We Need Your Votes: MFAeA Elections 2010

By Neely Woods Hunter

The 2010 election cycle for Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association is underway. The cycle begins with the Nominating Committee soliciting suggestions for open office and director positions and ends with certification of ballots.

A new elections process was instituted for the 2009 election cycle which collected ballots electronically or via mail so that all activated members had the opportunity to vote without needing to attend Homecoming in April. That election had more recorded votes than any previous election for the association. That election filled three officer positions - Vice President, Treasurer, & Secretary – and all nine director positions – the terms of the directors were drawn at random at the first official meeting of the new board in July 2009 to stagger future election cycles. Three directors drew one-year terms, three drew two-year terms, and three drew three-year terms.

This year’s election is for three officer positions and three director positions. The officers of Treasurer and Secretary are elected annually. The officer of Vice President is elected annually as well and then succeeds to the offices of President-Elect, President, & Immediate Past President over their four-year term. This year’s directors will be elected to three year terms.

The Nominating Committee will review all submissions and then present a slate to the board for approval. All alumnae and alumni nominated must agree to serve and be activated members of the association. Once the board approves a slate it will be posted to the association website and distributed to activated association members.

The equivalent of “Floor” nominations will be accepted for 2 weeks after the posting of the Board approved slate. Anyone may nominate someone “from the floor” (via electronic or mail-in form), but all nominees must agree to serve and be activated association members before their names will be added to the ballot.

Alumnae and Alumni will have until the end of the floor nomination period to activate their 2009-2010 memberships to be considered for office, directorship or to be eligible to vote in the 2010 election.

Association members eligible to vote can elect to receive their ballot via email or postal mail. Once ballot notifications have been mailed, balloting will remain open for one month. Ballots are identified by a member number only and certified by an independent agent for accuracy. The final tally will be certified and presented to the Board within 10 days of the close of the balloting period.

Final results will be published on the association website and distributed to all activated members. New officers and directors will be installed at the association’s annual meeting held during Homecoming weekend.

2010 Elections Timeline
January 4-16: Nominating Committee solicits recommendations
January 16-23: Nominating Committee finalizes Slate for Board Approval
January 24: Slate presented to Board
January 31-Feb 14: “Floor” Nominations Accepted
February 14: Deadline to Activate Membership to Accept Nomination or Eligibility to Vote
February 15: Membership Drive 2010-2011 Begins
February 22-March 22: Voting Opens (mail-in ballots must be postmarked by March 20, 2010)
March 29: Elections Completed & Certified
April 1-16: New Officers Announced; Transition Begins
April 16-18: MUW Homecoming; MFAeA Board & Annual Membership Meetings

Neely Woods Hunter, Class of 1995, is a Reiki Master and Massage Therapist in Brunswick, GA.