Leather Leadership Conference, Inc.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a partial list of presentations that have been confirmed for the upcoming conference in April. We will make every attempt to update this list as presenters confirm their participation with us.

We anticipate offering 48 workshops, lectures, roundtables and panel discussions. Additionally, there will be a time block when those offering poster presentations will be present and able to answer questions for you regarding the material they are offering.

In addition to the traditional tracks offered by LLC – Personal Skills, Leadership Skills, Public Relations, and Activism, we are converting Organizational Management into 2 tracks: Organizational Change and Organizational Excellence, with a mini-track on Volunteerism. We are pleased to announce 2 new tracks: Commerce & Event Planning, and Inclusion. We are most excited about the offerings in our Inclusion Track, as they will touch on broad based community issues & outreach.

LLC7 and the members of the Programming Committee are pleased to announce the following partial list of classes, workshops and presentations.

Workshops that Work
Justin Tanis

Most people learn best when they are engaged with the content of a workshop. We’ll discuss some guidelines that will help you plan and implement effective interactive workshops and meetings. We’ll explore and experience concrete ways that you can use to help a group get to know one another, assess their knowledge and attitudes, generate ideas, teach skills and make decisions. We’ll also cover briefly the use of handouts, flip charts and PowerPoint.

Attendees will gain concrete tools that will help them plan and implement more interactive workshops. The presenter will provide handouts and a bibliography so attendees can explore further and apply this material.

Partners in Leadership
Scott Parker & Christina Parker (slavette)

Balancing the demands of leather leadership and the demands of a personal relationship can be difficult. This balancing act can become even more difficult when both partners are activists. This presentation will discuss ways to minimize the stress on your relationship and maximize the results of your joint efforts.

Attendees will gain ideas on how to preserve their personal relationship while they pursue more public goals. They will also be given tips on how to work together to balance each other's strengths and weaknesses.

It's Not All Business: How To Work Fun Into Your Group
Amy B.

Too often, we find ourselves bogged down in the business and politics of our group or community. This session will outline ways to work fun into the agenda. Topics to be covered include implementing a demo program, planning social events such as parties, and how to mesh business with pleasure. This session's goal is for attendees to be able to have fun while being involved in the leadership and membership of a group or organization through both social and educational opportunities. Attendees will receive a copy of the current demo program of a local leather group and several resources on how to host parties, as well as an outline of the ideas presented and a bibliography of other resources.

Organizing a Volunteer Group - Initial Steps
Jonathan Krall

The aim of this lecture is to describe a process by which one can foster the creation, with community support, of a new and resilient volunteer organization. Keys to accomplishing this are broad outreach, willingness to cooperate with existing organizations, a practical open process, basic principles of fairness, willingness to make and record decisions, a timeline, and basic facilitation and consensus-building skills. This is based on recent experience with the formation of BESS in 2001.

The ideal attendee is a community leader who wishes to form a new volunteer organization, large or small. This attendee should have an interest in building consensus and performing outreach. He or she should also be willing to create an organization that differs from that which was first envisioned. In addition to an outline of the presentation, handouts will include group-organization worksheets and other materials.

When Gray is a Hair Color, Not a Hanky -
The Politics of Aging in the Leather Community
Pat Baillie

The baby boomers are nearing retirement age, and we in the leather community can see the "next generation old guard" becoming a reality. What are the issues that face us as a leather community and how do we keep our events and lives open to all, no matter what their age? Come learn some facts, share your stories and find how we keep the family strong and thriving.

Attendees will benefit by:

1. Hearing the voices and the facts affecting a part of our community - aging leatherfolks.
2. Finding ways to make events open and welcoming to everyone.
3. Sharing concerns and ideas of diverse groups.

Understanding the Master/slave community
Master Taino

The Leather Community is an umbrella for a diversity of men and women with different lifestyles and fetishes. The Master/slave community, that includes all sort of Dominant/submissive relationships, is probably the most misunderstood in our own community. The presenter intends to uncover the reality behind this non-traditional relationships and clarify many of the myths that are prevalent. The presentation will include a ten-minute documentary on Master/slaves relationships. Attendees will have a better understanding of the non-traditional relationships encompass in the Dominant/submissive or Master/slave relationships, often called a sub-culture within the Leather sub-culture. Through the documentary, they will be able to see these relationships at work. Questions will be encouraged. This presentation is aimed to facilitate a better understanding among different aspects and lifestyles within our community.

