Section 6.32

NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS AND AREA DIRECTORS

I. QUALIFICATIONS FOR REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS AND AREA DIRECTORS

Regional Vice Presidents of even numbered regions shall be elected in even numbered years.

Regional Vice Presidents in odd numbered regions shall be elected in odd numbered years.

Area Directors will be elected in both even and odd numbered years to ensure there is not 100% turnover of Area Directors in any given year. The schedule will be determined by the Society Nominations and Elections Committee.

• Regional Vice Presidents and Area Directors shall:
• Be a Professional Member of the Society for one year prior to taking office.
• Reside, or be employed, and must hold their primary ASSE chapter membership in a chapter within the Region the RVP represents.
• Be elected by members of the Region represented.
• Have held one of the following offices:  Chapter President, Area Director, Practice Specialty Administrator, Society committee chair for one year.

II. TERMS OF OFFICE

The terms of office for Regional Vice Presidents and Area Directors shall commence on July 1 of the year in which they are elected and continue for a period of two (2) years, or until a successor has been elected. They shall not serve more than two (2) consecutive full terms as Regional Vice President or Area Director.

III. NOMINATION OF REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS AND AREA DIRECTORS

Each Regional Nominations Committee shall present no more than two (2) nominees for Regional Vice President and Area Director.

IV. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

The Regional Nominations Committee shall consist of a minimum of five members, including the elected Deputy Regional Vice President, one Area Director (in Regions with Areas)  and at least two Chapter Presidents.  The Deputy Regional Vice President shall serve as chair.  In the event that the Deputy Regional Vice President is running for office, the Region Operating Committee shall appoint a Regional Nominations Committee Chair.  The chair shall be a Professional Member. The name of the Regional Nominations Committee Chair is to be sent to the Director of Member/Region Affairs immediately following appointment.  

The Regional Operating Committee (ROC) will appoint the Regional Nominations Committee. No one serving on a Regional Nominations Committee may be nominated as a candidate by the committee.

The Regional Nominations Committee is encouraged to be appointed and begin their nominations process prior to May 1.  If this procedure is followed, the appointed committee is to continue until their business is finished with the receipt of nominations by August 15 and the submission of candidates by the Chair on or before November 1.  The Regional Nominations Committee shall provide a slate of qualified nominees, who are capable of fulfilling the duties of the Region and Area offices.

V. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

By no later than July 1, the Regional Nominations Committee Chair should solicit self-nominations of qualified Professional Members in the Region and, where applicable, Areas up for election. Each Chapter President in the Region should receive the call for nominations. Note: Self-nominations by members in response to Society call for nominations will be forwarded to the Regional Nominations Chair for consideration by the Regional Nominations Committee.

The committee chair should allow up to 45 days response to their call for nominations, keeping in mind the August 15th deadline. The committee chair should request the submission of the required documents listed in Section VI from respondents to the call for nomination.

The Regional Nominations Committee may identify and contact potential candidates to encourage members to submit nomination packets to the committee.

Chapters & Area Nominations:

1. Chapter Presidents and Area Directors may forward nominations of qualified professional members to the Regional Nominations Committee. Nominations must be submitted to the member by July 15th to allow for time to obtain candidate nomination materials from the member.
2. A nominee does not have to be a member of the Area or Chapter making the nomination, but does have to have their primary chapter membership in a Chapter in the Region.

VI. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR NOMINATION TO THE REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

A. REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS: Nominated members from the Regional Nominations Committee process should submit the following documents to the Regional Nominations Committee Chair by August 15th. The documents for the selected candidates will be forwarded to Society Headquarters to arrive by November 1.

• Completed Region/Area Office Candidate Form
• Work related resume.
• Proposed 250 word biography.
• Proposed platform statement (limited to 300 words).
• Signed employer’s statement of support addressed to the Society’s Nominations and Elections Committee Chair.
• Signed letter of intent to run for office.
• Signed Standard Accountability Letter for the position (see SOG 6.34)

B. AREA DIRECTORS: Nominated members from the Regional Nominations Committee process should submit the following documents to the Regional Nominations Committee Chair by August 15th. The documents for the selected candidates will be forwarded to Society Headquarters to arrive by November 1.

