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Thursday, 15 November 2001 03:31:53 From: Kaye McKinnon - Aus
Subject: Closing a chapter To: Kaye McKinnon - Aus

Thank you

As you are probably aware I have resigned from the role of National Contact and Pacific Regional Contact. However I have been wanting for some time to thank so many of you for your support and the opportunity to work with you on different projects over the past six years. Although at times it has been challenging, it has also been a lot of fun and I will always cherish the memories of the good times.

Over the last 6 years I have given more than 100 percent to EV. I am now appreciating taking some time out, catching up on so many of the things I have neglected, enjoying the simplicity of practicing Knowledge, watching the broadcasts, and giving space to feeling the gratitude in my heart.

A number of people have asked me to provide a brief "history" of my time with EV. For those of you who are interested I have taken time to reflect on the last six years (as outlined below). For those of you who are not interested, please delete this message!

National Contact / National Director

I was appointed National Director in 1994. I was not sure what the role of ND entailed so I ended up putting all my energy into propagation. Australia was very "sleepy" at the time.

In the first couple of years Maharaji gave me so much direct input to help me "get on my feet". This direct link also had the added bonus that I could personally invite him to come to Australia.

A love affair was re-ignited between the premies in Australia and Maharaji. There had been a long drought and we were so thirsty to see him. He was very pulled by this "thirst". In November 1994, when the events in India were cancelled he came down to Australia (at short notice) and spoke at events in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The following April (1995) he did a 3-city tour (back-to-back) with public and pwk events in Melbourne and Brisbane, and a mixed event followed by a pwk event in Sydney. (I heard that the Europeans were starting to get upset with the amount of time M was spending in Australia). The public events were very well attended (over 1200 interested people attending the two events).

In 1996 he accepted invitations for another 3-city tour. This included a delightful public event in Sydney, which overflowed with guests. The Sydney team was highly innovative in their approach to this event and Maharaji loved it. The Melbourne event was a surprise with only 4 days notice (the team in Melbourne sent him the most exquisite invitation and were prepared - just in case he said yes!). In 1997 an Amaroo event happened and in 1998 a beautiful event in the Brisbane Convention Centre.

During this time my involvement was very much "grass-roots". I spent more time in the "communities" than I did at home. There was so much enthusiasm at the local level for propagation. In 1995 I was invited to be full-time. This was some relief as trying to organise 3-city tours from my office was starting to seriously compromise my work situation.

Pacific Regional Contact

After an international training at Amaroo in 1997, I was invited to take on the role of synchronising activities for the Pacific Region. I was one of six Regional Contacts. I covered the Pacific. Regional contacts were also appointed to 5 other regions: South America, North America, Europe, Africa, and India.

This opened up so many opportunities to get to know the issues and challenges Maharaji faced in taking his message globally. The Pacific was especially challenging with so many diverse cultures. Over the next couple of years I was invited to participate in team meetings in Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore. I also became involved with the working party for China and helped set up the team to support propagation in what we called "emerging" countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Korea). The North Pacific countries, in particular, needed help to build their own strengths and capabilities.

Event Schedules

For several years the six Regional Contacts were invited to develop the annual global calendar of Maharaji's events. This involved identifying the needs in our region and together, coming up with event proposals and integrating the proposals to form a schedule for the year. I gained a much greater appreciation of Maharaji's work globally but found it stressful at times, as we were all so passionate about inviting Maharaji to our regions. Through our ignorance, we failed to understand there simply wasn't the time for him to do everything we wanted him to do.

Events with Maharaji

One of the greatest concerns amongst the Regional Contacts was to improve the events with Maharaji and to make best use of Maharaji's time. During 1999 and 2000 our number one priority was to "significantly enhance the quality of events" and to ensure that the local event teams were well trained. We invited different training consultants to the Pacific including: Didier Valiant for audio-visual training and also Tina Lindagreen for project management. Members of the Pacific Regional team also provided a great deal of support.

As a result of this combined effort, the events scheduled in the Pacific during 1999 and 2000 were vastly improved in quality. We received very good feedback from Maharaji in relation to the Pacific events.

Immediately after the event in Malaysia last year, Maharaji met with key organisers. He gave us very good feedback. He was pleased with the efforts being made in the Pacific region, especially with the research being done into broadcasts and cable television. Prior to this meeting Dawn Rees and I had met separately with the broadcast teams for Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong Singapore and Japan.

