I first became involved with the operations of the club six years ago, when Barry Rothstein asked me to run as Vice President to his President. I had already been quite active as a member, helping to implement regular digital projection at club meetings, and Barry expressed that he wanted me to be involved in the club management. I was honored to be asked, and thrilled to become Barry’s V.P. in 2008.
At that time, the bylaws limited the Presidency to two consecutive one-year terms, while the other elected positions had no term limits. It was customary for the sitting Vice President to run for the vacating Presidency after the two terms were up. And so, in 2010, I became the newly elected LA 3-D Club President.
During my elected time on the board, both as Barry’s V.P. , and during my own presidency, we have seen a tremendous amount of growth and change, both to the club, and in the world of 3-D in general. The advent of digital cinema brought on a new wave of 3-D motion pictures, which really caught fire with James Cameron’s AVATAR in 2009, and increased public interest in the medium. Consumer and prosumer level 3-D cameras and TVs became available, making 3-D content creation possible for anyone interested. The club moved its regular monthly meetings to the highly regarded Armory Center for the Arts, and instituted a monthly screening program at the Downtown Independent theater, where we also turned our semi-annual 3-D movie competition into an annual international 3-D film festival. And we have provided both our members and our community with numerous events, presentations, workshops, and other unique opportunities to learn about, experience, and share our 3-D world.
I suppose growth makes things more complex, and as such, in 2012, at the end of my second year as President, I learned that the Vice President was declining to run for office. In fact, the 2012 search committee, created to find a new candidate, was unable to recruit anyone from our membership to run for the position. This led to the board voting to amend the club bylaws and lift the two term limit, allowing the sitting President to continue in the job, as I have done now for an additional two years.
I have been quite honored to have been asked to serve the club for as long as I have, and while I am willing to continue in this role if the circumstances require it, I do not expect, nor do I want to be your club President forever. I have gotten to know many of you over the past several years, and know that there are club members who share my passion for the club, and for 3-D in general. And while I can’t speak for all of the club officers, most of whom have been serving as long as, if not longer than myself, I think they would be in agreement with me in inviting you, our members, to become more involved and run for one of our elected positions. You can throw your hat in the ring by contacting our club Secretary, Lawrence Kaufman. And when the time comes that a new leadership wants to step-up and move the club forward, I will proudly pass on the baton.
