IMCA Insights – August 2009
2009 IMCA Board Elections - Special Edition

In the last years, many of our Members complained that they hadn't been aware of our annual elections to the IMCA Board of Directors. It turned out that several of these Members didn't receive our IMCA Mailing List messages, or that these messages had ended up in some spam filter. With our new Mailman-based Mailing List these cases are getting more and more rare, but still some Members did forget to update their email addresses with us, and so they missed our announcements, and the opportunity to vote, or to nominate candidates for the IMCA Board. To avoid this, we decided to make our annual elections public a bit earlier, this year, and thus this Special Edition of IMCA Insights that's more of an announcement, and a brief tutorial to the IMCA Board of Directors, and the election procedures. Let's start with some background information.

The IMCA Board of Directors

Right now, the IMCA Board of Directors is comprised of nine Board Members, with four of them serving as IMCA Board Officers (the year in brackets behind each name refers to the year in which the respective Board Member's term ends):

Norbert Classen (2010) – President
Anne Black (2010) – Vice President
Andrzej S. Pilski (2009) – Secretary
Maria Haas (2009) - Treasurer
Jeff Kuyken (2010)
Peter Marmet (2009)
Larry Lebofsky (2011)
Martin Altmann (2011)
Sergey Vasiliev (2011)

According to our ByLaws, each Board Member is elected to a term of three years, and this year the terms of three Board Members are expiring: the terms of Andrzej Pilski, Maria Haas, and Peter Marmet. All of these three might opt for running up for re-election, but this is not really sure at this point.

In any case, we'd like to take the opportunity to publicly thank Andrzej, Maria, and Peter for all their hard work, their enthusiasm, and all of the energy they put into our Association, and making the meteorite community a better place. Thanks guys, you all did a fantastic job, and it's been a real pleasure to serve with you on the Board!

2009 Election of Three New Directors for the IMCA Board

In accordance with our ByLaws, three Board Members will be elected in 2009, and at least six Candidates will be up for election (our ByLaws require a minimum of two Candidates for each vacant Board position). Something that brings us to the first phase of our public elections: the Nominations.

Nominations: Volunteers Wanted!

The requirements to be a Candidate are very simple: you must have been a IMCA Member in good standing for at least two years. If you have any questions regarding your Membership, this would be a good time to contact us, and to ask about your status.

A great many of you do qualify. So tell us now that you want to participate in the shaping of our Association for the future. If you really must think about it first (or ask a few questions) we will give you until September 9, 2009, but we must have your email announcing your candidacy no later than September 9, 2009, midnight (Eastern Time). Up to this moment, only two Members officially agreed to be a Candidate – we need at least four more Candidates as our Bylaws require two Candidates for each open slot on the Board. We're just waiting for a sign from you!

Contact the Nominations and Elections Committee at election@imca.cc to let us know that you want to be a Candidate for the Board of Directors. If you want to nominate someone else, that's also fine with us – just make sure that the Nominee is aware of that nomination, and that he's actually willing to accept it. In any case, we will have to receive a formal notice by the Nominee, stating that he accepts his nomination no later than September 9, 2009, midnight (Eastern Time).

FAQ: How much Work is it?

We often have been asked how much work it is to serve on the IMCA Board of Directors. Is it time consuming? There's no simple answer to that, and it certainly depends on if you are just serving as a Board Member, or as a Board Officer. Naturally, the Officers will have to invest a bit more time and energy into their respective tasks – but then, you won't have to volunteer for an Officer's position after the elections.

In any case, be prepared to engage in a frequent discussion with the other Board Members, voting on Membership Applicants, resolving disputes, investigating complaints, etc. Besides that, you might be asked to serve on one of the Committees, such as the Nominations and Elections Committee, the Membership Committee, or the Website Committee. Of course, you will be a bit busier if you are a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee at this time of the year.

Besides that, working on other Committees, such as the EoM Committee, can mean a lot of work: just ask Sergey Vasiliev who did a fantastic job in re-creating the new IMCA Encyclopedia of Meteorites. Just have a look, and you will see what I mean. Thanks to Sergey for all of his time, his great work, and enthusiasm. And thanks also to EoM Committee Member Bob Falls for his help with this.

The continuing work on the EoM, the open discussion of International Meteorite Laws, and other important issues will sure keep all new and old Directors busy, but don't worry, we all have a life beyond IMCA and its Board of Directors, and we are all used to teamwork. Of course, we would prefer to see Candidates running that are more active Members, and who are actually willing to give their best for our Association. But then, we are fully aware of the natural restrictions put upon us by everyday life, and other commitments.

So, What's Next?

After the nomination phase, which will end on September 9, 2009, midnight (Eastern Time), we will take a few days to verify the eligibility of all the Candidates, and we will publish the names of all the Candidates on September 11, 2009 via our IMCA Mailing List. The Candidates will then have two weeks time (from September 18 to October 02, 2009, midnight, Eastern Time) to explain to our Membership why they want to be a Director, and to answer all your questions (again, via our IMCA Mailing List). And we will actually vote during the weekend of October 03 to October 04, 2009. Please have a look at our official Election Schedule for more information, and technical details.

Official IMCA Election Schedule

September 9 (midnight Eastern Time): Deadline for Nominations

Contact the Nominations and Elections Committee to let us know that you want to be a Candidate for the Board of Directors. (eligibility requirements – 2 years as a dues paying member in good standing)

September 11: Publication of the List of Candidates

September 18 - October 02 (midnight Eastern Time): Campaign

The Candidates may tell the Members (via our IMCA Mailing List only) why they want to sit on the Board of Directors, and answer other Member's questions. Their statements and answers will be published to our entire Membership during that time (again, via our IMCA Mailing List only).

October 03-10: Election Week

All members may vote for the three Directors only ONCE at any time during this period. Voting begins October 03 and ends midnight October 10 Eastern Time. The special voting email address will be published via the IMCA Mailing List. (If you are not on the IMCA Mailing List and wish to vote, contact the Nominations and Elections Committee). Please be sure to use the mailing address we have on file for you, so we may verify that the vote is coming from a registered, eligible Member.

Please contact us if you have any questions. We're looking forward to your participation, and to your votes. Thanks.

More news on our most recent activities, our cooperation with the Meteoritical Society, the Encyclopedia of Meteorites, and on the upcoming Elections in our next issue of IMCA Insights which is due out in about two weeks on September 1, 2009.

Best Regards to all of you,

Norbert Classen, President IMCA Inc.
Anne Black, Vice President IMCA Inc.
 

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