Interviewing the Minister of Interior
Take 5 Minutes Today
Interview conducted by Fortunado
Our Minister of Interior started off his term with an ambitious plan to boost recruitment. He has high hopes, to say the least. It's meant to be quick and simple, under the title, "5 minutes a day". We recently decided that after hearing this, it would be best to
Fortunado: Let's start at the beginning: what got you into Europeia? What was the drive you saw in Europeia over other regions?
Rand: I was first sent a recruitment telegram from Lethen in 2012. This was before stamps, API, and these fancy recruitment helpers; recruitment took more work then. It's no small thing the region was able to grow. Part of this is hard-working recruiters, but the other part is appeal. When I found Euro, I discovered a warm community and an involved government. Everybody was involved - you could be on the City Council or serve as a Junior Minister, join a club or participate in forum games. The forum was also appealing and well-organized. These are things I couldn't find in other regions, and that's what really drew me in.
Fortunado: In a few words, what would you say defines Europeia?
Rand: Community involvement.
Fortunado: How did you feel when you were announced as minister?
Rand: Well, President Writinglegend had invited me to serve about the time that he stood for election, so I knew it was coming. When he invited me to serve in this role, I was ecstatic. The excitement was slightly tainted by nervousness when my Senate confirmation began, but in the end it wasn't so bad. I'm excited for what we've done and what we have planned for the remainder of the term, and it's an honor to serve.
Fortunado: What would you say to new recruits, about manual recruitment?
Rand: Recruitment is like your Mom. You may not like her sometimes, but you'd be dead ten times over if it weren't for her. So give your Mom a hand, and get involved in recruiting!
Fortunado: How important is manual recruiting to our region?
Rand: Well, manual recruiting plays a huge role in our growth and strength. Almost everyone here received a recruitment telegram at some point, especially older members. We might not have ever had some of our biggest players if it weren't for manual recruitment. Without recruitment, we're dead.
Fortunado: Previous terms have had an issue with getting people recruiting. How do you intend to draw crowds to something if it is so necessary to our region?
Rand: I'm very proud of my staff this term. Week 2 we had an astounding 2,845 telegrams sent, thanks to the efforts of my beautiful staff: Aexnidaral (my deputy), Netz, GraVandius, Erebos (my mentor), Writinglegend, r3nnaisancer, Tyler, Kaboomlandia, and myself. Although we have to keep the wave going. The day we become comfortable with our rate is the day we fail. I've also started a "5 Minutes a Day" initiative to encourage recruiting. All it really takes is 5 minutes a day to send 200+ telegrams a week. If 10 people commit to this, we'll be sending 2,000+ every week. Get involved!
Fortunado: How did you come up with "5 Minutes a Day?" Is this going to be a huge thing for Europeia?
Rand: My goal as the Minister is to consistently have us sending 1,500 telegrams every week, preferably distributed evenly throughout the week. That's what the "5 Minutes a Day" initiative is about. It's really a grassroots campaign: a lot of people doing a little bit goes a long way. With the average telegramming rate, 5 minutes a day sends more than 200 telegrams a week. Everybody has a free 5 minutes: the only obstacle is getting the word out there. I hope it becomes a big thing, like "an apple a day," but that's out of my hands. The power to make this happen lies in the hands of the citizens.
Fortunado: How successful has "5 Minutes a Day" been?
Rand: So far we're making pretty good numbers, but we need more people to make the commitment and get involved. I've been very pleased with the consistency and dedication of our recruiters. One name that comes to mind is GraVandius, who sends at least 100 every week.
Fortunado: Do you think merging the Ministry of Citizen Integration and Ministry of Regional Recruitment was a good idea?
Rand: I think it's a logical partnership. A successful recruitment to the Minister of Regional Recruitment is moving to the region. As the guy in charge of recruitment and integration, it forces me to be concerned with the whole process. Moving to the region, applying for citizenship, and sticking around.
Fortunado: Any other words you have for aspiring recruiters?
Rand: To anyone interested in helping the region grow: Interior is the place to be. Not only are we responsible for manual recruitment, we also write the recruitment and welcoming telegrams, organize the CSO, and welcome new members. It'd be great to have you!
We then let him free after brainwashing him to do our bidding at a later date. Nobody expects somebody so close to the president to be a sleeper.... We also subconsciously forced him to say, "I love the prequels," every time someone says the number 5. He doesn't know he does it, but we thought it was only fitting.
