NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

Chaired by: Holly Waterfield – meehanha@oneonta.edu
Board Oversight: Region 4 Director Mike Perry

Nominations Committee Description

Objective

The Society needs active, dedicated leaders to grow and function effectively. Identifying these people and encouraging them to seek positions of leadership in the Society are the primary functions of the Nominations Committee.

Organization

The committee chair and members are appointed by the President.  There is no limit to the number of members who may serve on the committee.  The committee makeup should provide a balanced geographic and professional/nonprofessional representation of the NALMS membership.

Activities and Procedures

The Nominations Committee identifies potential candidates and solicits nominations from the membership for the expiring Officers and Board of Director positions according to the following procedures:

  1. A call for nominations should appear in two issues of Lake Line (approximately 120 days before the date of the Board's Annual Meeting)
  2. Nominations should be made in writing to the nominations committee. Each potential candidate must be nominated and seconded by an active NALMS member. Candidates must be current NALMS members. Nominations are due no later than 90 days before the Annual Meeting of the Board.
  3. Prior to accepting any nomination, the nominee should review the Operations Manual portions relevant to the prospective position and discuss the responsibilities of the position with the current officer or director.
  4. The committee reviews all nominations for compliance with the Bylaws.
  5. The committee reviews the qualifications of all nominees, and prepares a ballot with a maximum of three candidates per position. Uncontested races are strongly discouraged. Criteria for screening nominees should include, but is not limited to:
    • demonstrated interest in the Society and leadership capability as shown by prior experience and performance on committees or as a Board member;
    • acceptance by the nominee of the duties outlined in the Operations Manual, particularly with respect to willingness and ability to attend Board meetings; and
    • membership history.

    Furthermore, the committee shall attempt to ensure that:

    • the ballot fairly represents all of the various interest groups which comprise NALMS' membership such as lake homeowners, laypersons, academia, government, consultants, industry, etc., and
    • the ballot fairly represents all geographic areas in the choice of officers.

Each candidate shall be given the opportunity to present his/her qualifications, goals, and views to the membership in a written bio-sketch that accompanies the ballot. These statements (including biographical information) shall be limited to 500 words for President-Elect, and 200 words for all other Officer and Board positions.

The first paragraph of the bio-sketch (approximately 100 words in length) should be written in the third person. It should objectively summarize the candidate's biographical information (education, employment, lake management related activities, participation in NALMS, etc.).

The second paragraph of the bio-sketch for Officer and Board positions (and all following paragraphs for President-Elect) should be written in the first person and enclosed in quotation marks. In this paragraph, the candidate is to express his/her goals and views to the membership.

Any major editing of the bio-sketches should be done by the Nominations Committee, with only very minor editing by the NALMS office. The NALMS office shall send proofs of the final ballot and bio-sketches to the Nominations Committee Chair for approval prior to electronic balloting.

  • The ballot shall include a space for write-in candidates.
  • Notification of the opening of the balloting period shall be sent to all NALMS members in good standing and to each state, provincial or regional chapter of NALMS. Notification methods should include a post to all members, a notice in the LakeLine and on the NALMS website. Postcards must be mailed to members at least 60 days in advance of the annual meeting of the Board. The balloting period must end no later than 15 days before the annual meeting of the Board.
  • Balloting shall be conducted electronically as directed by the NALMS Board and coordinated by the NALMS staff.
  • The ballots should be counted by the NALMS staff and/or chair of the Nominations Committee.
  • Ties will be broken by random drawing.
Results of the election must be forwarded by mail or email to all candidates and all members of the Board of Directors immediately after the election results are determined. Successful candidates should be encouraged to attend the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Board.