HOW TO BECOME A REGIONAL OFFICER
Hello Nevada/California chapter members:
This email is to inform you of the campaign and election process we will follow in order to elect the 2010-2011 NV/CA Regional Officers during the Regional Convention to be held at the Clarion/Holiday Inn in Sacramento, on March 5-6. Being a Regional Officer is a new challenge, with new situations, new pathways, and new rewards. The officers of our region have a significant role in the development, direction, and progress of our region, and as such, need to be committed to the concept of Phi Theta Kappa, and to our region.
If you are unsure of what it is like to be a regional officer, you can contact any of our current officers --their contact info is at the end of this email. There are 7 Board positions, and it is possible that three different students from the same chapter can be elected to the Regional Board (a District VP, the Secretary/Communications VP, and the President).
It is also possible for a regional officer to be a chapter officer, but that is between you and your chapter. NOTE: It is absolutely critical that each regional office have at least one candidate; any vacant positions will not be filled afterwards; thus that position will go an entire year without representation. Advisors are especially encouraged to seek out and urge qualified individuals from their chapters to run for office.
Regional Officer Responsibilities (in a nutshell) include but is not limited to:
* The District VP's responsibilities include contacting and working with other chapters within that officer's District, perhaps even attending induction ceremonies when feasible, and being a keynote speaker. The District VP must maintain communication with the chapters in one's District.
* The Secretary/Communications VP keeps minutes of all Board meetings, distributing the minutes to each member of the Regional Board, and having a summary posted on the regional website. This person will also be responsible for coordinating the biweekly Regional Board teleconferences, and for maintaining the regional website. Basic knowledge of HTML will be immensely helpful. (The big thing is HTML: you will need to commit to learning five or six commands to perform basic layouts when creating or updating a page on the site.) You will need daily access to a computer with the internet, and a working knowledge of social networking and forums -as you will be moderating the forums. Thus candidates for this office should have very good web skills.
* The President has the responsibility of being available to all chapters in the Region --at least by email, if not in person, and also serving as a guest speaker at induction ceremonies or other chapter events, should transportation be feasible. The President supervises the activities of the regional officers; the President is also responsible for coordinating the biweekly Regional Board teleconferences, and for setting the agendas for Board meetings.
** All officers are responsible for overseeing various Regional Projects.
All officers work together to determine the agendas of the Leadership and Regional conferences, conduct workshops, and also preside over General Sessions at those Regional meetings. Officers also have a role at the Summer Honors Institute, and also run the Regional Meeting that is held just prior to the start of the 2010 International Convention (this year in Orlando, Florida).
If you are interested in running for regional office, two emails must be
sent:
You send me an email containing
your name
your email address
your college, chapter name, and district (see attached listing of colleges and districts) the office for which you are campaigning
You should include a candidate's statement --about 250 words, equivalent to no more than one page, double spaced, one inch margins all around, minimum of 12 point font-- which we will post on our regional website. (If your statement runs outside of these limits reckless editing will ensue.) This statement introduces you to the regional membership. When saving this
document, give it the title of your name/office.doc. [ i.e.,
“CharlieKlein/NWVP.doc” etc. Please do not use .docx format. Since you will also be giving a 3 minute speech Friday night (see below) you may want this statement to supplement, rather than repeat, whatever you plan to say in your intro speech.
AND (second email) have your chapter advisor send me an email verifying that you are a member of your chapter in good standing (your advisor received an email from me explaining his/her role in this process).
Both of these emails must be received by me (kleincharles@fhda.edu)
by Feb. 14, 2010.
It is expected that all elected officers will serve their full term, which ends at the following year's (Spring 2011) Regional Convention. There is a stipend/scholarship of up to $150 presented to all officers who successfully complete their tenure.
NOTE: All candidates MUST ATTEND a Candidate's Forum held at the Clarion on Friday March 5, which begins promptly at 4 PM (lasting for about an
hour+; room to be announced later). Here we will review a number of
procedures that will be followed during the election process. Make appropriate travel plans so that you arrive at the hotel in time for this meeting.
As a candidate, you may have a campaign manager, and any other support staff you want to have. You may have a display board (perhaps a "science tri-fold"; max 3 ft by 3 ft or thereabouts) and any other campaign literature or materials (such as ‘give-aways’: candy, pencils, etc.). It is my intention that there will be a display table available for you to use for your campaign material.
During the Friday night General Session, each candidate will give a 3-minute speech, the purpose of which is to explain your qualifications, and why the membership should vote for you. The microphone will be covered at the end of 3 minutes! (So don't get caught mid-sentence.)
NOTE: A candidate MUST garner at least ( 50 % + 1 ) of all votes cast in order to be elected a regional officer, even if you are running unopposed.
(If there are 3 or more candidates for one office, a runoff vote may occur, before the "50 % + 1" rule takes effect. When the voting is down to two candidates, failure by either candidate to win that 50 % + 1 vote will mean that the office will be vacant. (Yes, it has happened where a candidate did not receive the required minimum # of votes.) Each chapter will have only one vote (regardless of how many chapter members are present at the convention) for each of the different offices --that is, a chapter can cast one vote for one candidate for President, cast one vote for Secretary, one vote for NW District VP, one vote for NE District VP, etc.
After the Friday General Session, there will be an opportunity for the general membership to meet with and talk to the different candidates, so you are required to participate in that activity.
During the Saturday morning General Session, there will be a "Q & A"
(question and answer) process where each candidate will be asked a variety of questions; some of those questions coming from the student members and some from the advisors within our region. There will be a panel of 3 people who will be asking all the questions. Each candidate will have a total of five ( 5 ) minutes for Q&A. (The Friday afternoon candidate meeting/forum will describe the logistics/procedures of these two General
Sessions.)
Winning Candidates will be announced and installed as Regional Officers at the conclusion of the Awards Banquet on Saturday night.
NOTE: ALL NEWLY ELECTED OFFICERS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE REGIONAL BOARD MEETING SUNDAY MORNING, which runs from 9 AM until about NOON. We hit the ground running!! You should therefore make return travel plans in such a way as to allow you to be at that meeting for the entire time.
Breakfast will be paid by the region (the first of many benefits!). If you are flying, give yourself reasonable time to get to the airport after the meeting, so consider leaving Sacramento about 1 PM or later.
I wish you well and much success in your endeavor to be a NV/CA Regional Officer. As always, if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Charlie Klein,
NV/CA Regional Coordinator
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