Building Community Through Exclusion
Joshua HighTower
Roundtable Discussion

The whole of our community is a sum of many parts. While often those parts can easily come together, there are times when the growth of the community requires that groups be allowed to sit amongst themselves. These exclusionary subsets of our community often draw criticism for fostering identity in seclusion, denying those outside the group both observation and participation in the group's development. The panel will discuss the benefits of exclusionary groups including those based on gender, age, fetish, and orientation. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn what benefits can be gained in their community by fostering exclusionary groups. Those who criticize exclusionary groups will have an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of why these groups are of benefit to them.

Transgender Inclusion in the Fetish Community
Sadie Masterkiss
Panel Discussion

Scenesters are no strangers to genderplay, we rarely turn our heads at the sight of a sissy maid, unless it is to check out her ruffles. And yet some clubs and organizations still rigidly define "women" and "men" based on genitals rather than individual self-identification. Panel will include transwomen, transmen and genderqueer individuals. Attendees will get to hear from transgender folks about the roadblocks and obstacles they face within the leather community and be able to ask questions of the panelists about how their organization can be more welcoming and inviting for transgender individuals. Panel will include a brief "Trans 101" presentation.

S/M is not Abuse
Sabrina Santiago

S/M is not abuse. While many of us believe this statement to be true, how do we explain the difference between S/M and abuse? What is abuse? How do we tell the difference between a “healthy” S/M relationship and an abusive S/M relationship? This class will cover some of the common definitions of abuse used in the domestic violence movement in the U.S. and some guidelines for screening. Attendees will learn some of the common the language that is used within the domestic violence movement. Attendees will also learn what characteristics define abuse, how S/M differs from abuse and how to screen for abusive S/M relationships.

LLC, Inc.- Meet the Board Members
Members of the Board, past and present

This is it! The place to meet the Board of LLC, up close and personal. Find out how and why you should apply to be on the Board. Discover the process for becoming a host city (LOC) and what we are looking for in Bids. Ask questions, get answers, network and become involved. We strongly suggest this meeting if you intend to apply for a Board position or are considering bringing LLC to your area. Attendee will learn the process for both applying for a Board position and the process for bringing the Conference to their area. It gives prospectives the opportunity to meet us and for us to meet them.

Creating Female Leaders and Answering the Anti-Sex/Anti-SM Movement
Amy B.

Women involved SM and the SM community, whether top, bottom, straight, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, has always been a political hot button. Learn the historical significance of women leaders in the community, the political issues and arguments from both sides of the SM debate, skills specific to women leaders and activists, and how to make your group open and affirming to women. This session is aimed at all genders. Women in leather are often criticized by various political machines; and knowing how to address this is an important skill, as is creating a safe and welcoming environment. Attendees will be given an outline of the topics discussed, as well as extensive printed resources and bibliography.

Perversion to Preference: The Definitions of S/m
Rick Umbaugh

The psychological concept of perversion and the definitions of these various perversions were created by early researchers in psychology who believed that there is a "normal" way to have sex and any other form of sexual practice is a perversion. I believe that the best way to end this idea of SM as a perversion is to substitute the term "algolagnia" (aroused by pain) for the current terms "Sexual Sadism" and "Sexual Masochism". One of the most common questions that I get for my column comes from people who are interested in SM, but when they offer it to their partner he or she suggests professional help. This problem is compounded by the fact that both Sadism and Masochism are diagnosable mental illnesses in the Diagnostical Statistical Manual (DSM). There are people who are trying to change this, but they have the problem that while there is a simple definition of SM for medical reasons, there is no simple definition of SM which is not pathological. The reason for this is that SM, as the Leather Community practices it, is about self-definition. This discussion would be an attempt to renew the discussion of the definition of SM and attempt to create a definition distinct from the behaviors defined in the DSM.

