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The Rio Grande chapter will be holding its annual election of board members starting
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Nov. 15. It will include the election of the board’s 11 seats and approval of the chapter’s bylaws.
Five executive positions are open on the board — president, vice president of communications, vice president of development, secretary and treasurer. All board members serve one year terms starting Jan. 1 and running until Dec. 31. Meetings are typically every other month in Santa Fe or Albuquerque or by conference call. One face-to-face meeting is required by the chapter’s bylaws.
In general, the president serves as the CEO of the board; vice president of communications deals with getting the word out about chapter news, events and job listings and chairs the communication team; vice president of development deals with membership and chairs the membership team; vice president secretary is responsible for taking notes at chapter meetings and vice president treasurer tracks the chapters revenues and expenditures. For more, please see below.
Board members will be asked to serve on various committees during their tenure on the board.
Some of the neat things the chapter has done thanks to the efforts of the board members include a half-day event on reporting on Indian Country; a Freedom of Information workshop; a night with Eric Draper, a White House Photographer for President George W. Bush; a full day multimedia workshop; and Party Like a Journalist networking event for the area’s media professionals held in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Those interested in running must be members of the chapter in good standing. If you are interested in running, please submit your intent to run and two paragraphs on why you should serve on the board and your qualifications by Nov. 4. Please also send a photo of yourself.
Candidates will be listed on the chapter’s Facebook page and website. A draft of the chapter’s bylaws also need to be approved by the membership. Electronic voting will begin Nov. 15 and continue through midnight Nov. 22.
If you have questions, e-mail Rivkela Brodsky, chair of the election committee, at rivkela@nmspj.org.
Here are what the bylaws say about executive positions:
President: The President shall be the chief executive officer and shall direct the business and affairs of the chapter. The President shall assure that the chapter conforms to the requirements of the national Society. The President shall have the power to delegate such functions to the other officers as necessary. The President shall have the power to create committees or teams of officers, directors, members or any combination thereof, to further the business and affairs of the chapter. The President shall perform other functions customarily associated with such a title
Vice-President — Communications: This Vice-President is the officer in charge of chapter communications, which can include newsletters, website, other electronic communications or any other appropriate tool. May appoint members to assist with the internal communications work, including a newsletter editor. The VP-Communications chairs the communications team.
Vice-President — Development: This Vice-President is in charge of membership development and may appoint other members to assist with contacts of prospective members and membership campaigns. The VP-Development chairs the development team.
Vice-President — Secretary: Maintains official minutes of all membership, Board, and Executive meetings when official business is being conducted. He/she shall the custodian of chapter records.
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Vice-President – Treasurer: Maintains financial books of account. He/she shall have custody of chapter funds and securities and shall make disbursements of funds in accordance of chapter policies and at the direction of the Executive Committee. He/she files any reports required, including the annual report to national SPJ, and submits books to chapter’s Audit Committee for annual audit.
