NENA Election 2004
Announcement made at the Annual Conference in Tampa
NENA Members:
I would like to address an issue that has come before us. As many of you know the election process this year was flawed. Some members did not receive this ballot. Equally disappointing was that some of our Associate members, who are not authorized by bylaws to participate in this election, also received ballots.
As we learned of these difficulties the Nominating Committee and the Executive Board responded to each issue. We worked with the candidates, chapter leadership and general members to supply ballots or develop mutually agreeable accommodations to allow the process to continue.
We came to this annual meeting with a belief that we had acted in good faith to rectify this error. You, the members, have spoken to us and requested a different solution.
This morning the Executive Boards met with Chapter leadership and general membership to hear their concerns regarding this election. We listened and have agreed to re-ballot. While this will delay the installation of some officers, we concur with the membership that this is the right thing to do.
Our goal is to fix the errors in our membership rolls and send new ballots for all three elections; Southeast Regional, Western Regional, and Second Vice President. It is our goal to do this within the next three months. But understand, ACCURACY of the ballot rolls will be our paramount concern. Only when we have verified the accuracy of the membership list will we proceed with the distribution of the ballots.
The following procedures will be used for this re-balloting:
1. NENA staff will be working with Chapter Leadership to assure the accuracy of all member rosters. Only when Chapter Presidents certify the accuracy of their rolls will be prepare ballots for their constituents.
2. The ballots will be mailed to you with self-addressed, stamped envelopes enclosed to assure confidentially of your vote. A number will be placed on this return envelope to assure one vote by each participating member.
3. Simultaneous with the release of the ballots the general membership will be notified by e-mail. We will follow up with additional contacts to assure you are aware of this distribution. At the same time, we will contact Chapter Presidents to inform them of the ballot distribution so that they may also inform their membership.
4. Some ballot envelopes will contain a brief note asking you to e-mail our national offices, verifying receipt of your ballot. This is simply to monitor the speed of receipt by the membership. Please take a moment to respond.
Again, we believe this re-balloting is the right thing to do.
The most important lesson from this experience is that members deeply care about this organization. We, the executive board, care about you, the members, and appreciated the stewardship required of us.
Respectfully, Richard Taylor
