POINTS TO PONDER
Issue 02-12
From your Federation President
NARFE Members of California:
FEDERATION COMMITTEES: There are two types of Committees, Standing
Committees, that function throughout the year and Convention Committees, that only
function during the State Convention.
Let's discuss Standing Committees first. There are eight (8) Standing Committees, each
one of which functions from July 1 to June 30 of the following year and each committee
member is expected to attend the State Convention where they meet as a group. These
committees are:
Audit
Constitution & Bylaws (CA Federation)
Convention City
National Legislation
Nominating
Public Relations
Service
State Legislation (CA)
There are guidelines for each committee which describe the purpose, the duties and the
responsibilities for the members of these committees. It is not my intent to describe
these guidelines here, but more importantly, to ensure our members know about these
committees and to encourage them to get involved and volunteer to serve on a committee
which in itself is a rewarding experience. So how does one volunteer? About December 1
each year, the "Call to Convention" is issued to all chapters by the Federation Secretary
(Carole Ostergren). The Call to Convention is a letter with several enclosures advising
the Chapters that it is time to start planning for attending the upcoming convention. One
of the enclosures is a Form #6, titled, "Standing Committee Nominees". This is the time
when your Chapter President asks for volunteers to serve on the eight (8) committees, the
names are listed on the Form #6 and the form is returned to the Federation Secretary by
the deadline, which is usually about the middle of March. So, you have about three (3)
months to think about it, ask questions and get your name on the list. The Federation
President actually selects and appoints ten (10) members, or less, for each committee
from the Form #6 returned by all 102 chapters. Please note that if you serve on a standing
committee one year, and wish to serve again the following year, you must reapply on
Form #6, you are not automatically appointed for the following year.
Now, let's discuss Convention Committees. There are six (6) Convention Committees,
each of which only function during the 3-day State Convention.
These committees are:
Ballot & Tellers
Credentials
General Resolutions
National Bylaws
Rules
Sergeant-At-Arms
There are also guidelines for each of these committees and each committee has ten (10)
or fewer members except Ballot & Tellers which has 12-14 and Sergeant-At-Arms which
has 20 - 22 members. A member can volunteer for these committees in the same manner
as for the Standing Committees, except Form #3, titled "Convention Committee Nominees"
is used which is also part of the Call to Convention letter. The deadline for returning these
names to the Federation Secretary is about the end of March.
The bottom line to this dissertation is that we do not have an overabundance of volunteers
for committees. I'm inclined to think it's because our members are not aware of the various
committees available to serve on, and they may not hear about the nominee forms at their
Chapter meetings.
The Standing Committees are sufficiently filled for next year, not because there was an
adequate number of volunteers, but because myself and the DVP's talked to, and encouraged
many members to volunteer. This is a quote from one recent committee "volunteer",
"Getting involved is the quickest and best way to learn more about our wonderful organization,
NARFE."
I sincerely hope that you would think about serving on one of the convention committees at the
next convention and/or a Standing Committee next year, July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. I
would be most happy to take names for next year before the Call to Convention Letter comes
out in December 2002.
Till Next Time ....
Lea D. Zajac, Your California Federation President
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