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Nominations for Board Member Elections October 2019

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
October is our annual Board Member Elections! Being a board member is a great way to help the club, and ensure we're doing things you feel would help the club!

There are a total of 9 positions listed below, with the current people serving in those positions. I'll post position descriptions also, but the descriptions aren't necessarily comprehensive.

Being a board member doesn't take up a lot of time commitment. We generally try to have quick meetings/discussions before or after regularly scheduled meetings, but they don't happen every month.
Often time this happens during lunch prior to the meeting, or sometimes over a beer after the meeting, but we're flexible as needed.

Sometimes we'll have conference calls to discuss important topics, BFD planning, meeting logistics, etc. but we understand not everyone is always available.

You can nominate yourself or someone else, but if you nominate someone else, that person has to confirm they're willing to run for that position.

Email Josh at batfishaquatics@gmail.com with your nomination. Nominations will only be accepted through email, at this address, so don't PM Josh, or text him, or knock on his door. Josh will put together a list of nominations to post prior to the meeting. Please submit all nominations by October 7th.

If we have more than one nomination per position, we'll have a vote at the October meeting, which is at a new location for the month of October. You have to be present to vote.

Current board members are as follows:

President: Michael O’Shea
Vice President: Shawn Leffler
Recording Secretary: Abby Siegel
Treasurer: Manuel Moro
Corresponding Secretary: Christine Keys
Member at Large: Charnika Walker
Member at Large: Cory Snyder
Member at Large: Caroline Eppler
Member at Large: Matt Esterly

Feel free to reach out with any questions, or email Josh your nominations, but please don't post random nominations or it likely won't get included.
 

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
President. The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Association and shall preside at all meetings of the organization and of the Board of Directors. He/she shall be authorized to sign checks, drafts, and other orders for the payment of money, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Association. He/she shall also be authorized to enter into any contract or agreement and to execute in the Association's name, along with the Treasurer, any instrument or other writing. He/she shall see that all order and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect. He/she shall have the right to supervise and direct the management and operation of the Association and to make all decisions as to policy and otherwise which may arise between meetings of the Board of Directors, or the members. He/she shall perform such other duties and have such other authority and powers as the members may from time to time prescribe.

Vice President. The Vice President shall assist the President in supervising and directing the management and operation of the Association. He/she shall perform such other duties and have such other authority and powers as the members may from time to time prescribe or as the President may from time to time delegate.

Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the association's funds and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements of the Association and shall deposit all monies and other valuables in the name and to the credit of the Association into depositories designated by the Board of Directors. He/she shall disburse the funds of the Association as ordered by the Board of Directors or the members and provide a financial report at each general meeting and at such other times as the Board of Directors shall direct. He/she shall make all bank statements and other financial records of the Association available to any member upon request. He/she shall be authorized to sign checks, drafts, and other orders for the payment of money, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Association. He/she shall perform such other duties and have such other authority and powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe or as the President may from time to time delegate.

Corresponding Secretary. The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for all publications, fliers, advertisements or other material that the Association shall publish. He/she shall perform such other duties and have such other authority and powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe or as the President may from time to time delegate.

Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary shall maintain minutes of all general meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors and shall make such minutes available to any member upon request. He/she shall notify members of the date and location of meetings by electronic media or other means. He/she shall perform such other duties and have such other authority and powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe or as the President may from time to time delegate.

There are also 4 'At Large' positions, which don't have specific defined roles, but help with all club needs, and have full voting rights.
 

mchambers

Former CCA member
Don't you need a vote of members in October, no matter how many nominations there are, under CCA's by-laws?
 

Becca

Members
This is a really great chance for people who have strong opinions about club operations, are bummed about declining attendance, have great ideas for speakers or events, etc. to step up and chip in :).

Even if you're new to the club, you have something to contribute. There's no such thing as too new, too old, too short, too young (ok, there might be too young), or too many fish...
 

mchambers

Former CCA member
How are you going to vote if there are no contested positions?
You and the rest of the board have 15 days to figure this out. Doesn't seem that difficult to me, having voted for many offices in elections when only one person was running.

The bylaws are clear: "The Board of Directors shall be selected by majority vote of the members present."
 

Becca

Members
You and the rest of the board have 15 days to figure this out. Doesn't seem that difficult to me, having voted for many offices in elections when only one person was running.

The bylaws are clear: "The Board of Directors shall be selected by majority vote of the members present."

You just got yourself nominated, buddy ;-).

There is a point here - if no one runs, how do we vote? If BOD members resign because they're tired (I don't blame them) and no one runs, do we still have a club? If only one person is nominated for each position, what is the point of a vote? It's procedural, sure, but if there are no options does it really mean much? This is why there's an open nomination period. If folks don't like having to vote for someone because there are no other options, then give the club some options and run.
 

