Hi Richard
I was really pleased to hear that your new role has worked out for you.
I know it's taken a lot of work and commitment. Well done for achieving
it, and many congratulations!
All the very best to you and to F. We'll miss you.
Michael
Richard Symonds wrote:
Hello everyone!
I've worked for Wikimedia UK since just before we hired our first
Chief Executive, but it's time for me to hang up my "staff" hat. At
the end of August, I'll be leaving Wikimedia UK for a new role - still
in London, but doing something rather different, and with a fair bit
more responsibility. Those of you who are my friends will know what
this new job entails - I'd ask you to keep it to yourselves. To those
of you who don't, you're free to ask me on Facebook!
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wikimedia UK under both Jon and
Lucy. It's really something to see how the charity has changed over
the years - from a small, absurdly hopeful organisation with limitless
opportunities, to a larger, but more stable and more focused charity
with a solid track record of events and partnerships, and with what I
firmly believe to now be (post-governance-review) the best governance
in the movement.
I have full confidence in the team of staff and volunteers here to
keep things moving forward, even if Richard Nevell does get overly
focused on castles from time to time. I'll be staying on as a
volunteer, of course, and I will probably focus my initial efforts on
sending Richard Nevell pictures of castles while he's working, which
I'm pretty sure counts towards our metrics.
On a more productive note, highlights of my time here include:
* Learning to cycle in London (pictures not on Commons, although
there might be a video)
* Our "Finance and Fundraising communal pickled onion jar",
relabelled "pickled fox" after went on the NHM Spirits Tour
(pictures not on Commons, except perhaps in the background)
* The "Wikimedia UK does WLM" tour of an unlit Grade II listed
Victorian Public Convenience (pictures on Commons)
* Driving Katherine Bavage to despair by uploading pictures of her
to Commons, and only then explaining what Commons is (I await the
inevitable deletion request from someone who takes this too seriously)
* Participating in the Chutney Making from Waste Fruit and
Vegetables World Record Attempt, a World record attempt for amount
of people making chutney simultaneously (pictures not taken, too
busy eating chutney)
* Wikimania 2014, which only those who served can
/truly/ understand (pictures on Commons, I imagine, although I
tried to avoid them)
I wish everyone at Wikimedia UK - volunteers and staff - all the best,
especially Daria, who now holds the crown for "longest serving staff
member". Working at Wikimedia UK has been an enlightening experience,
but also a privilege, and something which I will never forget.
{{Template:Witty sign-off}},
Richard Symonds
Wikimedia UK
0207 065 0992
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England
and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513.
Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street,
London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a
global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the
Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).
*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal
control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK:
https://wikimedia.org.uk