Pathways to Membership
Jonathan Krall & Lisa B.

A common problem in volunteer groups is that newcomers may feel like "outsiders" among inaccessible "insiders". Experience gained in Black Rose and BESS suggests that this problem may be more acute when the organization is large or when the newcomer is young (18-30). Keys to optimizing the membership pathway include a well-informed staff, open and accessible leadership, and a "The Next Generation" subgroup, working in cooperation with a newcomers-only subgroup.The ideal attendee is a leader within a volunteer organization who is in a position to affect newcomer-orientation procedures or a leader of a new volunteer group. This attendee should have an interest in fostering both new and diverse membership and open and accessible leadership. Materials will include an outline of the presentation and a copy of a "Gateway Handbook", based on the Black Rose Gateway (newcomers) program.

Outcomes-Based Evaluation for a Newcomers Project
Philip and Susan Grant

In this presentation, we will discuss how outreach and education programs for newcomers can be designed to permit the methodical assessment of their effectiveness. The model we have implemented tracks participation data and employs a satisfaction and knowledge survey of project participants. Ultimately, the evaluation will result in a meta-analysis of available data to determine whether the resources we have developed meet the specific needs of community newcomers.A common problem faced by all volunteer organizations is how to make the most efficient use of limited financial resources and personnel. Yet, rarely do such organizations conduct methodical, outcome-based assessments of their projects to ensure that they are effective. This presentation will provide an example of how one organization, BESS, is attempting to develop and implement an objective evaluation of one of its initiatives; outreach to community newcomers.

Working The Media: Pros and Cons
Cecilia Tan

Your group, event, or cause can benefit from exposure in the media, or it can be burned by it. I'll teach techniques for feeding the media machine, working with the press, handling sensationalism, creating relationships with the media, reacting to media bias, and using publicity in your favor. How to write a press release, create a database of contacts, and learn spin control.Attendees will learn basic skills of media communication, how the media of newspapers, radio, magazines, and television work, and how to meet the expectations of the media to (hopefully) achieve the desired results. They will be able to apply these skills to publicizing and growing their own groups or events, and also to reacting to negative media portrayals of leather/SM.

Approaching Local Law Enforcement Authorities
Scott Parker

The purpose of this presentation is to assist SM/Leather/Fetish groups when conducting outreach to their local law enforcement, prosecutors, or other authorities about SM-Leather-Fetish practices. The goal in presenting this material is to develop a positive relationship with local authorities.Attendees will gain a better understanding of how to conduct outreach to law enforcement officials and what types of officials to contact. The information in this presentation can also help attendees decide whether or not to conduct this type of outreach.

When The Stuff Hits The Fan: Managing Under Fire
Larry Manion & Kayte

Whether you are a local munch or a national event, chances are good that something will happen to draw attention either from those who oppose our lifestyle or from some other source, often for unexpected reasons. How can you minimize the impact on your event, members, and attendees? Can you avoid a media frenzy, or deal with one if it occurs? How do you win the battle without losing the war?Attendees will learn what works and what doesn't, in terms of prevention & preparedness, When Prevention Isn't Enough, Dealing with the Media, Handouts, and a Q&A.

The Way We Were
Jack Rinella, John Warren & Ms. Cynthia Wright
Panel Discussion

Authors John Warren, Jack Rinella, and noted Lifestyle Leader Ms. Cynthia join forces to present a pictorial presentation of more than 100 years' of our Kinky History. Slides and commentary combine with wit and wisdom to show how our culture has evolved, giving us important clues as to how we can best manage our future. Knowing the past helps us understand the present and prepare and cope with the future. We must faithfully transmit our history in order to preserve what is best in our subculture.

