As the 3-year term of your Governing Body Executive Committee comes to an end with 2016, it is now time to elect the next batch of committee members on the governing body of the SAFD. This year we will be hosting elections for the following positions:

• President
• Vice-President
• Treasurer
• Secretary

Elections will begin on November 1st, 2016 and will be available until November 30th.

Read on to see this year's nominees and to read their statements!

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2016 Member Representative Candidate Statements

Presidential Candidate: 

(Running Unopposed)

Scot Mann:

The SAFD first came to my attention in 1990 when my college professor and mentor, Paul Oppy, showed me a brochure for the NSCW and said, “we’re doing Macbeth next year.  Someone needs to know how to do this the right way.”  I walked into Drew Fracher’s Rapier and Dagger Class on a Monday morning in July and realized I had found my artistic family.  Our continued growth in the professional and educational fields since that time has been monumental.  Ultimately, the good of this growth is not to benefit the organization, but to increase safety and knowledge of every professional, amateur, and student artist who are fortunate enough to receive this invaluable training and have avoided injury and injuring others.  I will work to continue this growth, our communication with representative unions, our solvency, our compassion, and our dedication to this craft that has given so many of us a family.

Vice-Presidential Candidates:

Matthew Ellis:

As Vice President, I intend to work with other members of the Governing Body to expand membership, provide easier access to training opportunities for our members and continue to focus on our developing mentorship program.  I also have a vested interest in furthering the visibility and impact of the SAFD in all professional circles within the entertainment industry.  Our current Governing Body has made great strides in increasing our profile professionally, through union negotiations.  I would like to make sure this sort of good press continues.  Anything that increases our profile will pay us back in dividends.  If elected I will ensure that the momentum that we have in union recognition continues.  In the years to come, I would like to see that an SAFD credential carries, even more, weight than its already prestigious status awards. 

Dale Girard:

The SAFD has been a part of my life for over 30 years. The organization, its members, and its purpose has served to help me with my career and livelihood as well as providing a fight family that has been there for me in the best and worst of times. Although I served as President several years ago, I feel that giving back to the organization that has provided me with so much cannot simply be checked off with just a few years of service. Chuck Coyl has set an excellent example of such dedication and service to the SAFD that when I learned he would not run for another term I felt a calling to pick up the mantle and put myself forward as a candidate who would be willing and able to continue the excellent job he has done. My boys are older now and I believe I have the time and energy to do what needs to be done and a knowledge of the organization that can both reference the past but also help move it into the future. As such, I humbly accept the nomination and thank Chuck for his many wonderful years of service. 

Rob Najarian:

It is an honor to be nominated to serve as the Vice President for the SAFD. As an actor, fight director, and instructor with 13 years of professional experience and membership in the Society at the AAC, CT, and FD levels, as well as serving as Regional Representative in both New England and the Great Lakes I have seen how strong we are currently as an organization and also how much growth is still possible.  If elected I would contribute further to the Society by continuing to support and strengthen the membership across all levels through sound, inclusive policies that broaden membership diversity, initiatives that increase membership viability for professional work, and greater opportunities for member collaboration on the national and international level. 

Jason Paul Tate:

In my 12 years belonging to this community of artists, I have experienced overwhelming benefit. Jobs were acquired, relationships formed, and more than one cross-country move has been influenced by the support of like minds and true collaborators. I would be honored to serve the SAFD community and its membership by pursuing means to accomplish the following:

Instructor development: Increased exposure to qualified mentors who can assist them in plotting individual courses of action; better positioning themselves for success

Encouraging continual education amongst ranked members: Create opportunities to cross-train one another that we may better own our collective skillset

Designated Training Opportunities for fight director hopefuls: We should be conscious of challenging the expectations we set in the eyes of directors and producers who hire us, performers who look to us and to the audiences who observe our craft; continuing to lead by example in the classroom, in the rehearsal room, and on the stage.