• Work related resume.
• Proposed 250 word biography.
• Proposed platform statement (limited to 250 words).
• Signed employer’s statement of support addressed to the Society’s Nominations and Elections Committee Chair.
• Signed letter of intent to run for office.
• Signed Standard Accountability Letter for the position (see SOG 6.34).

VII. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE PROCEDURES

1. Selecting Candidates.  After August 15th:
1. The Chair shall ensure that all candidate packets received are distributed to each member of the Regional Nominations Committee. The criteria and basis for voting shall be clearly explained.
2. The Chair shall convene a meeting of the Committee no sooner than fourteen days after the distribution of the candidate packets and no later than October 24th to ensure the information is submitted to the Society Nominations & Election Committee by November 1st.
3. The Committee shall review the completed Region/Area Candidate Form, as completed by the prospective candidates (See Section X). The committee members will rate the potential candidates from 1 to 10 on each Objective element. Greater weight shall be given to service on the Regional Operating Committee, Area Operating Committee, or Society committees, as well as more emphasis on service and contributions within the most current 5 years.
4. The committee members will complete the Candidate Subjective Elements Form (See Section XI) for each potential candidate and rank each element from 1 to 5. Again, greater weighting should be given to service and contributions on a Society scale, with more emphasis on the most recent 5 years.
5. An open and frank discussion shall take place on all candidates that are considered for positions. This discussion will utilize information from the Region/Area Candidate Form and the Candidate Subjective Elements Form. Confidentiality of proceedings of the committee is essential and members shall refrain from discussing actions of the Committee outside of the group.
6. Following the discussion, the candidates for each position shall be ranked to determine at least two who will be offered as candidates (See Section XII). Members of the Committee shall privately rank all candidates for office in order of preference, i.e. one, two, three, four, five, with five being the highest rank. The Chair then collects and adds the numerical ranking for each candidate. The candidates with the highest totals will be the nominees for the positions as designated.

B. MEETING: At a meeting of the Regional Nominations Committee a quorum is established when a plurality of the Committee are present.

C. Submission of Candidate Materials to the Society

By no later than November 1, the Regional Nominations Chair shall submit the results of the candidate selection that was recorded by the Chair, and a copy of the record (See Section XII), together with the required documents on the selected candidates (See Section VI) to the chair of the Society Nominations and Elections Committee, care of the Director, Member/Region Affairs.

VIII. PETITION NOMINATION

The Bylaws (Article VII, Sec. 4), also provide for Petition Nomination, wherein Society members may submit nominations for Society offices by petition after a designated number of signatures of members are collected in support of a petitioner’s bid to be placed on a ballot. Members who plan to file a petition for Society office should notify the Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee and the Director of Member/Region Affairs.  Petition requirements for each office are as follows:

• For Regional Vice President, five percent of signatures of resident members of the Region with no more than 15 percent from any one chapter.
• For Area Director, five percent of signatures of resident members of the Area.
• A signature on a petition conveys no meaning other than the petitioner is seeking a place on the ballot by collecting a sufficient number of member signatures. There is no implied endorsement of a petitioner on the part of the signer nor on the part of the presenter of a petition, which is often a party other than the petitioner, such as a Chapter President who may have received a copy of a petition to present to Chapter members. Members may choose to sign a petition or not. In either case, they exercise their voting privilege and responsibility by voting for the candidate of their choice when they receive their official ballot. Candidates that decide to file a petition shall immediately come under the same campaigning rules (SOG 6.35) as other selected candidates.
• Petition nominations shall be submitted no later than December 1 of the election year. Petition candidates shall be confirmed to the staff liaison by December 14.
• Rules for Electronic Submission of Signatures for the Petition Process (E-mail signatures): If a potential candidate solicits signatures via e-mail to have his or her name placed on the ballot, the e-mail submitted by the member must contain the member's full name, ASSE ID number, Region and Chapter name. Potential candidates seeking signatures in this fashion must notify the Director, Member/Region Affairs no later than November 16 so a specific e-mail address can be created. Members interested in submitting an electronic signature for the potential candidate must use the e-mail address created by the Society in order to have their signature counted. Responses are sent directly to the Society and staff will be responsible for verifying the authenticity and validity of each electronic signature.

