Historian
Main Duties
Philosophically , the job of the Historian is to promote and document the JCL . That ’ s the broad theme , which gives you a lot of freedom to bring your own ideas to the role on how to best support and promote this community . My predecessors , for example , created a check-in network to meet with and address the needs of State- and local-level historians , and I ’ ve greatly enjoyed carrying it on and getting to know some new faces . As another example , I ’ ve restarted making vlogs for important Board stuff , such as our Fall Planning Meeting .
Trisha Iyer
More concretely , though , there are two things that a historian must accomplish : create a digital scrapbook for the year and complete a Convention History . The scrapbook is , for me , the most fun part of the job : it ’ s an awesome chance to reflect and make thoughtful choices about how to best present and preserve a year of JCLove . Go as crazy with it as you want ! As for the Convention History , know that it ’ s a detailed chronicle of the Convention that you get elected at — so make sure you are paying attention and living in the moment so that you can later record special memorable moments and important info ( such as who receives Silver Bowls ).
How to Prepare
I ’ m not going to say have design skills , because I know a lot of people self-select out of this role for fear they aren ’ t talented enough at art or scrapbooking . Instead , I say practice having an enthusiasm for everything that happens around you . Convention is busy and bustling , but it can also be overwhelming . Try to develop appreciation for what ’ s going on around you but also have ways to stay calm and methodical in how you collect information — for me , that ’ s always having a camera ( be it iPhone or otherwise ) in my hands .
I can ’ t stress enough that just as much as technical design may help you with the scrapbook part of the job , an eye for human connection matters . It ’ ll make you a better judge of Photo of the Month ; force you to stay in the moment at Conventions , which helps when you think back on what memories you want to recreate for others as you help plan next year ’ s convention ; and bring a powerful angle to the scrapbook .