Post by bobalmond on Aug 3, 2009 23:40:42 GMT -5
We've had some turnover and new members join the team within the last few weeks so for the benefit of new forum members who've joined in the past couple of months and for the record, I'm going to list who is involved and who does what for those interested (if not, move along, nothing to see here...)
Danny Best (committee founding member) is our resident writer and webhost and web design & maintenance. While the site was originally created by JimmyT and maintained by him, Danny took over within a few months and handles all site updates that I send him. We recently added an art supply vendors index to the Inker Sites page upon request and our annual Round Table interviews will be able to be accessed there as well. Danny will be setting up a Dave Simons memorial and scholarship page this fall as well as pages for all of our Hall of fame winners over time (with Terry Austin and Dick Giordano this fall). And his master project will by my proposed Inker Database section due by early 2010. Between hosting the IA Facebook page, the press release announcements and site stuff, Danny maintains the heart and center of the mission and organization.
Jimmy Tournas (committee founding member) is involved with much of the duties that directly relate to the final and most important aspect of the Inkwell Awards: the voting and awards themselves! He is the ballot guy, made possible with the software he uses, so he has the results at hand every year. Upon the end of voting and announcing the winners, he immediately places the trophy order and ships them out upon completion to the winners. At the moment, he's awaiting the completion of the trophy engraving work. Jimmy is also an active committee member when it comes to attending shows and assisting in collecting donations for our annual and ongoing fundraising efforts. Connected to the fundraising, Jimmy is producing the 2010 IA donation books (previously initiated and handled by Bob Shaw). He's also got a wealth of knowledge in more areas than I can count.
Bob Shaw (committee member) is the only member to date to 'graduate' from a contributor to full member. He came up with the idea to use sketchbooks and sketchcard donations to auction off on eBay and he has remained our auction guru ever since. An art rep and agent, Bob has many collected contacts allowing him to have potential access to much of the comic book art community and an essential player in our fundraising with that and making show appearances. Bob also handled much of the construction design of the IA forum (with help from Danny & Jimmy) and he set of the IA Comic Art Fans gallery (maintained by himself and I). I should rename him 'Brainstorm' Bob.
Nathan Massengil (freshman committee member) , invited by Bob Shaw, is our latest recruit so he doesn't yet have anything to list as duties or accomplishments. But he will be part of our fundraising efforts at upcoming conventions and is already adding an enthusiasm and fresh perspective that allows us to progress forward and further excel as a team.
Mike Marts, a longtime editor with noteworthy credentials at Acclaim, Marvel and now DC Comics, he acts as an ambassador by lending name support, respect, and credibility to our mission and we are all the grateful to him for doing so. (Ex-member Tim Townsend and I worked for him at different times and he graciously agreed to our invitation)
Adam Hughes, a god amongst the artist community and all things in good girl art, Adam also acts as an ambassador, adding such a presence to our cause that his name alone surely has sent some folks to our site to take another look. (This was a coup made reality also by Tim so kudos to him!)
Bill Nichols (ex-founding committee) who is also an inker, was made reality in my 'Inkblots' column in Sketch Magazine which he edited. He convinced me to seek input from the Inkwell Yahoo Group and he expanded our online presence with the sites he was connected to before he resigned.
Tim Townsend (ex-founding committee) has been mentioned already and he was the first person I contacted when I sought a dedicated committee. Both veteran and new creators know and respect Tim for his work and reputation so I knew I wanted him aboard. And all the more honored that he accepted and accomplished much in the area of input, influence and sacrifice during his few months on the team. He set the bar high that we continuously seek to maintain.
Dave Simons (committee member emeritus ad infinitum), a good friend and brought in by both Danny and Bob, he wasn't with us long but he certainly left behind a proud legacy. Joining at the tail-end of 2009, he suffered a cancer relapse shortly after being welcomed aboard. This limited his input and contributions but he never swayed from
donating items for fundraising, show appearances to promote us, and even his last interview in our 2nd annual Round Table. His newly-created IA memorial scholarship will live on beyond himself to inspire and assist the next generation of artists at the Kubert School.
