Tell us about yourself

Hi there, my name is Drake and I am one of the candidates running for the MNFurs board this year.  I have been with MNFurs since mid-2012 and this community has been a second home for me.  I discovered MNFurs in some online searches as I was certain at the time the twin cities had a furry group and I made a wonderful discovery.  When I first joined I got to know some members on the forum and then got to meet and talk to some of these people at the Fall Picnic which was held at Sucker Lake Park at the time.  From there a door opened up for me for a social outlet and I began making some good friends along the way.

I started attending the bi-weekly Perkins meets and got to know more community members and mingle with others.  From there I wanted to figure out who the people are that assist in running and steering the organization.  I discovered who some of these people were back at that time and then started to volunteer.  My first volunteer experience was at ZooBoo and after that event I gained good recognition from it that it inspired me to keep seeking out volunteer opportunities.  The next volunteer opportunity I got to be part of and assist in running was at a thrift store in Shakopee.  I really had a taste for helping out now and started attending community meetings and got to be part of the steering groups before the organization had official staff and departments setup.  I was placed in the Research Division and this gave me opportunities to look at different locations around the twin cities for possible event ideas…I even got in touch with some of our neighboring states and touched base with those furry communities.  With 2013 beginning, I was itching to get back out and help with more events…This is where I met the person running it (at that time it was Yarrick).  

The Events Department at that time, which I believe may have been named Events Division or something similar, only consisted of Yarrick and I was able to obtain a position.  This is where I discovered that my niche is with events.  In late 2013 I worked with him on a large-scale event which was titled the midwinter party and this was one of the organization’s larger events next to the traditional picnics.  With 2013 ending and 2014 around the corner, we started work on getting documentation together for event submissions as well as procedures.  With events moving forward on a grand scale, we assisted with other events that included Petco and their non-profit for animal awareness.  Other events that got started up include fursuit romps, lunch/dinner outings, movie outings, community meetings so our membership can voice their thoughts and opinions, continued annual picnics, bowling, and many more.

Fast forward to the end of 2015, start of 2016, the steering groups evolved and the organization now has official departments.  The Events Department was handed over for me to run as the original head wanted to start his own Photography Department.  With many events under my belt, it was time to get some common year-round programming.  I was able to work with many venues around the twin cities and setup rotations for community bowling, fursuit romps, mini-golf, and others.  I eventually got myself a department co-head (Vulan) and he has been working with me since.  Fast forward to today, I now manage a large department as it used to be just me and Vulan running the department.  Fast forward to 2021 and our current year, we now have an MNFurs Discord and started to introduce virtual events for our community members as in-person events were on hold for a while with the ongoing pandemic.  In-person events have started back up and in full swing and have been stepping back when need be when the pandemic has told us NO.

The organization also has a local convention hosted annually.  There have been a few years in the past where I volunteered and became a staff member.  Year 1 at the old Thunderbird hotel I worked in the Hotels Department as a co-head and took a break the next year as I was unsure if convention work was something I wanted to do.  A couple years later I decided to come back and work on staff with the IT side and for a year I got the title of Help Desk for the convention.  In this position I worked on account creations, drive shares, and other tasks.  I only worked in this position for a year as I work IT in real life and I got burned out quickly as IT is not a hobby for me.  Next I decided to jump into the Registration Department and I did 1 year as co-head before just regular staff.  This was a position I enjoyed as I got to interact with all of our convention attendees and see and hear their excitement for the con.  It was also fast-paced and I got to switch between different stations and kept me on my toes in a fun way.  I decided to take another break from convention work and went back to focusing on tasks with the Events Department.  Fast forward to 2021 and our current year, I now work with the Programming Department as the Panels Director (department co-head position) where I work closely with our panelists and their content.  2022’s Furry Migration I am being told I get to take on a bigger role and am excited to see where this takes me.

With years of experience now under my belt, I have planted myself as a key member to the organization and wanted to find some other avenues where I can utilize my skills.  I am also part of an MNFurs Communications Team where we have monthly meetings.  These consist of discussing information about current and upcoming events and other projects in the organization for our community as well as social media postings.  I am also part of a MNFurs 10th Anniversary Committee, which is new, and here we are discussing events to have throughout 2022 celebrating the many years our organization has been a non-profit.  Lastly I was also a former board member where I served a temporary term as one of the other board members at that time stepped down for personal reasons.

The future is out there and I am now wanting to run for a full term and see what new challenges I can take on.  I look forward to running this year and I hope that you, the community, believe that I am one of those people for the position!

What brought you to the furry fandom?

I have always had a love for anything anthropomorphic as I’ve always found it interesting and creative…By creative, an example of that is the many pieces of artwork that multiple artists work on and share.  I am also a big fan of Star Fox and my first fursona of Drake M (or Drake McCloud more specifically) was Fox McCloud’s brother in the Star Fox team.  I was a closet furry for many years prior to joining MNFurs and it was Star Fox and my general love for anthropomorphic that brought me to the fandom…Not to mention, once I joined MNFurs, my fursona changed to fit me and my personality more.

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

If elected, I will continue to volunteer my skills to the Events Department and hand off tasks as needed while also focusing on my term on the board if elected.  I will also volunteer my time to my other team/committee tasks and make time for our community members when they need their input voiced.  The community is important to me and I will continue to strive in being a front-facing figure in the community.

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

Furry Migration and MidWinter Frolic are larger-scale events and simply put, they help bring the community together as well as bring in people from out of town and out of state.  Furry Migration has an impact and has continued to have an impact over the years as attendance grows…Same goes for Frolic as it is programming for our community because without these events and others, what are we providing to our community?

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

For strengths I have the years of experience with Events and other positions I’ve held in prior years.  I am good at multitasking with various tasks and talking with people on needs and putting them in motion.

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

Working with other furry communities is an area where I feel I can improve.  I say this because each community has their own membership as well as different needs and some may not be as large as MNFurs.  I communicate with some of the admins of these groups (ex. Duluth furs) and helping them out is still something I am always trying to figure out.

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

Simple way is to inquire if they have heard of us and what we represent.  Next we can see if there is any way that we can offer any resources to assist when/if asked and cater to their needs.  We can also leave contact information with them if questions arise and how we deal with policies or situations or events.

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

1. Trying to figure out how to get more community members involved in volunteering.  While it’s great that we have events and other activities for others to attend, I want to see others involved and share the fun.  
2. While out of town events have started, I want to see more of these and work on empowering more out of town community members to start their own events

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

Encouraging them to come out to more of the recently started community meetings.  Here we discuss these opportunities as well as other topics related.  Another avenue I see for this is talking more about scholarship opportunities and events at museums or other venues where we can learn and educate versus just getting together for something like a fur romp.

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

I can agree that what I do currently is a second job, but also a fun second life…A home away from home.  I spend time with my family too and have planned outings with them throughout the year.  I also have personal trips out of town that I take too so that I can get away from this life for a bit.  I’ve also started doing out of town events and this has provided me with opportunities to work with other communities outside of the twin cities.

Other hobbies include furthering knowledge with computers in both the PC and Apple realm…My current job keeps me busy with those tasks and always a second focus.  I am also a PC gamer so I have my own library of games that I get lost in.  I also do photography as another main hobby, though most of that is within the fandom from local events to conventions.

[Author]

Posts