JLW

CCA Members
If there are no contested positions, we elect by proclamation. A verbal vote being sufficient. This has been done by many organisations in the past, and I imagine even CCA. It's kinda a "speak now or forever hold your peas" type thing: provided there are no strenuous objections, and there's a loud "yes," the vote passes.

Though this is all moot, as we'll get the board filled and what not, academically. . .

If the club is unable to fill positions, the club will be forced to fold. It can do this, legally (as I understand it) in two ways. It can permanently dissolve, dispensing all assets in accordance with both the bylaws and laws, and cease to exist. That's the obvious one. :)

The board can also select officers Pro Tempore, who will basically act as "officers on paper," and those officers simply annually vote to continue the club, but to do nothing else. After some period, they can restart the club without it having been dissolved.
 

Becca

Members
If long time members who come to most of the meetings, participate in forums, and sell things at auctions won't help keep the club active and on track, maybe it should just fold. Lots of people will complain about how elections are done or who is on the BOD, but the same handful of people volunteer each year to keep the club going and I can't blame them for being burned out.
 

JLW

CCA Members
Hey guys:
<Official Hat>
When nominating someone, please give me their full name, screen name on here, or e-mail address if possible. I have a nomination for "Matt."
Which Matt? :p

Also:
<Personal Opinion Hat>
People do have other commitments, priorities, and responsibilities, and also know their own capabilities and temperaments. No one should accept a board position if they're not sure they're willing and able to serve, and you shouldn't serve out of a sense of guilt. I've been in clubs where the board is a bunch of people who are only on the board because "someone had to do it." What happens is you wind up with nine people who really don't want to be doing this, really can't do this, whatever, and one guy who's losing hair trying to carry the load while screaming that those <UNPUBLISHABLE> aren't doing <UNPUBLISHABLE> what they're supposed to. In the end, it burns out the people who were able to contribute, and pushes away the others, who may very well have been great members, just not great officers. So, in a few months when you need someone to run the BAP, or just bring stuff to the auction.... you've got a board that can't get it together and core members who are gone. And may not come back.

So, yea, don't get pressured into accepting a board position, and don't feel guilty about not doing it. I love this club, and I try to do as much as I can for the club. One of the things I simply can't do is serve on the board. I don't have the time, or the energy, and if I'm being frankly honest, I'm waaaaay too Type A personality for it (plus, with my business, its a tremendous conflict of interest, CCA has an emolument clause, y'know). Sometimes, yea, I feel bad that I can't serve on the board, but I also know that it's better for me and the club that I remain an infamous member.
 

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
As Josh stated, voting is essentially a formality if we're not actually choosing people. There have actually been years in the past where we had to solicit people just to fill the 9 positions, let alone have people excited to be involved. I'd be happier if we had several people running for each position, but its been a while since that happened.

We like having people who can attend most meetings, and are available to help with extracurricular activities, but we've settled for people who are willing to participate. No criticism of current or past board members, its just been the nature of how things work. I'm 100% fine if you can't make every meeting, or can't always volunteer for extra stuff, but having people who want to contribute in some way, and help when they can is great.

In the past we've also had people who helped out with a ton of stuff, but were hesitant to help on the board. We definitely appreciate that though, because we don't want all of the work done by board members. So don't be afraid to volunteer to help if you're not on the board, but its something you should consider if you're able to provide some help most of the time.

The one thing that doesn't help is when people say we should be doing this and that, or not doing that, but are unwilling to help in the process. We welcome any and all opinions/feedback, but I generally will disregard armchair quarterbacks.
 

JLW

CCA Members
Do keep the nominations rolling in, and remember you can nominate yourself, too. So, if you're interested in being President, feel free to nominate yourself!
 

JLW

CCA Members
Just wanted to give an update on where we are with this. Remember, the slate isn't secret, so feel free to announce you're running, or interested in running, campaign if you want to. :p

We have Michael O'Shea running for President.
We have Kim Coates, Andrew Schwartz, and Matt Easterly running for Members at Large.
We have Becca Goldring running for Corresponding Secretary.

I've got a couple of other Member at Large nominations who haven't responded yet, and one Treasurer nomination that hasn't responded yet.

We obviously need more nominations. We have no one running for Vice President, for Recording Secretary, or that forth Member at Large position. We need someone to step up and volunteer or nominate themselves, or nominate someone else.
 

JLW

CCA Members
A couple of updates:

Shawn Leffler and Greg O'Neil are joining the "Members at Large" pool.

We still have no one in the running for VP, Recording Secretary, or Treasurer (though someone has been nominated for RS and T, neither has replied yes or no yet).
 

JLW

CCA Members
updated version
President: Mike O'Shea
Vice President: No Nomination
Treasurer: Charnika
Recording Secretary: No Nomination
Correspond Secretary: Becca

Member at Large (Four Positions)
Shawn Leffler
Greg O'Neil
Brett "Wet Sleeves"
Kim Coates
Andrew Schwartz
Matt Easterly
 
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