Get Involved

The Vancouver Poetry House AGM will be held:

Sunday March 7
3-4 pm
Cafe Deux Soleils
2096 Commercial Drive

Agenda includes
-Financial, President’s and Program Reports
-Election of Officers
-New Business

Membership renewals are due at the AGM. Membership must be current to participate in the AGM and to vote. Membership fee is $5. Yes, you can buy memberships at the AGM itself.

Hope to see you there!

From Sean McGarragle the Vancouver Poetry Slam Slammaster:

This is an announcement for the upcoming Van Slam Family meeting where we will be discussing and voting on many things from a proposed new points system to the election of a new Van Slam International Slammaster. The agenda is listed bellow.

Anyone can attend the meeting. But to be able to vote you need to have attended (volunteered, performed, being a judge or just an audience member) at least 4 times in the past 6 months at a Vancouver Poetry Slam event.

Van Slam Meeting August 30th
Location: The Learning Centre in the Brittania Community Centre Complex
1661 Napier Street
Time: 2:00 PM till 4:00 PM

Items on the Agenda:

1) Proposed Rules Changes from the Rules Committee with regards to the qualification for the Van Slam playoffs (discussion here: http://vancouverpoetryhouse.com/forum/smf/index.php/topic,684.0.html)
2) Proposed Rule Changes with regards to the maximum number of slam one can compete in during the regular season
3) The election of a new International Slammaster (Lisa Slater is not seeking re-election) If you are interested in running for this position let Sean know. (discussion here:http://vancouverpoetryhouse.com/forum/smf/index.php/topic,580.0.html)
4) Introduction of our wonderful new volunteer coordinator
5) Proposal with regards to recording all of the regular season slams from Warren Dean Fulton
6) Promotion of the Honour Code at the Slam
7) Update on T-Shirt and Cd Sales from Chris Gilpin
8) Update from Lisa Slater and RC Weslowski from NPS
9) Update on the weekly slams from Sean McGarragle
10) Preview of the Upcoming season and CFSW from Sean McGarragle

The meeting will not last longer than 1 hour and 45 minutes. We will be starting on time, please do not be late. And if you’re unsure where it is I will be in front of the Brittania Library at 1:30 PM. Hope to see you all there.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place:

Monday, February 16
6:30-7:30pm
Cafe Deux Soleils - 2096 Commercial Drive

All members are welcome to attend. To vote, you must renew your membership. Membership fee is $2.

Agenda:

Minutes of 2008 AGM
Reports
Elections

Nominations for membership on the Board of Directors are open. Contact President Sue McIntyre to nominate someone, or for information.

vanpohouse@yahoo.ca

These Directors have terms ending at our AGM on Feb 16:

Chrystalene Buhler
Sue Cormier
Martin Fietciewicz
Warren Dean Fulton
Randy Jacobs
Shannon Pidlubny
RadaR Poet

(some were elected at the AGM in March 2007. Some have been appointed by the Board since the AGM of March 2008, and so need to be elected at a General Meeting.)

The Directors whose terms will expire at the AGM in early 2010 are:

Trevor Groves
Sean McGarragle
Sue McIntyre
Lisa Slater

Since the last AGM, the following Board Members have resigned:
Angus Adair, Steve Duncan, Jim McKnight

So now that the Vancouver Poetry Slam is running every Monday night, we have opportunities for community members like YOU to help out. Most nights we need:

2 Door People to take admissions, stamp hands and greet audience members as they arrive
1 Timekeeper to hold the stopwatch and time the poets’ performances
1 Scorekeeper to record and tally the scores throughout the evening and help announce the winners

We need volunteers every Monday night. The benefits are that you get in for free, you have a guaranteed seat and we will be wonderfully grateful for your help. If you need a letter of reference for community service work for school or otherwise, we will be happy to provide that.

If you would like to help, please email me via the Directors’ page or at our Poetry House email: vanpohouse@yahoo.ca

Thanks for thinking about this!

Sue McIntyre
Poetry House President and Volunteer Coordinator

Think of it as your own poetry slam pit pass. You can be part of the show in March, April and May as Van Slam heats up in the weeks leading to Finals Night. We need volunteers for these nights:

March 17
March 31 (Last Chance Slam)
April 7 (Semis)
April 21 (Semis)
May 5 (Finals - at WISE Hall)

For all nights we need people to work at the door and as scorekeepers and timekeepers. On finals night, we’ll need all of the above, plus people for the merchandise table.

Volunteers get in for free and gain a unique perspective on the workings of the slam, plus the unmitigated admiration and gratitude of the poets and host. The show wouldn’t happen without you.

To sign up, please email Volunteer Coordinator Sue McIntyre at vanpohouse@yahoo.ca Please specify which night(s) you prefer to help, and what you favourite volunteer job is.

