Speaker 1: At this time, I'd like to invite our other speakers back up. We're going to do a live Q&A. So we get started.

Speaker 2: What will you bring to the live events that you enhance from what you've learned from the virtual events?

Speaker 3: We have always been like, you know, do less, amplify more. And the idea of now, we first started setting up these small events of like 40 people. And a lot of them were actually not very accessible, because we couldn't do a large public event. But we made sure that the content that came out of it was free, and that content was freely distributed. So it kind of changed one principle, but it allowed us to say, we need to do this every time in a thoughtful way, and not just film things and put them in terabytes of archives. So it really did. It completely changed that. It's adapted into our system.

Speaker 4: I'm still learning. I think one of the biggest lessons that I've learned is technology is our friend. And we are now looking at our 2022 events, and they will be hybrid. And so it really is about continuing to engage with our global audience, because we have so many new people that have joined the community, because they had access through technology. And so as we re-immerse in society, not forgetting that we have now been able to galvanize a community of people who are really interested in the work that we do. And even looking at our communications, being a little bit more intentional about the folks who may never visit one of our workshops in person, but again, bringing that hope, joy and community, making sure that's translated across all of our communications, digital, in-person. And so...

Speaker 5: I'll add one quick thing, which is that, yeah, it's a little technical, but it made me come to our events with more... We started to return to in-person events more in the magical moment, pre-Delta. But it made me come with definitely more intention and also more focus. I think previously in in-person events, especially if they were large, of course you have a run of show, you have a timeline, you know what you want to accomplish. But I think what virtual events showed me is when everyone is meeting online, you have a finite amount of time, and what you're going to do in that time is laid out extremely quickly. Sorry, it's extremely specifically. You're coming to this virtual event, you know what it's going to be, this is happening at this time, this is happening at that time, and I think that I will bring, yeah, a little bit of that intentionality to our in-person events.

Speaker 1: I don't know if that makes sense. One more question we got time for? Anybody with a question? I have a question.

Speaker 6: Sure. I don't need to get the mic. As a non-profit organization, do you think it's important to have a board? Is it necessary? Or can you just go without having a board to lead and just make sure that chains of command and financial information and processes are being followed to the letter or whatever

Speaker 4: have you? I think having a board is critical. And so, again, when I started with Opening Act, I was only with the organization three weeks before the world went kaboom, and I relied heavily on my board of directors. And you know, there is this, I wanted to dispel the myth that is often told in non-profits that, you know, boards can be pretty difficult to work with. We have an amazing board, and I really, this was one time where I isolated my own personal needs as a leader to really leaning in on the board, because I knew the staff was looking at me to get guidance. And so I think boards are critical. They offer an opportunity for you to really talk through the day-to-day of what it is to either run or work in a non-profit. They have a different perspective, and so they have a bird's-eye view of what's happening. And because we're so close to the work, you often can only tell the story that you're experiencing, right? But they're able to kind of really take a look at the governing structure, the financial structure, and really just be the support that the leader needs. And so I said all of that to say I believe that they are absolutely critical, and I think that it's key to keep open communication with your board, and to manage expectations by clear as kind, being very clear about this is what's happening, this is what I need, this is what I would love your input on, and then being very open to the feedback and the guidance that they will give you, because they are just, they are a little detached, but they're close enough to understand what the organization needs to be sustainable and successful. Thank you. I have nothing to add to that.

Speaker 5: I totally agree. That was 30 to 100 percent. That is so beautifully said.

Speaker 3: Also completely agree. I mean, when you start a non-profit, I think it's really hard to choose the board in a very thoughtful way. I love and appreciate every single board member that we've had at Pioneer Works, because they've given funding, they've given ideas, they've given their presence. But at first it was very much, hey, if you got some money in this amount, you can be on our board. And over the years we've been able to be more intentional about it, where now we really can be thoughtful in choosing them. Our board now, I really want to cry just thinking about all of them, because it's really, each one of them gives so much and they really are actively involved. And when you're a leader of an organization, it's like there's a lot of pressure and you're dealing with a lot of things, and to have an incredibly wise group of people who, their natural inclination is they're upholding the mission of the organization, they're representing it, and they usually should not have selfish inclinations. These people are giving a lot. And so they really are such a good sounding board, I think, for us. It's amazing. There is also, though, there's this thing about, I think you have to be careful with the board making certain types of decisions. When they are, there's a certain amount of disconnection and removal from daily operations and things. So I think the relationship of how you're communicating to the board, but making sure that I run a lot of the programming directors and the people who are bringing programming in, and they never tell me what to do, what to program, what not to do. They don't censor, they don't do things. They might bring things up, which makes you question, just like, hopefully your employees have the space to bring up and to talk to you about, why this makes me uncomfortable, why are we doing this? Why aren't we doing this other thing? But I think you have to be careful with a lot of, you know, there's a lot of complications within board influence on larger institutions. That is extremely problematic. So I think you're always learning. We're really fortunate now. But yeah, I think it's absolutely critical. I think that it would be hard to do without. Awesome.

Speaker 1: Well, thank you for those questions. I just want to leave us with a personal highlight for me today, and that's, you know, really learning how you all, you know, built and supported, but also leaned on community. It really is inspiring, especially during such a difficult time. And that was really kind of the trigger of the idea for these Reconvene sessions, is to create community among event creators. That's the reason we're here today, to connect, to network, to uncover potential, you know, mutually beneficial partnerships, not even with Eventbrite, but among event creators with you all. So I just really appreciate you all being here. Thank you so much for coming and being a part of that community that we are looking to build. That concludes our programming for today. We're not kicking you out just yet. Feel free to stick around, meet our speakers, meet someone who you haven't introduced yourself to yet. And like I mentioned, if you want to stay in the loop about upcoming Reconvene sessions, you can follow us on Eventbrite, as well as social media. Our next event is coming up on November 10th. It's called Tales of Failure, How I Messed Up and What I Learned. It's going to be with four really unique event creators that are going to share stories of events gone wrong, how they persevered and what they learned through that experience. It's going to be a virtual event. We're going to stream it live on YouTube, and you can register on Eventbrite just to make sure that you don't miss it. But thank you all again. I really appreciate you coming. Bye. Bye. Bye.