Building Longstanding Groups -- Burying the Past/Loosening Your Grip
Lord Battista
Roundtable Discussion

If you work to build a long-standing group, the idea of burying the past and loosening your grip will be an easy step. The discussion will consist of how important trust in your officers, friends and members is in an organization, and how this trust can help you be a more effective leader. We will talk about how important it is to have strong leaders around you so when the time comes to step back you will have the knowledge that your group will live on. We will also discuss how with strong leaders come strong wills and the ways to learn how to be a good diplomat and flexible. We will talk about how important the middle of the road can be when it comes to a difference of opinion with a strong but effective leader in your group. And last, we will talk about how easy it will be to step back when you know there are strong leaders and members to carry on.All groups of people are the same; with good leaders come strong wills and sometimes fragile egos. The presenter hopes to show how important it is to work with these types of personalities to form a long-standing group. This will also show how with strong leaders and a strong membership in place, and giving them the freedom to make their own mistakes, your group will live on when you step down.

Pathways to Volunteership
Jonathan Krall

By observing the pathways that are taken by volunteers as they enter a group, which may differ from the prescribed volunteer management system, the flow of volunteers into an organization can be improved. The "volunteer path" can be arranged so that the natural rewards for volunteering - a sense of belonging - are increased at each leadership level within the organization. We will address volunteer "handling", perks and rewards, avoiding volunteer-group "pathologies", and fostering "connectedness."

The ideal attendee is a leader within a volunteer organization who is in a position to affect volunteer-management procedures or a leader of a new volunteer group. This attendee should have an interest in fostering new leadership and distributing his or her own workload among this new leadership. There will be an outline for this lecture, to be distributed to the attendees.

Submissive Leaders
Christina "slavette" Parker & sheryl dee

Submissives and slaves face unique challenges in their development as activists and leaders. How do you balance being in service and serving the community? How do you overcome some of the stereotyping and prejudice against submissives and slaves in our community? Sheryl Dee and Christina (slavette) Parker will discuss these and other problems they have encountered in their journey as leather leaders.

Attendees will gain tools to help them overcome some of the stereotyping and prejudice they encounter as submissive leaders. They will also gain confidence from learning that other people face the same problems they do.

Ten Common Tax Mistakes
Sir Payshtha's First Girl

If you made some money from a hobby last year, if you would like to start a business, if you are in business for yourself, you need to learn a few simple rules that will keep you from paying too much in taxes. Learn to avoid the ten most common tax mistakes. Many of the community are self-employed either full or part time and need more information to help them file an accurate tax return, and not cost themselves money.

That's The Way We've Always Done It!
Effective Change Management for BDSM Organizations
Lady Alia Niven

Effective change management is a challenge for most people and for most organizations. But in an age of instant communication and unavoidable integration between people, organizations, and everything in between, change is inevitable and necessary in order to grow and to be successful. Come learn how to both initiate and manage change within your leather organization and its leadership.

This class will demonstrate the following:
1. How to identify a need for change within a leather organization.
2. How to develop and present ideas for change within both the leadership and the membership of a leather organization.
3. How to create a change management program.
4. How to manage a change management program.
5. How to make even the toughest changes (such as changing leadership or splintering / merging the organization).
6. The class will identify specific change management challenges that the leather community may face (such as local laws, personalities resistant to change, among others)

Creating Leather Organizations on College Campuses
Virgil
Roundtable Discussion

This event will be a forum for college students and their allies interested in forming leather organizations on campuses. It will touch upon the following subjects:

BDSM concerns for players 18-30
Generational conflict between older and younger players
Finding "next-generation" groups for younger players
Organizing/operating campus-based BDSM groups
Learning from experienced players-finding community
Confronting the 18-versus-21 dilemma

The class will help students network with both other students and experienced community leaders and discuss concerns affecting younger players, particularly generational conflict and the 18-versus-21 dilemma. It will also provide administrative and public relations advice relevant to college campuses. This class will not only help achieve organizational success, but also help guide younger players into the community at large and give older community leaders ideas as to the concerns of younger players, who often feel ignored.

Producing Contests - Producing Leaders
Pat Baillie & other panel members
Panel Discussion

Last year a workshop on politicizing titleholders made some clear steps on hot to grow grass roots leaders. The next step was to hear what contest producers had to say and what they want out of their titleholders. This Panel Presentation by contest producers with audience input to help shape and strengthen the role of titleholders in the community. This presentation will help form a clearer understanding of what producers want and expect out of titleholders, let producers get community input on their expectations for titleholders, and provide a forum for discussion and problem solving to create more politically active and aware titleholders.

