Andy, I’m not certain (without going back and looking at the document) but I think that “trademark” should probably be “service mark.”
—– Original Message —–
From: Andrew Trembley
To: runacc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 6:10 PM
Subject: [runacc] section 1 outline/draft
Sec 1 should be easy, and relatively short…
A. A brief history
Costume-Con was born out of the vision of Adrienne Martinez (Adrienne
Martine-Barnes), and first realized in 1983 by Karen Dick, Kelly Turner
and a crew of amateur and professional science fiction and historical
costumers in southern California. It began as (and still is) a
costume-centered weekend of competitions, classes, panel discussions
and social events. At Costume-Con 3 (1985) in Columbia, Maryland, the
International Costumers’ Guild was founded, bringing together costume
organizations from around the world; Costume-Con and the ICG have
enjoyed a symbiotic relationship ever since.
In the last two decades, Costume-Con has grown and adapted to the needs
and interests of its members. Committees have introduced new seminars,
social activities and competitions. Some have failed, some have
succeeded and a few have developed into new “traditional” activities.
For a detailed history of Costume-Con, please see the timeline at
http://www.costume-con.org/CClink/index.shtml.
B. The process in a nutshell…
If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in putting together
a Costume-Con. Costume-Con is not operated year-to-year by the same
organization and staff. It is overseen by Karen Dick and Kelly Turner,
the holders of the “Costume-Con” trademark, but each year planning and
operations are the responsibility of a conference committee.
Putting together a Costume-Con is a multi-year process, so there are
always at least 3 seated conference committees active, and often
several “bid committees” exploring the possibility of running a
Costume-Con or actively campaigning to be selected to run a Costume-Con.
A conference committee starts, as mentioned above, with bidding. During
the bid phase, the conference committee develops its business
structure, obtains hotel/facilities agreements, and campaigns to get
people to attend or support the costume-con where their bid is voted
upon. This is at minimum a 6-month process (the deadline to be placed
on the ballot is 6 months before the vote) but is often done over a
period of 1-2 years.
After a conference committee has won their bid, they’re described as a
“seated conference committee” and have approximately 3 years to
complete the planning for their conference. During this time, the
marketing and promotion of the conference continues.
All of this culminates in the actual conference: panel discussions,
seminars, social events and competitions. It’s not over, though, when
the conference is done. It often takes a few weeks (sometimes a few
months) to wind up final business after the conference.
All in all, that’s 4-6 years from start to finish. A long time, yes,
but enough time to spread the workload out if you and your committee
pace things carefully.
C. The ConStitution
<When was the constitution originally drafted? Insert capsule history
here.>
Minimum performance standards and responsibilities are laid out in the
ConStitution. Note that carefully: Minimum performance standards and
responsibilities. The ConStitution isn’t a recipe for how to run a
Costume-Con.
As a conference committee member, you should be intimately familiar
with the contents of the ConStitution, and what it requires of you.
Conversely, when somebody tells you something is required, you should
review the ConStitution for yourself and determine whether that is
still true or not.
The ConStitution is a living document and is amended on a regular
basis. For the convenience and sanity of conference committees,
revisions will generally be made in the 60 days immediately following
the annual conference and not made in the 6 months leading up to the
next conference. Still, it is best to review the Constitution on a
regular basis.
If you have any questions about expectations or responsibilities of
your committee, ask them.
For more information, including contact information, see the
ConStitution at
http://www.costume-con.org/procedure/ccconstitution.shtml
D. The ICG Masquerade Guidelines
Several years ago, Costume-Con agreed to operate its costume
competitions in accordance with the ICG Masquerade Guidelines.
As the name says, these are guidelines. Their purpose is to help
competition directors write their rules and operate their competitions
in a manner that is fair and impartial. While they’re framed for
competition masquerades, there are aspects of the guidelines which may
be applicable to other competitions. Committee chairpersons and
competition directors should review the guidelines on a regular basis.
If you are uncertain about how to interpret any part of the guidelines,
the best course of action is to talk with past competition directors
and ask them how they interpreted the guidelines in the past, and how
their interpretations worked for them.
For more information, see the ICG Masquerade Guidelines at
http://www.costume.org/documents/guidelines.html
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