The Last Word:
Elections, Always in Process
USITT’s elections process evokes, for me, stories about painting the Golden Gate Bridge. The painters begin at one end of the span and, over several years, they reach the other end at which time they need to apply another coat. They go back to where they started and begin the process anew.
The paint is applied to protect the structure of the bridge and keep it in good working order. The same rationale applies to electing the leaders of the Institute.
The structure of the Institute is that election for various positions occurs each year. The Nominations Committee’s ongoing task is to find members who can fulfill the requirements of the offices. With the counting of the ballots for the most recent election barely completed, the Committee has already begun work recruiting next year’s candidates.
In the coming election cycle, six Director positions will be open; therefore, the committee will be able to put 12 names on the ballot. See the nominations process and form here.
In this most recent election, some members took advantage of the petition process to add their names to the ballot. This option is available once the Committee completes its work. Additional nomination petitions are due in the early fall. It is the Committee’s practice to not differentiate between nominees put forward by the Committee and those added by petition.
The success of USITT requires involved members and committed leaders. Identifying those members ready and capable of leading the Institute into its next 50 years is the critically important task of the Nominations Committee.
The link for the next election cycle is usitt.org-elections. The “nominator” fills out and submits the form. Then the nominee is notified by e-mail to complete their portion of the form. For those who want to expedite the process, self-nomination is available. The Committee will receive the forms for the coming cycle of nominations two-weeks before the Conference, so members can review them and prepare discussions at the Conference. Look for those wearing a button identifying them as Nominations Committee members and chat with them if you are interested in becoming a future nominee.
This cycle’s committee members, representing the Institute’s diverse constituencies are:
Jimmie Byrd, Secretary/Committee Chair: Clairemarie Verheyen, Chip Haas, Kate Ellis, Linda Pisano, Paul Vincent, Karen Maness, Shane Kelly, Sarah Brewer, Vickie Scott, Jason Foreman, Gareth Conner, and Emily Gill.
I, and all the Committee members, look forward to Cincinnati and seeing you all again.