IX. CANDIDATE PETITION NOTIFICATION FORM

• The Nominations and Elections Committee each year nominates two candidates for each Society office. The Bylaws, Article VII, section 4, provide that Society members may submit nominations for Society offices by petition after a designated number of signatures of members are collected in support of a petitioner's bid to be placed on a ballot.
• Petition sample:  Include the paragraph below on the petition,
• The signatures below do not constitute an endorsement of a candidate. A sufficient number of member signatures allow the petitioner to have his/her name placed on a ballot. This petition may be transmitted in the most efficient and effective means available in order to meet the December 1st deadline.
• Petition for: ____________________
  (office)
• The candidate named below meets the Bylaws qualifications in that s/he is a Professional Member of the Society.

X. SPECIAL ELECTION OF REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT/AREA DIRECTOR

If a vacancy in a Regional Vice President or Area Director office occurs during a term, the vacancy will be filled according to the procedure specified in the Society Bylaws, Article VI, Sec. 4, (D). The bylaws state that the office shall be filled by  ballot of Regional or Area members upon a nomination submitted by the Regional Nominations Committee and approved by the Society Nominations and Elections Committee. Except if such vacancy occurs within the final year of the term, the vacancy shall be filled by the Deputy Regional Vice President, subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

XI.  REGION/AREA CANDIDATE FORM

FOR CANDIDATE:
The attached form is designed to capture information regarding your contributions to the safety profession, the Society, Region, Area, Chapter and your employer. This form is condensed for the purpose of this SOG. The actual form can be obtained electronically from Society Headquarters or on the Society web site.

Please give a detailed listing of contributions, activities, service, etc., listing most recent accomplishments first and providing any relevant comments. You may provide attachments to this form to supplement and/or validate information supplied. DO NOT COMPLETE OR ENTER ANY INFORMATION IN THE "POINTS" COLUMN“THIS SECTION RESERVED FOR THE REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE.

For REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:
For each element of the REGION/AREA Candidate Form, rate the potential candidate from 1 to 10. Service on the Board, Society Committees, Society events, etc. should be given greater weighting. Also, service/contribution within the past 5 years is to be given greater weighting. In no event can a potential candidate's rating be higher than 10 in any one individual element. Maximum score for all objective elements is 100.

REGION/AREA CANDIDATE FORM

OBJECTIVE ELEMENTS

XII. CANDIDATE SUBJECTIVE ELEMENTS FORM

For REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:
For each element of the Candidate Subjective Elements Form, rate the potential candidate from 1 to 5. Again when rating, greater weighting should be placed on service/contributions on a Society scale and within the past 5 years. In no event can the potential candidate's rating be higher than 5 in any one individual element. Maximum score for all subjective elements is 25.

CANDIDATE SUBJECTIVE ELEMENTS FORM

Total Score - Subjective Elements: __________________________________________

XIII. REGIONAL NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE CANDIDATE RANKING

INSTRUCTIONS
In the table below, write the names of all qualified potential candidates in alphabetical order. Beside the potential candidate's name give a numeric ranking based upon the Objective and Subjective criteria form, platform statements, biography and any discussion conducted within the Committee. The highest ranking candidate should be given the number one, second highest - two, third - three, etc., until all candidates have been ranked. Add any comments you may feel appropriate to support your placement/ranking.

Approved By/Date:  2/19/11

Replaces Edition Dated: 06/08

Next Revision Due: ---