Public Relations

Because of the Amaroo events I became involved with PR. Having high profile events at Amaroo has necessitated that we be prepared for media interest. EV Australia has led the way in the area of public and media relations. I was also asked to take on the role of Pacific Regional PR Contact. (this role was on top of my responsibilities as Regional Contact, National Director and National Contact and was all consuming).

Over the last 3 years the core Australia PR team have undertaken intensive media training using professional PR companies. The efforts of the PR team were rewarded at the Amaroo 2001 event. We received mostly positive press coverage including a short time slot on Channel 10 News.

In 1999, because of the experience gained in PR, I was invited to India for a week to conduct intensive PR training with the newly formed core PR team. Naturally, I had some reservations; how could a Westerner possibly understand the issues in India. Fortunately it was a very positive and productive training. One of the highlights was reviewing the history of both Shri Hans and Maharaji in India. One of the members of the Indian PR team had been very involved at the time of Sri Hans and was able to share so much with the rest of us.

Last year the PR teams met together in Singapore for a very successful, two-day practical PR training (5 Australians attended).

National Director

I was appointed National Director in 1994. Initially I focussed more on propagation rather than administration. However, unlike most EV organisations around the world, EV Australia carries significant responsibilities as the legal entity responsible for conventions at IRCC. While studying for the Directors Diploma (through the Australian Institute of Corporate Directors), I became much more aware of our legal obligations. Material has since been taken from this course to develop an induction program for new directors so that from the beginning, they are very clear about their roles and responsibilities. Our level of professionalism was also lifted when we appointed a legal advisor and accountant to assist the board.

Funding

My wage

Funding is always a sensitive issue … and it is surprising how much misinformation is circulated about my wage, so I would like to clarify this. In 1995 I took a significant drop in income to work for EV. I started on $40,000 and have since had 2 increments of 3 percent bring my wage up to $43,000 at the time of my resignation (October 27, 2001). This wage covered not only my responsibilities as National Contact but also Pacific Regional Contact, and National Director and Public Relations, (especially support to Amaroo Conventions). By receiving financial support I was able to work a 70-hour week - mainly from a home-based office.

Expenses

An agreement was reached with Regional Contacts and the International Resource team for the "home" EV organisations to cover expenses of the RC attending one international meeting per financial year. This expense was incorporated into the annual budget to be approved by the EV Board. Any other international expenses were met personally. At least a half of my earnings have been used for travelling to overseas meetings.

Over the 4-year period, as Pacific Regional Contact, I played a key role in planning events in the region as well as a PR role. I covered all of my own travel and hotel expenses attending events in the region. There is one exception. Last year I needed financial assistance to get to events in Malaysia and Japan. I had already spent personal funds attending meetings at Amaroo and approached the EV treasurer at the time.

The EV Board approached the Pacific Regional Resource Contact for funding from the region to help with wages and travel. Although this was agreed to in principle by the countries, no follow-up action was taken. Fortunately this is now being sorted out.

Change in role

As I became more involved with global issues I had less time to give to the role of NC in Australia (all the other Regional Contacts were in the same situation). I did give support to a number of key projects in the start-up phase including: mail order library, direct access broadcasts, trainings and low key advertising. We had very good project teams responsible for each of these projects. At the same time four instructors were appointed in Australia and they started taking more of a role in supporting propagation. However after the strong burst in propagation in 1995-97, there has been no further growth.

Over the last couple of years much focus has been on the organisation and its structures, and multiple layers of teams, to the detriment of propagation. Clearly, (as many of us are feeling) the time has come to reduce the emphasis on organisational activity and restore a simplicity. It is also timely with the financial situation globally to reassess how funds are used.

Summary

Looking back over the last 6 years, there is no doubt for me that the highlights have always been inviting Maharaji to Australia. There is no greater joy than inviting Maharaji to your country / community and to prepare for him to come - such a gift.

To finish I just want to say, one of the key sources of inspiration for me over this time has been the premies I met travelling in the communities. They may not have any "hats or labels" but I loved their enthusiasm - they were, and still are, the backbone of Maharays work.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given and I have so many of you to thank for your support, your enthusiasm and your clarity.

Kind regards, Kaye