Designing Effective Websites and Having them Work for You
Dov

For beginning webmasters and board members, as well as webmaster and board members of groups with existing sites looking to explore and improve their options in representing their groups on the internet. We will be dealing with strategies for integrating your website into your organization, maintaining a consistent and attractive look and feel, and avoiding internal organizational pitfalls and Internet legal issues. Through discussion and examples, we will explore the issues of planning, running, and maintaining your group's web and Internet presence. We will offer common sense approaches to integrating your website into your organization and avoiding internal organizational pitfalls and Internet legal issues. We will explore strategies to creating an effective and usable web presence.

Volunteers!
Lolita Wolf

Appropriate volunteer management is key to making an event or organization successful. This presentation will cover motivation, planning, recruiting, screening, training, supervision, payback, retention, problems and remembering that you are a volunteer, too! Every event or organization needs volunteers. There are special skills to managing volunteers.

TNG - The Next Generation
Phillip Wolf (a.k.a. Boymeat)

Outreach and educational support to young adults (18-35) discovering their sexual identity has always been a hot topic amongst SM-Leather-Fetish activists. The Next Generation groups, aka TNG, is a concept designed to serve this need with a dual purpose:

1) To provide the younger generation the space they need; and
2) To help SM groups outreach to the always-needed younger generation.

This presentation will explain the what's, why's, and how's of running a TNG. Attendees will be able to get a grasp on the specific needs and requirements for TNG individuals in the SM-Leather-Fetish scene. In addition, individuals will be able to gain specific understanding for their own purposes: Group Leaders - learn how to outreach to the younger generation, and how to keep your organization from stagnating and lack of new ideas and perspectives. TNG Leaders - Learn how to start a TNG, and gain ideas from what other groups are doing.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS AS AN EXERCISE IN POWER-EXCHANGE: How to Plan, Execute, and Maximize the Effect of Meetings
Paradox

Contrary to popular belief, you need not be a die-hard masochist to plan or chair a meeting. While most leaders obsess over how to survive the ordeal, there are techniques and procedures that can help your meetings run smoothly, avoid discord, promote healthy discussion, and, most importantly, reach your objectives. This workshop offers methods for planning - and preparing for - effective meetings, encouraging participation, advancing discussion without discounting opinions, and creating strategies for reaching practical goals.

Pathways to Volunteership
Jonathan Krall

By observing to the pathways that are taken by volunteers as they enter a group, which may differ from the prescribed volunteer management system, the flow of volunteers into an organization can be improved. The "volunteer path" can be arranged so that the natural rewards for volunteering - a sense of belonging - are increased at each leadership level within the organization. We will address volunteer "handling", perks and rewards, avoiding volunteer-group "pathologies", and fostering "connectedness." The ideal attendee is a leader within a volunteer organization who is in a position to affect volunteer-management procedures or a leader of a new volunteer group. This attendee should have an interest in fostering new leadership and distributing his or her own workload among this new leadership. There will be a outline for this lecture, to be distributed to the attendees.

Pathways to Membership
Jonathan Krall

A common problem in volunteer groups is that newcomers may feel like "outsiders" among inaccessible "insiders". Experience gained in Black Rose and BESS suggests that this problem may be more acute when the organization is large or when the newcomer is young (18-30). Keys to optimizing the membership pathway include a well-informed staff, open and accessible leadership, and a "The Next Generation" subgroup, working in cooperation with a newcomers-only subgroup.

The ideal attendee is a leader within a volunteer organization who is in a position to affect newcomer-orientation procedures or a leader of a new volunteer group. This attendee should have an interest in fostering both new and diverse membership and open and accessible leadership. Materials will include an outline of the presentation and a copy of a "Gateway Handbook", based on the Black Rose Gateway (newcomers) program.

Organizing a Volunteer Group - Initial Steps
Jonathan Krall

The aim of this lecture is to describe a process by which one can foster the creation, with community support, of a new and resilient volunteer organization. Keys to accomplishing this are broad outreach, willingness to cooperate with existing organizations, a practical open process, basic principles of fairness, willingness to make and record decisions, a timeline, and basic facilitation and consensus-building skills. This is based on recent experience with the formation of BESS in 2001.