Dan Panosian (contributor), all-star artist, he was brought in by Tim to design a logo for us and that he did with flying colors.
Ernest Pelletier (contributor) attorney, fledgling comic book store retailer and longtime friend, he acts as our legal consultant.
Mark Mckenna (contributor), veteran inker and children's book creator, Mark was there for me early on acting as a sounding board when I was trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with this promising idea and all. He has continued to lend an ear and assist me in contacting people and other miscellaneous stuff. How's the title of 'Aged & Wise Advisor' <g>
Tom Schloendorn (contributor) is an inker and recent recruit who will be handling the vital communications aspect of our team by circulating our announcements online to various sites, both new venues and past supporters.
Stacey Aragon (contributor) is another recent recruit and the other half of our communications 'department' and will be moderating and circulating announcements on our social network sites like Facebook, MySpace, and ComicSpace.
Damon Owens and PJ Magalhaes (contributors) are both IA forum mods. PJ was also the creator and host of Inkers.org that merged with our IA forum last fall. Michael Rankins was also briefly a forum mod but had to recently drop out. While the committee also shares moderation duties at the forum, they are the soldiers assisting us on the front lines keeping the hecklers at bay
And me, without having too much of a spotlight put on me, founded the organization and I act as director and treasurer (although I credit my wife Diane for some assistance in that area). Probably my most-important contribution is attempting to make the trains run on time by setting the agenda and trying to expedite those goals through the contributions of the awesome team who share my passion. I send updates to Danny to post, push to raise funds, delegate, came up with the Inker Database Project among other ideas, and I simply and absolutely bore the hell out of everyone (like I'm doing now). Along with the core committee, I help to validate nominees selected from the Nomination Committee and I share other co-duties with the rest like choosing the Nominators, promotion, interviews, etc.
And we all do this voluntarily for no money! Hope that helps. I'll continue to keep you all posted of any developments and don't be afraid to ask questions. We may splatter ink but don't bite.
Danny Best (committee founding member) is our resident writer and webhost and web design & maintenance. While the site was originally created by JimmyT and maintained by him, Danny took over within a few months and handles all site updates that I send him. We recently added an art supply vendors index to the Inker Sites page upon request and our annual Round Table interviews will be able to be accessed there as well. Danny will be setting up a Dave Simons memorial and scholarship page this fall as well as pages for all of our Hall of fame winners over time (with Terry Austin and Dick Giordano this fall). And his master project will by my proposed Inker Database section due by early 2010. Between hosting the IA Facebook page, the press release announcements and site stuff, Danny maintains the heart and center of the mission and organization.
Jimmy Tournas (committee founding member) is involved with much of the duties that directly relate to the final and most important aspect of the Inkwell Awards: the voting and awards themselves! He is the ballot guy, made possible with the software he uses, so he has the results at hand every year. Upon the end of voting and announcing the winners, he immediately places the trophy order and ships them out upon completion to the winners. At the moment, he's awaiting the completion of the trophy engraving work. Jimmy is also an active committee member when it comes to attending shows and assisting in collecting donations for our annual and ongoing fundraising efforts. Connected to the fundraising, Jimmy is producing the 2010 IA donation books (previously initiated and handled by Bob Shaw). He's also got a wealth of knowledge in more areas than I can count.
Bob Shaw (committee member) is the only member to date to 'graduate' from a contributor to full member. He came up with the idea to use sketchbooks and sketchcard donations to auction off on eBay and he has remained our auction guru ever since. An art rep and agent, Bob has many collected contacts allowing him to have potential access to much of the comic book art community and an essential player in our fundraising with that and making show appearances. Bob also handled much of the construction design of the IA forum (with help from Danny & Jimmy) and he set of the IA Comic Art Fans gallery (maintained by himself and I). I should rename him 'Brainstorm' Bob.
