Well, after the meeting with Uni that day in February, we went directly to Little Rock, phone calls made on the way to Fran to see if she and Bryen were interested in coming on as new board members. They were and our first Pagan Pride day meeting was a success. Fran, Bryen and I now comprised the new CAPPD board and there were a lot of ideas put out. We already had a date and a place so that was set. In order to not over load any one person, we had each taken responsibilities for the various areas of PPD. After that, all I had to do was contact the Frosts to see if they would be appearing at the Central Arkansas Pagan Pride day event.
Many of you will remember the following email: It was sent out to most of (if not all) the groups to which Uni posts.
Uni’s resignation email:
Dear Friends,
As of February 7, 2009, Central Arkansas Pagan Pride Day belongs to Silver Crow & Kestrel.
Uni & Wiz are going onto other endeavors.
--
May you have Many Blessings Bestowed upon you by your deity of choice,
Uni
www.werfriendsstudy.org
http://paganfyre.multiply.com/
Say as you think and speak ir from your souls.
Henry VI Part II - William Shakespeare
I should tell you that during this time, beginning almost as soon as we parted company that day, Uni systematically began going thru all the groups that we co owned together and taking them over. Most of those groups I had created and then invited her to as co owner as a courtesy only. She, however, did not see it that way. She treated them all as if she had created them. She never made any attempt to ask which groups were whose, she just took them. I watched her for a while and let her do it before I began pointing this behavior out so that others could see for themselves just what sort of person I was dealing with. Most of what I lost wasn’t that big a deal but when it came down to the groups I valued (AAFCC, TGR, etc) I was concerned. I know Uni very well: she will take something over and then she works to exclude those who disagree with her in any way. She does that in Werfriends, she attempted to do that with Central Arkansas Pagan Pride, and she will continue to do that with any group she has any say in.
This is an email conversation that I had with Uni over her stealing of the Pagan Fyre Egroup.
I said:
I need the ownership restored to me on the Egroup for Pagan Fyre and the Google group for Pagan Fyre. If you wish to post out and invite people or invite them off the member list that's fine.
I also need control of all the Pagan Pride Egroups and Google group if you would be so kind and the same applies there as well, if you wish to stay on the groups you are welcome to.
Uni Replied:
1 - I am sorry to all that David is involving in this.
2 - I agreed you take the name Pagan Fyre, nothing else. As for the yahoogroup it is changed and you can start your own group.
I said:
The deal was I keep Pagan Fyre you rename your event. That means you start your own groups and invite everyone to join it and be a part of it, not to take the group I started. If you look at my membership that group was one I created. The easy way to solve this as it stands is for you to create a new group. Invite the members of the Pagan Fyre group to that group. Change the name of the group back to "Pagan_fyre" Egroup restore me as owner and in three months I will regain the original name once again.
Now I have no problems leaving you on the group as a moderator, you can invite people who join to group to also join yours as well. I will have no problem posting links to your event on the front of all Pagan Fyre groups and website. I will be moving Pagan Fyre to a date that does not compete with your event. That way no one has to make a choice of which event to attend. We can have to wonderful events in Arkansas.
Uni Replied:
1 - Once again I am sorry to all that David is being this way.
2 - Once again, read this slowly - I DID NOT agree to anything concerning yahoogroups. The group is changed, David go start your own. I am not going to keep saying the same thing over and over again. I consider this matter closed.
I said:
Uni, that was not the agreement, I started that Egroup, you are a better person than this. Please do the right thing. I would rather have peaceful cooperation than a conflict. I am sending this to everyone to ensure the there are no rumors involved in this transition.
Uni sent Fran this who then forwarded it to me:
Dear Friends,
I am sorry that David is not handling the fact that Eric & I stepped back from him and the festivals very well. Eric & I would like the festivals to go back to being about being Pagan, being social and meeting other people. Instead of what can David do for you. In one meeting we had with him recently he made everything very clear to us what he has been doing for everyone else and how much more he would be doing. I remember that David was made at a particular pagan in Arkansas for using the word 'I' over 100 times, well that was the conversation with David. (Ask the other Werfriends Board Members, they will tell you).
Eric & I along with other people involved in Paganfest formerly known as Pagan Fyre want a new direction and back to the basics of being Pagan. Not about an individual and what they can do, we want to get back to the community as a whole.
Once again I am sorry that David has seen fit to involve you all in his disagreement with me and Eric.
Blessings
Uni
But, I digress …allow me to get back to our event. I contacted the Frosts; they wrote back to both me and Kes that they would be happy to attend our event. I forwarded the information to Fran so that she could begin to coordinate the Frosts activities with the board.
From the Frosts:
Greetings, Silver and Kestrel.
What great news! We've inked in the date of September 12. Now tell us when and where you'd like us to report, presumably on the 10th or 11th. This will depend on whether you need to get more advance publicity by doing such things as perhaps a book signing, an interview with the religion editor of the Little Rock newspaper, any TV or radio or news work. Once we are in Little Rock, we're yours to do with as you wish ... within reason. So if you'd like us to talk to your group or to anyone else, just say what you want. We're quite, quite shameless.
Of course there may also be a couple of college classes in perhaps comparative religions, whose teachers could use us for an hour or so. Here we state to you, and will also state to them, that we do not do this work to recruit but only to brief--perhaps to unpucker some puckered minds. Further, the more people whom we can acquaint with the idea of Pagan Pride Day as a meet-and-greet, the better.
It will be good to see you troops again. Thank you right now for the work you're doing for the Craft. We promise: It will not go amiss; They are aware.
Until that happy day, blessed be both.
Gavin and Yvonne
I forwarded this to Fran giving her their contact information. As she had volunteered to host them in her home, it was agreed that she would be responsible for scheduling various appearances for them. Kes and I had agreed to assist her in anyway she needed with home repairs/preparation, food, etc..
