Opportunities for National Officer Team Positions – The Process Starts NOW!

During the Spring and Summer months, Women’s Council National “drips” leadership opportunities and processes.

• Last March through May, we outlined leadership opportunities through NAR and the Leadership Identification and Development process.
• In May and June, we outlined the Leadership Institute opportunity.

If you are considering becoming a national officer, July and August are the months you want to act! This will outline the process and everything you need to know.

What national officer positions are available?

Available one-year term positions include President-elect, First Vice President, Treasurer, and a National Liaison from each of the three geographical regions. Here is a short description of each position:

• National Liaisons oversee the work of the Women’s Council in their respective regions (West, Central, East) and act as the representative of the President in such matters as may be assigned to them.  This is the second year of National Liaison opportunities becoming available, which is an enhanced transformation of the role formerly known as Regional Vice President, approved last May 2019.
  
  
• The Treasurer shall submit the annual budget to the Governing Board for its approval. The Treasurer shall make the annual budget available to the National Association upon request. The Treasurer shall serve as chairperson of the Finance and Budget Committee and shall review financial matters of the Women’s Council monthly. The Treasurer shall report on the financial affairs of the Women’s Council to the Executive Committee and the Governing Board.
  
  
• The First Vice President approves the records and performs other such duties as are customary to the office, including acting as Secretary for the Governing Board and the Executive Committee, when necessary.
  
  
• The President-elect shall perform the duties of the President in the event of the President’s disability or absence.  This position automatically moves up to President.  

Do positions automatically “move up” to another level?

The President-elect automatically moves up to President.  No other position automatically “moves up” per the national bylaws.  In practice, however, what typically happens is a Treasurer will file for office, campaign and run for First Vice President, then repeat the process to President-elect.  Beyond Treasurer, the races are historically not contested. This is because a Treasurer role is a good stepping stone to move up the leadership ladder and an understanding of finances qualifies the leader to then move to First Vice President, serving in a Secretary role.  With these two years of solid experience and training, it then provides a base to move onto the President-elect role and the leader becomes more visible and credible to voting members. Any candidate who wishes to run for First Vice President or President-elect and is not following the typical progression or “leadership ladder” needs to know and understand that the race will almost certainly be challenged by an incumbent moving along the “ladder” and that not following the ladder is atypical.  Again, however, it is permissible via the bylaws and any candidate will be permitted due process to the extent the candidate follows the processes outlined in this article.  National is committed to following our governing documents such as national bylaws and welcomes all candidates to run.  

What are the qualifications of each role?

Other than being a member in good standing, our bylaws allow any member to run.  Note, however, that filing an application is the first step in a long process.  The nominating committee will seek preferred leadership qualities and experience as outlined in the National Information and Forms page.

What are the steps involved and the timeline?

• Early September 2020: file an application and consent to serve and send it to the Executive Vice President at jhornberger@wcr.org.  Visit National Information and Forms page.
  
  
• October 2020: Attend a campaign guidelines Zoom call. Upon attendance of this session, candidates are authorized to begin campaigning for the position. We encourage you to touch base with networks to travel, visit, and campaign. Campaigning lasts from October through mid-May 2021.  
  
  
• November 2020: Nominating committee (nine individuals, see section 9 of national bylaws) will interview all candidates and a candidate slate will be produced shortly after the meetings. Dates will be advised, but you can expect that in 2020 the meetings will be held via Zoom in early November. Note, whether or not you are slated for a position, you may proceed with the process.  
  
  
• November 2020: Candidates will deliver campaign speeches to the governing board. Note, speech guidelines will be provided by the Executive Vice President but you can expect that it will be 3 minutes in length and the audience will be all registered conference attendees (600+). November meetings will be held via Zoom in early to mid-November. Check the events page on wcr.org, but the EVP will be in touch.
  
  
• February 2021: Structured campaign visibility events will be organized at the national “Wealth Building Summit” an electronic meeting designed to kick off the new business year. This will give you visibility to the 2021 voting delegates.
  
  
• May 2021:  Elections to be held at Midyear meetings in mid-May in Washington, DC. To understand who 2021 voting delegates are, see section 10 of the national bylaws, which can be found on the national information and forms page.
  
  
• November 2021:  Officers officially installed and the term begins the Tuesday after the national conference.