Nominations Process Coming to a Close

by Ted Edwins, Past-President and Nominations Manager

The process of collecting nominations for next year's council is well underway. We are pleased that a number of the present council have already signed up. We are also encouraged to have had new people take up a task. However, we are still well short of our goals.

Time Requirements and Positions

We have about 27 'management' type positions to fill. These positions are either as head of a committee or as leader of one of our Special Interest Groups (SIGs). There are also a number of committee member positions still available. No matter how much time you have to devote, we have a volunteer task for you.

Council understands the demands on a person's time. That is why we have worked very hard over the past few years to divide committee work into small chunks, so that people can more easily fit the work into their schedule. The range of tasks varies from commitments of a year to a few hours.

President for a Term

Among the most important of these positions still available is President. As President, you are the public face of the chapter. You are required to lead council meetings and provide information to fellow council members to help them complete their projects. The most satisfying part of the job is to present awards to chapter members. You get to meet many members of the chapter, establishing a network of contacts that you can use in your career. The President also has $1000 of expenses covered so that they can attend the STC International Conference and participate in Leadership Day. I found Leadership Day to be the best part of the conference because I was able to talk with other chapter leaders, get ideas for our chapter, and discover that all chapters face the same challenges as we do.

More Information

For more information about council positions, please consult last month's Quill or go to http://www.stc-soc.org/surveys/councilnominations.php. You can link to pages describing the positions and to an online form that you can use to nominate yourself or another person. You can also contact me at nominations@stc-soc.org.

Our Future

I urge you to volunteer. As I've said before, the health of the chapter and our ability to provide stimulating programs of interest to you, our members, rests solely on the volunteers we are able to attract. If we are unable to get the number of volunteers needed, we may have to cut back on the services we provide. We would rather maintain and expand our services to give value for your membership dollar. To do that, we need your help. I hope to see you at the council table next year.