Nathan Massengil (freshman committee member) , invited by Bob Shaw, is our latest recruit so he doesn't yet have anything to list as duties or accomplishments. But he will be part of our fundraising efforts at upcoming conventions and is already adding an enthusiasm and fresh perspective that allows us to progress forward and further excel as a team.
Mike Marts, a longtime editor with noteworthy credentials at Acclaim, Marvel and now DC Comics, he acts as an ambassador by lending name support, respect, and credibility to our mission and we are all the grateful to him for doing so. (Ex-member Tim Townsend and I worked for him at different times and he graciously agreed to our invitation)
Adam Hughes, a god amongst the artist community and all things in good girl art, Adam also acts as an ambassador, adding such a presence to our cause that his name alone surely has sent some folks to our site to take another look. (This was a coup made reality also by Tim so kudos to him!)
Bill Nichols (ex-founding committee) who is also an inker, was made reality in my 'Inkblots' column in Sketch Magazine which he edited. He convinced me to seek input from the Inkwell Yahoo Group and he expanded our online presence with the sites he was connected to before he resigned.
Tim Townsend (ex-founding committee) has been mentioned already and he was the first person I contacted when I sought a dedicated committee. Both veteran and new creators know and respect Tim for his work and reputation so I knew I wanted him aboard. And all the more honored that he accepted and accomplished much in the area of input, influence and sacrifice during his few months on the team. He set the bar high that we continuously seek to maintain.
Dave Simons (committee member emeritus ad infinitum), a good friend and brought in by both Danny and Bob, he wasn't with us long but he certainly left behind a proud legacy. Joining at the tail-end of 2009, he suffered a cancer relapse shortly after being welcomed aboard. This limited his input and contributions but he never swayed from
donating items for fundraising, show appearances to promote us, and even his last interview in our 2nd annual Round Table. His newly-created IA memorial scholarship will live on beyond himself to inspire and assist the next generation of artists at the Kubert School.
Dan Panosian (contributor), all-star artist, he was brought in by Tim to design a logo for us and that he did with flying colors.
Ernest Pelletier (contributor) attorney, fledgling comic book store retailer and longtime friend, he acts as our legal consultant.
Mark Mckenna (contributor), veteran inker and children's book creator, Mark was there for me early on acting as a sounding board when I was trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do with this promising idea and all. He has continued to lend an ear and assist me in contacting people and other miscellaneous stuff. How's the title of 'Aged & Wise Advisor' <g>
Tom Schloendorn (contributor) is an inker and recent recruit who will be handling the vital communications aspect of our team by circulating our announcements online to various sites, both new venues and past supporters.
Stacey Aragon (contributor) is another recent recruit and the other half of our communications 'department' and will be moderating and circulating announcements on our social network sites like Facebook, MySpace, and ComicSpace.
Damon Owens and PJ Magalhaes (contributors) are both IA forum mods. PJ was also the creator and host of Inkers.org that merged with our IA forum last fall. Michael Rankins was also briefly a forum mod but had to recently drop out. While the committee also shares moderation duties at the forum, they are the soldiers assisting us on the front lines keeping the hecklers at bay
And me, without having too much of a spotlight put on me, founded the organization and I act as director and treasurer (although I credit my wife Diane for some assistance in that area). Probably my most-important contribution is attempting to make the trains run on time by setting the agenda and trying to expedite those goals through the contributions of the awesome team who share my passion. I send updates to Danny to post, push to raise funds, delegate, came up with the Inker Database Project among other ideas, and I simply and absolutely bore the hell out of everyone (like I'm doing now). Along with the core committee, I help to validate nominees selected from the Nomination Committee and I share other co-duties with the rest like choosing the Nominators, promotion, interviews, etc.
And we all do this voluntarily for no money! Hope that helps. I'll continue to keep you all posted of any developments and don't be afraid to ask questions. We may splatter ink but don't bite.