For the last month or so, I have been in association with Allegheny Family Network as a web designer. Marieke heard that AFN’s Executive Director needed to have the website updated. Being the wonderful, supportive wifey that she is, my contact info was given and I got a phone call the following Wednesday.
We set up a meeting for the next day. Since Neil was staying with us during his leave, I decided that he should make himself useful and give me a ride into Oakland. I had no idea how long the meeting would be, but on my way to the building, I ran across someone who asked if I was the web designer. He introduced himself as the ‘network guy’. It was a bit awkward shaking his hand because his right hand was considerably smaller than his left and was at the end of a smaller than typical arm. It took me by surprise because it’s not something you see everyday, but I offered my right hand when he offered his left and had sort of a pseudo shake. It was unsettling, not because of the non-typical appearance of his limb, but because I didn’t know what was expected of me in that situation.
I met Ruth, the Executive Director, and Ronn (yes, with two n’s at the end), the anointed ‘Database guy’ before the four of us sat at a round, glass table with faux flowers in the center round beneath. It was determined that the previous website was not appropriate for the direction AFN was moving in. I was asked to update it by adding recent newsletters and replacing some old information with new. My fee would be a modest sum (my typical going rate), and it should take no more than two weeks to complete- working at half time- so 40 hours.
Since the meeting went on for longer than i anticipated, Neil was a bit of a cranky pants when I got back to the car. I think all was forgotten when I bought us a bottle of Captain Morgan to celebrate my new assignment- the first in about a year.
When I discovered the next day the particulars of the AFN website, I was nearly shocked to death, for it wasn’t really a website at all, but merely a blog with a very fancy template. I also found that it was being held together by a small, very delicate thread. The first tug would cause the entire template to fail and the website would be virtually useless.
Back to Ruth’s office. I wasn’t looking forward to this meeting at all. Not that Ruth is by any stretch mean, but she is a little intimidating. She has a certain look that precludes even the remote possibility of bullshit on any level. My fear was that she would think that I was trying to scam her or otherwise not give her the benefit of the truth. When I found out that AFN paid nearly ten-thousand dollars for what I laughingly referred to as a website, I was doubly sure that she would banish me from her office.
I was relieved when she listened to my concerns and ideas for a solution with patience and even more so when she began offering her own ideas for a solution.
With a mutual understanding of what needed to be done in order to move the website forward into the realm of actual benefit to the organization, we decided that a new website was the best course of action. Ruth would need to get approval from the Board of Directors in order to proceed with drawing up a contract for the work to begin.
About three weeks later, Ruth informed me that the Board said yes and I was to return to her office to sign a contract so that work on the website could begin.
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23 March 2011
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