The ideal attendee is a community leader who wishes to form a new volunteer organization, large or small. This attendee should have an interest in building consensus and performing outreach. He or she should also be willing to create an organization that differs from that which was first envisioned. In addition to an outline of the presentation, handouts will include group-organization worksheets and other materials.

Medical Information for the SM Community
Caro

While there is a wealth of information about safety, AIDS, and STDs, other types of medical information are not often readily available. This presentation will address medical information ranging from things such as taking a pulse, to understanding, recognizing and dealing with various emergency situations such as: vasovagal responses, heart attack and diabetic crisis, or how current and prior health status and commonly used prescription and OTC medications may impact what we do. The fact is, while safety is paramount, at numerous workshops and demos, that emphasis is often directly related to a particular technique or type of play. Despite the fact that the presenters are highly skilled, they are not always medically trained. This may result in necessary medical information being omitted or erroneous. In addition, many people, especially those new to the scene who have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma, are reluctant to share this "personal information" with play partners or are even unaware that their play should or could be altered or affected by a particular medical condition. Combine this with the fact that many in the scene aren't getting any younger, diabetes is considered "epidemic" and the reasons for being able to have or access accurate medical information becomes apparent. By emphasizing that medical information should also be a significant part of "scene safety" and by making this information readily available and easily understood, ideally we can raise the bar on safety.

This presentation will be developed as a “seed presentation” so that attendees can take this information and begin to use it or develop similar programs within their local communities and hopefully enlist other trained medical professionals and paraprofessionals with this effort.

Establishing Successful Presenter-Based Programs
Lolita Wolf

Throughout the country, most groups and events now identify a particular individual or "team" that will tackle the task of identifying presenters for Educational and Informative programs. This lecture will assist the PD in the techniques and skills helpful to establishing successful programs and enticing top-level presenters while meeting the needs of the community, the limits of the venue and desires of the hosting group. A lot of groups have educational programs as part of their regular schedule and/or as part of their special event.

How to run a BDSM Convention
Greg

Successful conventions are the products of months of careful planning conjoined to a great idea. Without both your doomed. This class will discuss the critical steps you must go through to conceptualize, plan and execute a BDSM style convention. What makes your convention unique? How do you create a look and feel for your event and get your target market to help sell the convention for you? Logistical issues will be discussed including organizational structure, hotel negotiations, pricing and promotions, advertising, managing volunteerism and more.

Attendees will come away from this class armed with the information and tools they need to begin developing their own conference. They will be able to define their target market, develop a unique proposition in the marketplace, manage the profitability of their event, and have an example organizational structure that works.

Leadership vs. Management
Scott Parker

Within our community we have good leaders and good managers … both skills are important to be successful. The purpose of this workshop is to provide an understanding of management dynamics and to assist you in developing yourself. We will examine Organizational Systems Model, Derailed Leadership, and the differences between Leaders and Managers, with an emphasis on leadership skills. Lastly, an examination of Situational Leadership will determine what direction you need to go.

Attendees will explore the difference between leadership and management. They will be given an understanding of the characteristics of each and be able to self-identify areas in need of improvement. This will result in providing attendees with a direction to take in order to better their leadership and management potential.

Conflict Resolution (Dealing with Difficult People)
Vanessa

This presentation is designed to help you identify different kinds of problematic people and specific strategies for handling them. Develop more effective communications skills designed to improve your ability to deal with aggressive, angry people, hostile negotiations, conflicts with colleagues, inappropriate behavior from peers and leaders, and continual negativity from team members.

Active participation is encouraged so there will be individual and group exercises in addition to a Q&A session. The key to dealing with difficult people is learning effective communications skills. Attendees will gain practical knowledge about how to achieve better results with others.

Public Speaking
Vanessa

This presentation is designed to improve public speaking skills. While the focus is on the basics of effective public speaking, there will also be the opportunity for the attendees to receive individual coaching on specific concerns in addition to group exercises. Public speaking causes a considerable amount of discomfort and stress for many people. Attendees should come away with greater confidence in their ability to speak in public settings.