Treasurer Candidates: 

Nick Albrecht:

As a fairly new member of SAFD, I have enjoyed learning about the organization, opportunities, and service that SAFD provides for its members at large.  Due to my fairly new entrance into the organization, I feel that one of the best ways for me to learn even more about and give back to SAFD is to serve as a member of the SAFD board.  I am a professor of theatre at North Dakota State University and have my MFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  I would be thrilled to be an even bigger part of such an important part of Fight Direction in America and abroad.

Adam Noble:

Hello SAFD Fight Family! 

I am Adam Noble, and I am a Fight Director and Certified Teacher currently residing in Houston, Texas.  I happily serve our Society as the Southwest Regional Representative, and I am the Coordinator of the SAFD-sanctioned Texas Intensive Stage Combat Workshop. 

I am a tenured Associate Professor of Movement & Acting at the University of Houston, but – like so many of us – I also pick up outside gigs as a professional actor, director, movement coach, and more. 

I have years of experience serving as Treasurer for other national organizations, most recently for Association of Theatre Movement Educators.

I believe that I have the meticulous nature, the necessary skill sets, and the integrity to serve the SAFD honorably as Treasurer.  I also have an ardent desire to give back to this Society, which has been so important to me for so many years.

Secretary Candidates:

Nick Albrecht:

As a fairly new member of SAFD, I have enjoyed learning about the organization, opportunities, and service that SAFD provides for its members at large.  Due to my fairly new entrance into the organization, I feel that one of the best ways for me to learn even more about and give back to SAFD is to serve as a member of the SAFD board.  I am a professor of theatre at North Dakota State University and have my MFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  I would be thrilled to be an even bigger part of such an important part of Fight Direction in America and abroad.

Robert Aronowitz:

The SAFD has given so much to me over the years and it’s an honor to be nominated for a position on our Governing Body.

In my time with this organization, I’ve worked hard to foster our growth by forming lasting bonds between the SAFD and fellow artistic professionals. I’ve also worked hard to bring training opportunities to new and existing members alike.

As your Secretary, I will continue to help steer the SAFD into the future. I’ve heard the cries for fight direction/choreography workshops, a stronger social media presence, and professional development amongst ranked members. Know that I feel just as passionately as you do about these issues and will make sure the membership at ALL levels are heard.

The position of Secretary is a labor of love and I’m excited to show just how much love I have for the SAFD."

 

Christopher Elst:

Hello, fight family! As a long-standing member of the SAFD, I have been beneficiary to the superb training and support it provides, most recently becoming a Certified Teacher in 2015. I have contributed as co-coordinator and webmaster of two major workshops, working with John Tovar and MACE on the Winter Wonderland Workshop, and helping DC Wright coordinate the Central Illinois Stage Combat Workshop. Along with my wife, I also run Theater RED, a prominent and well-respected theater company in Milwaukee, WI. Now, I'd like to serve as your secretary, offering my organizational skills as a web developer, theater company owner, and workshop coordinator to help facilitate a more streamlined and well-organized experience for our members and governing body, which I think will increase our professional standing in the theater and film communities at large.

Casey Kaleba:

I started training with the SAFD in 1992, tested before I left high school in ’96, and since then I’ve been an active member and an ambassador abroad.  I am seeking the office of Secretary to continue my service to the organization, which includes organizing the Bond vs Bourne and the legendary Martial Arts Intensive regional workshops.  I’ve also worked with my colleagues to foster the stage combat community in Washington DC by developing relationships with theatres and helping to triple the number of organizations offering skills testing.  I will serve as I always have: by doing all that is asked and striving to improve how it is done. I will perform all duties as may, from time to time, be required – and I will serve also the needs of the membership for we are all of us - together - the Society of American Fight Directors.

Darrell Rushton:

Thank you for your consideration.  I’ve served the SAFD first as Cutting Edge Assistant Editor, and now as Secretary of the SAFD for three years.  I am committed to our organization and would be pleased to serve for another term if the membership wishes it.  As your secretary, I have helped steer updates to the PNP, helped the facilitation of the new website, organized our library, and continued the good work of those who held the office before me.  If you vote for me, I will continue to work hard for the society.  Thanks!