Tyler Sommers' Blog

Alright, so things have been a little slow, that's normal though so don't worry.

September was slow for us last year as well, so I'm not worried. Things will pick up. We're still planning a smaller conference for November, in Toronto. Larger one in 2010 in Ottawa. Woopee. If you can help, please let me know (sommerst[ a t]cya-ajc.ca (replace middle with @)).

Now, there are a couple of reasons I'm writing this.. the first one I actually forget. Great.

Well, we do still need volunteers (badly) so if you have friends/relatives/strangers who might be interested, give them our info and my email.

If you like to write or draw, send me some stuff for The Representative!

Now, I've seen a lot going on with CYA parties and most of it is great! But I do have to stress one thing very, very clearly: Do not do anything if you would be upset that we (the CYA) did it.

That means, if you do something, make sure it's something that you would be alright, happy, anything but unhappy/displeased at all (because we all want to take whatever steps we can to make everyone happy) with us doing.

So, would you be happy if we restructured the organization without even mentioning it to you? Unlikely. Would you like it if we just appointed a bunch of positions that are supposed to be elected? Unlikely. etc, etc.

In order to have the CYA parties work and in order to get the most out of them, you really need to work toward doing things the way you want everyone else to do. CYA parties are a micro-version of what some of you may well be doing in the future - the primary difference will be the level of accountability you face. While there are many things you can 'get away' with in CYA parties, you won't be able to do the same thing 'in real life' (and probably won't get a second chance if you try to do it). So please, treat the CYA parties properly and have respect for your peers.

The CYA is a shining example that everyone's input counts and will help make a strong whole. The sum of the pieces are indeed greater. The CYA has been built (bylaws included) by our membership! I'm very proud of this and mention it relentlessly.

And finally. Please be honest with us (the volunteers). We're very open to 'bending the rules' and making exceptions if the situation warrants for them. Just send us an email and say "we're thinking about doing x. I know that we're technically not supposed to do it, but we feel it's best because of z y and p. Do you mind if we go ahead?" - Our response (given that your z, y and p are legit) will likely be something like "so long as you let your members know and are doing the best for them, sounds good!"

Don't hide things from us or lie.. we're really not stupid and we will find out. While we may not run to you and question you, we'll make note of it. Respect is something that must be earned and if you are respectful and honest to us, we'll do our best to ensure we accommodate your unique situations.

Let's be sure to act our best and show Canada what youth are capable of!

Until next time,

Tyler Sommers - signing off.

(I couldn't think of something more original, but I'll give it a shot next time).