Tiffany Abruzzo and I had the honor of representing Region X at the Nominating Committee Meeting held at the 2018 Annual Conference in Houston on June 24th. In the past, the Annual Conference meeting has been reserved as an opportunity to train incoming members for the upcoming year. This year however, in addition to new member orientation, our committee entertained a number of motions put forth by the Nominating Committee Procedures Ad Hoc relating to committee operations and procedures. In total 14 of the 15 motions were approved. As a member of the ad hoc, it was gratifying to see support from the committee on motions that improve the way we select candidates for higher ASHRAE office.
Speaking of that process, it was also announced at the conference that all of the candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee were voted in by the membership. The newly-installed members of the board include:
President-Elect: Darryl Boyce
Treasurer: Charles Gulledge III
Vice President: Julia Keen
Vice President: Mick Schwedler
Vice President: Farooq Mehboob
Vice President: Malcolm Dennis Knight
Director-at-Large: Katherine Hammack
Director-at-Large:Sarah Maston
Director-at-Large:Chandra Sekhar
Alternate DAL: Asish Rakheja
The Nominating Committee works very hard to identify, evaluate, and recommend candidates for higher ASHRAE office, following the basic ASHRAE tenet that “the office shall seek the person, rather than the person seek the office.” Contrary to what some may think, we do not report to the Board –we report only to the members.
As the outgoing chair of the Membership Promotion Committee, I also had the honor of serving as one of the member proxies for this election. This meant that I had the duty as a representative of the members to certify the vote as processed by an independent third-party firm. It also meant that I got to see the comments made by votes regarding their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with the voting process. There was a reoccurring theme questioning why in all cases (except for VP) there was only one name on the ballot for each office. There was a level of frustration with some members who felt that voting was pointless, as the candidates had already been pre-selected and that they had no voice in the process.
That could not be further from the truth.
ALL MEMBERS have a voice.
If you have a potential candidate you would like considered for Regional or Society-level office (and they have expressed a willingness to serve), please reach out to your chapter delegates and alternates. They are your voice at the chapter level and they are tasked with bringing your recommendations forward at the Chapters Regional Conference (CRC). During the caucus session at CRC, we will be discussing nominations and forward our recommendations to the Nominating Committee. Tiffany and I are tasked with acting as your representatives to endorse our regional candidates. But we cannot do it without you!
Don’t let your voice go unheard. Be a part of the process. Take a look at the stars in your chapter and talk to them. Review the Nominating Committee Manual of Procedures (MOP) and Reference Manual to understand the minimum requirements for each position.
I know this may seem overwhelming, but don’t worry! As we move towards CRC in August, I will be sending out links and additional materials to ensure that all delegates and alternates are prepared to present Region X superstars for ASHRAE office.
If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Tiffany, Robert or me.
Thank you!! Devin Abellon, PE Region X Nominating Member