If you think about what FYREshire is working to create, it becomes clear that we need some level of organization to reach our goals. The FYREshire organizational structure utilizes a hybrid model combining professional staff, volunteer leadership, and member-driven working groups to manage operations, safety, and community engagement.
Once we climb the mountain of COMMUNITY together, other mountains become easier to climb!
Core Governance and Roles
Professional staff generally handle high-level operations, while working groups and volunteers manage daily functions and specific initiatives.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Manages internal operations, finances, and strategy with Officers positions such as President, VPof Internal Affairs, VPof External Affairs, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Legal Officer, and add other Officer roles as needed.
OPERATIONAL STAFF
Includes Members functioning in Group Chairs, Vice-Chairs of Committees and employees of FYREshire.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer roles are critical for maintaining community culture and daily logistics. Some volunteer roles include: Volunteer Coordinator organizes and manages the Volunteer roster. Tool Testers are Members who test new users on their knowledge of proper tool usage, supporting Group Chairs.
Member-Driven Committees
We empower members through elected or volunteer-led groups that advise leadership and implement solutions. Committees act as a sounding board for each subject matter area and assist the Officers with policy and spending decisions. If a group grows large enough it could be split up to maintain manageable and effective administration of the subject area. Current Committees in alphabetical order include:
Automotive and Equipment
Communications
Includes a wide variety of skills and knowledge, including HAM radio, antennae design, meshtashic radios, SDRs, and similar type activities.
Construction
Includes a wide variety of skills and knowledge, including woodshop, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, equipment operation, concrete, tile work, and similar type activities.
Creative & Applied Arts
Includes sewing, ceramics, arts & crafts, leather working, blacksmithing, glasswork, paper making, and similar artisan-type activities.
Education
This would be for adult training and homeschooling, Focuses on curriculum development, class offerings, and community workshops.
Enterprise
Includes management of Enterprise Zone. This would likely be separated out into more groups once all of the enterprise areas within the zone are defined. Some of the potential groups could be retail, workshop/fabrication spaces, manufacturing activities, co-working spaces, offices, visitor parking, and the marketplace.
Food Production
The food production zone would include things like greenhouses, community gardens, orchards and windbreak plantings, poultry and livestock, worm systems, seed starting, and related activities.
Health and Safety
Addresses any safety concerns, ensures proper tool usage, and maintains a safe secure environment within the community. Also, includes manning the first-aid station.
IT & Information Architecture
Manages organizational digital/IT infrastructure, networks, communication norms, and addresses technical concerns.
Manufacturing & Fabrication
Includes a wide variety of skills and knowledge, including welding, plasma cutting, metal fabrication, machine shop activities, casting, 3D printing, automation, and similar type activities.
New Member Orientation
Provides initial tours and onboarding for new members.
Officers Steering Committee
Identifies organizational needs (financial, operational, or otherwise) and initiates strategic member-led projects.
Policy and Procedures
Works with each group to help develops and updates operational policies, documentation of SOPs, codes of conduct, and other related needs.
Recreation
Includes management of Recreation Zone infrastructure. This would likely be separated out into more groups once all of the recreation areas within the community are defined. Some of the potential groups could be water activities (such as pool, water park area, and lazy river), shooting sports (such as skeet/trap shooting and shooting ranges), equestrian activities, lake activities (fishing, paddleboats, canoes, or kayaking), trail activities (walking, bike riding, and quads/ATVs), sports fields, paintball fields, and other activities.
RV Park
Includes management of RV Park Zone.
Science & Engineering
Includes a wide variety of science skills and knowledge, including Life Sciences (such as biology, botany, and zoology), Physical Sciences (such as physics, chemistry, and astronomy), and Earth Sciences (such as geology, meteorology, and hydrology). Engineering would include primarily civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering.
Security
Includes security protocols relating to each zone, security personnel, gates and access control, and crowd control for events.
Social Events
Organizes community-building events and socials.
Support
Includes management of Support Zone infrastructure like warehouse and equipment yard, fuel storage, equipment storage, maintenance equipment, and associated inventory.
Utilities, Waste, and Composting (UWC)
Includes management of water and waste related infrastructure like well houses, water storage tanks, septic/wastewater treatment, composting, solid waste shredding/compaction, bulk solid waste disposal, and fire-water reserve.
Working Groups
Working groups are formed from members of the committee when there need to address particular tasks or goals of the committee. Depending on the size of the committee, they may be multiple working groups going simultaneously. When a Working Group is formed a Working Group Lead will volunteer or be assigned to keep the committee members informed of working group activities.
Special Interest Groups
Whereas a Committee manages a broad area of operations and a Working Group typically represents a smaller subset of committee members that are focused on the detailed execution of a particular task or project to support the committee, a Special Interest Group (SIG) is a subset of a committee that is focused on a specific niche topic that is related to the subject matter of the committee.
A SIG can be formed as either an informal or formal group, depending on the level of structure and whether funding desired.
Informal SIGs can be started at any time with no minimum membership requirement; they simply exist within the community without official committee sponsorship.
Formal SIGs must be sponsored by an existing committee (such as Communications, Education, Science, etc.) and typically require at least 5 interested Members to officially form.
Formal SIG Formation Requirements
Must have at least 5 interested Members to form and be sponsored by a committee.
Leaders of a SIG must be elected from within the SIG.
A committee must vote and approve sponsoring a SIG.
SIG Leaders are responsible for leading their SIG’s meetings.
While a sponsoring committee may choose to fund a SIG from it’s own budget, they are not obligated to do so.
Formal SIG Operational Requirements
Must meet at least quarterly.
Must record meeting minutes (including attendance, voted items, and outcomes).
Records must be uploaded to the SIG’s records page.
SIG Leaders must act as representatives when participating in the committee meetings.
Any spending must follow board and committee voting and records rules.
