Greetings to the Slammasters and patrons of Southern Fried:

We cordially invite you to attend our first virtual SoFried Poetry Town Hall, where the Board of Directors will be discussing the future of Southern Fried Poetry, Inc. with stakeholders in the community. Our organization is in the need of new leaders, and we want to spend an evening with you to discuss our long-term plan for growing and sustaining our beloved festival. The meeting will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00 pm ET. We hope you attend and bring friends too.

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with a brief summary of the agenda items we will be discussing so you can best prepare any questions or concerns you wish to share.

Festivals

First, we will be providing an update on the 2021 and 2022 festivals. We have been working diligently to adjust our plans for the next two scheduled festivals, given the uncertainty tied to Covid-19, and we want to discuss some of our plans (and contingency plans) for these events.

Slammasters Meetings

Since we were not able to convene at the festival this year, we will discuss our plans to host a virtual Slammasters Meeting in the month of July. Slammasters will be asked to consider a number of motions brought forth in the Town Hall, to later vote on in the virtual Slammasters Meeting. Slammasters will also have a chance to make motions on new business at that time.

Board Members

We will discuss the importance of hosting elections to fill the vacancies on the Board. There will be a proverbial changing of the guard this year, and we want to discuss our plans for helping the new team transition into leadership roles. We will field nominations starting on the evening of the Town Hall and then subsequently vote at the Slammasters Meeting.

Innovation and Restructuring

We will discuss our plans for transforming Southern Fried from a week-long festival into a multifaceted organization that offers arts, education, and health-related services year-round. Transparently, we will be discussing the formation of the first salaried positions at Southern Fried Poetry, Inc. We will also be talking about the expansion of our council infrastructure, to invite more slamily members into leadership roles. Finally, we have a surprise announcement that we know our patrons are going to love, but you will have to tune in to learn more about that!

Tributes

One of the biggest letdowns of missing Southern Fried in 2020 is that we did not get a chance to honor the lives of Tess and Rage. We wanted to address the importance of holding space for our friends, and frankly, we’re hoping you may help us think of some ideas on how we can honor them in lieu of holding a vigil together. We would love any ideas you have to share.

There will be a curated Q & A section of this Town Hall, so please feel free to bring questions or email them to info@southernfriedpoetryslam.com.

Please register for the Zoom meeting today.

Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday night.

To the future!

The Board of Directors
Southern Fried Poetry, Inc.
www.southernfriedpoetryslam.com

Town Hall Zoom Meeting