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VES AWARDS PRELUDE others. The cream of the crop," says Okun. As Okun points out, what got the orga- nization started in the fi rst place was the artists' excitement to share what they were doing and the need for camaraderie. "We were a lonely, misunderstood bunch of art- ists who could create anything but were thought of as geeks and outsiders," he says with a bit of sarcasm. According to Okun, the visual eff ects in- dustry grew up an orphan—it was the only group on set or in post that was not getting health and welfare benefi ts, paid overtime, and so forth while working in the entertain- ment industry. "We're still an unrepresented group of people, though many have tried to start unions to represent us, but they con- tinue to fail," he says. "However, the VES will never be a union. It will never be a trade or- ganization. We will always be a professional honorary society. Our goal will always be to serve, honor, and educate, to get good in- formation out to our members, and others in the industry, even non-members, in order that they may benefi t from what we do." Membership Today's visual eff ects practitioners operate in a global work environment. "I have not shot a fi lm in LA since 1994," Okun points out. "Being global, the needs of our commu- nity have grown signifi cantly, and because we are so far-fl ung, there are a lot of dark spots in the knowledge of simple things, like: What does a roto person earn? Can you get 'kill fees' if someone books you but ends up not hiring you and, meanwhile, you have turned down other work? What is the best plug-in for the latest software version? Or even, what should I expect when working in a certain region or country?" The VES today boasts more than 2500 members in 29 countries, making it a true in- ternational organization. There are six "sections" within the Society: Bay Area, Vancouver, New York, London, Australia, and New Zealand, with a possible Montreal group added soon. Each of these sections handles its own local and re- gional meetings and puts on its own events, which are recorded and shared with members throughout the world, so they can tune in and hear what is taking place. The VES has a board of directors comprising 30 elected volunteers from among the mem- bership. Also, there is an executive committee, elected by the board, that meets monthly, and both the board and committee work closely with Eric Roth, VES executive director, "to en- sure that we stay on track and keep doing the business of the Society," says Okun. In addition, each of the six sections has a set of board man- agers who typically meet bimonthly. Board members are elected to a two-year term, with the possibility of serving three two-year terms consecutively. The chair and executive committee members are elected from the board to one-year terms. "The point is to serve the members and advance the art and the industry in positive, meaningful ways—to selfl essly give of yourself in order to benefi t," notes Okun. Okun has been a mainstay on the board and the executive committee, and is coming to the end of his third term. 2 • Computer Graphics World • January 2012 The Magazine for Digital Content Professionals EDITORIAL KAREN MOLTENBREY Chief Editor karen@cgw.com (603) 432-7568 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Courtney Howard, Jenny Donelan, Kathleen Maher, George Maestri, Martin McEachern, Barbara Robertson WILLIAM R. 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