Connie Leonard, 2018-2019 CWEA President & Executive Committee Chair, CDM Smith
By Connie Leonard, 2018-2019 CWEA President & Executive Committee Chair, CDM Smith, [email protected].
I am pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the 2019 CWEA State Board of Directors positions. Your local section and committee officers received the Executive Committee request for nominations for CWEA Directors and Officers last week. Below is a summary of the nomination process – and how you can become involved in selecting your leaders. See the CWEA website at www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_likeleader_jcb_ni.shtml for board nominations information and forms. Nomination forms must be in by December 17, 2018.
Serving on CWEA’s Board not only allows you to give back to the profession that we care so much about but also provides you with an outstanding leadership and professional development opportunity.
The Nomination Process
Per the CWEA Constitution and Bylaws, the Executive Committee serves as the nominating committee, and is made up of the current President, Past President, and the Chairs of the three board committees. The President chairs the Executive Committee. The members of this year’s Executive Committee are:
Committee Chair,
Every year the Executive Committee requests nominations from the membership, local sections, and CWEA committees for candidates able and willing to perform the duties and responsibilities of the positions open for nomination. Nominees are vital to the continued success of CWEA. This is an opportunity to function at a higher volunteer level and get involved in setting the future direction of the Association.
The selection process is handled much the same as a typical job recruitment process. The Executive Committee reviews each nominee’s questionnaire and considers their employment, activity in the water environment field, level of CWEA activity, leadership qualities and values, competencies they would bring to help build CWEA’s future, record of prior duties and commitments, understanding of the workings of the Association, the nominees’ views and opinions on the future needs of CWEA, and the desire for the CWEA Board to represent the diversity of the membership. It also allows the nominees the opportunity to expand upon their qualifications and their ability to serve in these key positions. The Executive Committee also conducts a phone interview with each nominee for the Vice President’s position.
Following this process, the Executive Committee presents the recommended slate to the CWEA Board for approval at the January Board meeting. The slate of candidates is subsequently presented to the membership for a vote at the business meeting during the annual conference in April. At that time any member may nominate another member from the floor to be considered by the membership along with those candidates presented by the Executive Committee. The exact protocol is described in the CWEA Constitution: www.cwea.org/members/mlr_leader_board_gd_const.shtml
This year the Executive Committee requests your help in soliciting nominees for the following positions:
The Vice-President nominee will become President in their third year of service and will serve on the Executive Committee and the Planning and Program Development Committee of the Board. The Director at-large from the South will become a member of the Operations Committee and become the CWEA Treasurer in the third year on the Board; thus, consideration of nominees will include experience in financial matters.
WEF Delegate Directors and Directors at-Large serve a three-year term of office and also function as CWEA Board members. To preserve balance in the numbers of representatives from the North and South, WEF Delegate Directors from the North are replaced by representatives from the South, and vice-versa. As the term of WEF Delegate Director from the South (Ian Mackenzie) is ending in 2019 the WEF Delegate Director Position will be filled from the North. WEF Delegate Directors are elected in April, but do not take office until October, at WEF’s annual conference. WEF Delegate Directors-Elect are expected to attend CWEA Board meetings beginning immediately upon their election.
Vice Presidential nominees will also participate in an interview with the Executive Committee by phone early January. Candidates will be selected based on the responses to the questionnaire, resume, and, if applicable, the phone interview.
Nominations for all candidates must be submitted in writing to the CWEA office and received by December 17, 2018, with a brief biography of the candidate. Candidates should have confirmed their willingness to serve and submitted a picture and a completed questionnaire concerning their qualifications and commitment by December 17, 2018 – the date the nominations are due. If you are unable to contact the person you are nominating, please submit early so that staff can request the information from them on your behalf.
Feel free to contact me with any questions about the nominating process. If you wish to submit a nomination, please submit your written nomination and a brief biography/resume and jpg photo of the candidate by December 17, 2018.
Connie Leonard, CWEA President
c/o CWEA
7677 Oakport Street, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94621
email: [email protected]
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