See you at the slam. Thanks for volunteering.

Notice of Annual General Meeting
Vancouver Poetry House

The 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Poetry House Society
will be held Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 6:30-7:30pm at Cafe Deux
Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. All current and past Vancouver Poetry
House members, and people interested in becoming members are welcome.
Memberships are up for renewal at $2 for one year.

Agenda

Welcome and Introductions
Minutes of Vancouver Poetry House AGM 2007
Reports
Elections
New Business

We hope you’ll join us.

Sue McIntyre
President, Vancouver Poetry House
vanpohouse@yahoo.ca

p.s.

A list of directors, including the dates for their re-election, can be viewed by clicking here.

You can view the minutes from last year’s VPH AGM by clicking here.

Poetry House Board members met on November 12, 2007 to discuss the future, and identify priorities for our organization. Here’s a list of what we’ve agreed to do, including names of the Directors who have stepped forward to take the lead for each initiative:

• Stewarding Van Slam Volunteer Leadership - Lisa Slater and Sean McGarragle
• Fundraising - Lisa Slater and Jim McKnight
• Board Members Skills Development - Trevor Groves and Lisa Slater
• Newsletter - Steve Duncan
• Supporting Youth Poets and the Youth Slam - Chrystalene Buhler and Lisa Slater
• Promoting Canadian Content at Van Slam - Sean McGarragle
• Building Regional Community - Lisa Slater
• Relationships with Other Organizations - Chrystalene Buhler
• Promoting Other Organizations’ Events - Steve Duncan
• Vancouver Poetry House Open House - Sean McGarragle
• Increasing Volunteer Involvement and Improving the Volunteer Experience - Sue McIntyre
• Promoting the Smooth Running of Van Slam - Sean McGarragle
• WordPlay Program - Chrystalene Buhler
• Community Workshops - Steve Duncan
• Website Development - Jim McKnight
• Vancouver International Poetry Festival - Lisa Slater and Sean McGarragle

All members of the board will contribute in one way or another to many of these areas. The names listed are those of Directors who have stepped forward to lead each one. We’ll be looking for people to get involved and help out. If one of these areas looks interesting to you, please get in touch via the Get Involved page, or if you know the person on this list, talk to him or her.

Poetry House is growing and taking shape. Thank you to all of our volunteer Directors for your vision and dedication, to the volunteers who support the organization, and to you, for your interest in Vancouver Poetry House.

Volunteering is a great way to be part of the slam. You can work at the door, be timekeeper or tally the scores. As a volunteer, you will be admitted to the slam for free, get an insider’s experience of the event, and make a positive contribution to a great show. Sign up to help at our next slam, Monday, November 19 featuring Seattle’s Karen Finneyfrock. To sign up, just send me a message via our website’s Volunteer page and I’ll get back to you. Thank you for volunteering!

Hello, everyone

This is the follow up to the Van Slam meeting from last Tuesday August 21st.

First off the next Van Slam Family meeting will be Tuesday September 18th to vote on a variety of issues. You can check out the links below for more information.

As of right now the meeting can be held at my work site once again at 7pm. The location is 700 West Georgia Street, Suite 2000. It’s in the TD Tower downtown. It’s on the corner of Georgia and Granville. It’s above Pacific Centre Mall. It’s a half block south of the Granville Street Skytrain station. The numbers 10 and 16 buses stop a block or two away in either direction on Seymour and or Howe Streets.

Below are .pdfs of the 2 slammaster job descriptions. Also below are links to .pdfs of the proposed Van Slam contract, and the voting sheet.

As it states in the voting sheet, no one as of right now has publicly stepped forward for either of the slammaster positions other than the 2 people currently holding those seats. If you are considering either position I think it would be great to have it announced ahead of time so the rest of us can think of who to vote for and why. Right now Spelt and Myself are the only ones in line for the positions we already hold.

And on that note I would also like to say, I am 100% interested in staying on as the Co Slammaster through the 2008 Van Slam Finals. The Van Slam Finals will be my last as Co Slammaster and main organizer. Someone else will need to step forward. If not in the next couple of weeks then for sure in May. It’s been a blast and I have had a ton of fun doing the job. I just have other goals and objectives I want to pursue and I want to pursue them fully. So, think about it between now and the 18th or now and May 5th.

And our playoffs will be April 7th and 21st for the Van Slam Semis. Monday May 5th will be the Van Slam Finals. Probably at the WISE Hall but that hasn’t been determined yet. We already have 1 feature for our playoffs. The KLUTE will feature on April 7th.

Thanks and see u on the 18th if not sooner.

Randy

Duties of the Vancouver Co-Slammaster
Duties of the Vancouver PSI Slammaster
Van Slam Poet Contract Draft
Van Slam Voting Sheet