The officers of the SWE SNH section are president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The section officers comprise the Executive Council (EC) and serve for one fiscal year to coincide with the Society’s fiscal year of July 1 to June 30. The voting members of the section elect the section officers.
The officers must be voting members of the Society who are assigned to the section. The president and vice president must also be non-collegiate members of the Society. Collegiate members who will be assigned to the section may be candidates for positions other than president or vice president provided they will be members of the section and will qualify for professional membership before the start of the term of office; however, they must meet these requirements in order to serve.
Section Officer Position Descriptions
The president is the recognized section leader and usual first contact, making the position a day-to-day commitment. The president resides at section and EC meetings, appoints committee chairs, authorizes section expenditures, coordinates activities and executes the business and policies of the section between meetings. The president is ultimately responsible for all aspects of section activity and section vitality.
Commitment:
– Attendance at all EC meetings
– Recommended attendance at all section activities
– Additional 10-15 hours per month, plus 2-4 hrs prep per EC meeting
The vice president works directly with the president supporting that role and assigned section activities (such as promoting membership and liaison to professional organizations) and is the designated backup when the president is unavailable.
Commitment:
– Attendance at EC meetings
– Additional time to be determined by task assignment
The secretary maintains the records of the section and handles most communication activities including announcements and reporting.
Commitment:
– Attendance at all EC meetings plus 2-3 hrs for minutes prep and reporting
– Additional 2-4 hrs per month for correspondence and email list maintenance
– Additional 1-2 hrs per month for announcement preparation
The treasurer is responsible for the collection, distribution, and safekeeping of section funds; preparing, maintaining and reporting the section financial position in relation to the approved budget; and submitting year end financial reports to SWE headquarters; and required tax filing. This can include fund development, section scholarships and special events.
Commitment:
– Attendance at EC meetings
– 2-4 hrs monthly for bookkeeping and budget updates
– 8-12 hrs yearly for budget development
– 8-12 hrs yearly for FY financial report to Headquarters, due July 31st
– Filing taxes for IRS via E-File (Nov 15)
– Additional annual time for initiation and maintenance of accounts
Nomination and Election Process
Under the current SWE-SNH bylaws, the EC is responsible to solicit candidates from the section members and issue a slate which includes members who are both qualified to run and have expressed their interest in writing to the president. Any candidate, including petitioners must submit a “Willingness to be Considered” form. Two tellers, who are not candidates arrange for the distribution of ballots, receive and count the votes, and report the results to the president.
Per the SWE-SNH bylaws the slate of officers is to be announced by April 15. Elections must be completed by June 30th.
Nomination by Petition Procedure
Following the slate being issued, additional candidates may be nominated by petition:
- The member is eligible for the position;
- The member has given written consent to being placed on the ballot;
- A minimum of five voting section members have signed a petition or endorsed an email to place the candidate’s name on the ballot; and
- The petition, together with the written consent, is submitted to the executive council within fifteen days after the slate is announced to the members of the section, whichever is later.