Is Inclusiveness Diluting the SM Community?
Joansie

Is the intense, more experienced scene going underground? If so, why? If this is happening, can we stop this loss so that novice members can have the benefit of their expertise and history? By retaining these experienced players, we will be able to keep the skill levels high, provide mentoring, and allow accessibility to our personal varied history.

Vendors as a Community Resource
Danny Winters
Roundtable Discussion

What role do scene-owned businesses play in our community? Are the businesses (vendors) in our community being effectively utilized to support our community, or are they being exploited? Join scene-business owners, event planners, and activists in a frank discussion about such issues as vendor donations, charitable giving, and its effects on our community. activists, event organizers and vendors will have the opportunity to come together to discuss some potentially controversial topics. Attendees will have an opportunity to hear some of the issues behind the events they attend, and the various fundraising efforts they support.

Starting and Running a Leather Business: How do we fit in with the Non-profit?
Hilton

This will address how to start, plan and run a commercial business, pitfalls of going into this type of business, weekend vs. full time businesses, how we fit in with the Leather community, problems with non-profit vs. profit groups, and whether we as business people are discriminated against by the non-profit community. How do we better improve our relations and pur roles within the community? People wishing to start leather businesses will learn about the pitfalls, pros and cons regarding a leather business, and also go into the roles we play within the so-called not-for-profit SM community.

Non-Profit Realities! Topping the IRS!
Liz Campbell

Should you or shouldn't you be a 501c3? How to make your group a Non-Profit Organization. Incorporating made simple. Learn what the IRS expectations are. You're a non-profit, "Now What"? Best ways to maintain the books. Setting up (wooing), motivating (flogging), and maintaining (great after care), an effective Board of Directors. "Roberts Rules of Order", Who is this Top, anyways? All masochists, treasurers, and board members should attend! They will learn the best ways to set up and maintain a non-profit organization!

Waking up from Organizational Fantasy: Facing the Realities of a Leather Organization
Match Stick
Roundtable Discussion

Bylaws, Schmylaws. Do our organizations do what they set out to do? Does your organization still carry hopelessly outdated "to-do" items? Are you understaffed and overwhelmed? Join us for this opportunity to share our expectations and experiences, and brainstorm how to prioritize and simplify. Let's toss around ideas about how our groups can better strive for excellence instead of being mired in survival mode. You're not alone!

Through discussion and brainstorming, leaders can come to realize that the organizational problems we all experience are common, and that they are not alone in their struggles. Also, people will learn ways to streamline their own organizations and to handle common problems that we all face.

Brainstorming: Getting down to Serious Change through Outrageous Discovery
Amy

Come and learn to use an engaging brainstorming technique adapted from the business world. First, learn how to poke at and shake upside down the core values of your organization in an entertaining way. Next, we'll uncover new ways to implement those values by asking seemingly outrageous questions. This engages your members in shaping the future of the organization and paves the path for change where needed. Handouts will help you implement this technique at home.

Leaders will come away with an idea of how to evaluate their organization and evaluate change through a brainstorming session by participating in some of the activities, so they can get a flavor for it. Additionally, it is my intention to provide a handout that folks can take away with them to use to craft their own session once they're home. The techniques taught will help people approach organizational change in a fun but useful way!

Changing of the Guard: An Examination of Leadership in Transition
Andrew Harwin

Recently, GMSMA, an organization more than 2 decades old, encountered a crisis: Due to a variety of circumstances, its Board of Directors, normally comprised of 12 to 15 members, had shrunk dramatically and was faced with the challenge of recruiting 10 new members to assume positions of leadership. How did this happen? What structures and processes did they use to accomplish their goal to maintain the continuity and breath new life into the organization, and did it work? Attendees will have the opportunity to gain insights into how an organization creates a structure and course of action for maintaining and dealing with the turnover of volunteer leadership. There will be illustrations and suggested solutions to challenges that may arise in dealing with personalities and the group dynamics of a collaborative leadership process. The session will include time for the audience to ask questions, and a handout/outline will be prepared and distributed.