Region D FY10 Officer Nominations

by the Region D Nominating Committee

The New Year is here and the Nominating Committee is accepting nominations for the Region D Officers.

The positions available are listed below, and we will be accepting nominations for all. Please ensure that if you are nominating someone other than yourself that you have already talked with that person and they are willing to provide the services.

Please also note that the Region Senator Position nominations must be announced to Region members by February 1, 2009. Petition candidates must have their petitions and written consent to the Region Nominating committee by February 20. The nominees, including their bios and photos, for Region Senators must be submitted to National by March 1.

For the calendar year that begins July 1st and runs through June 30th, the Region D Officers are required to attend the Region Meeting held each year both at the Region D Conference (usually held in early Spring), and the SWE National Conference (usually held in the Fall). There may be additional
meetings that are suggested but not required.

Region D has the following open positions for FY10:

2 Professional Member Senators
1 Collegiate Member Senator
1 Professional Alternate Senator (not mandatory)
1 Collegiate Member Alternate Senator (not mandatory)
Region Secretary
Region Treasurer

Listed below are the open positions for FY10 as well as short position descriptions. Detailed descriptions of the positions are located on the Region D website.

Please address all submissions to the Region D Nominating Committee. Limit nomination pages to one sheet in MS Word. Please submit your nominations no later than January 25, 2009 to support the February 1st date for submission to the membership and/or the Region Council.

Submissions shall contain the following information:

• Officer position
• Name of nominee
• Contact information for nominee (including day/evening phone number, and email address)
• Section of nominee
• List of previous positions held (if any)
• Provide a 200-word maximum candidate statement (why the candidate wants to be in the officer
• position and what they hope to accomplish)
• Provide a 150-word maximum candidate history (qualifications and previous SWE leadership
• experience).
• Provide any information as to whether you believe that you may or may not have any company sponsorship for travel / time for the two meetings.
• Photograph of nominee.

Senator Postions
We are looking for 2 professional senators plus one collegiate and one professional alternate.
The Collegiate Senator elections are being run by the Senate Transitions Team. Additional information follows. More information can be found on the Council of Representatives Community.

1. Region Senator:
   1. At National Conference this year the Council of Representatives (COR) voted to create the position of Region Senator, two to serve in each of the ten regions. Senators will serve on the National Senate (the new body in FY10 replacing the current COR). One (highest number of votes) shall be elected for a term of two years and the other (next highest number of votes) shall be elected for a term of one year.
   2. What does the Senator do?
      1. The Senators are a vital professional voice within the Region and to National leaders in SWE.
      2. Serve as the professional voice for the region on the National Senate. They will help set the direction for the society working with 1 Collegiate Senator from the Region, 1 Collegiate and 2 Professional Senators from the each of the other 9 Regions, 2 International Senators, and 2 Special Directors.
      3. Attend 2 face-to-face Senate meetings at National Conference and in the spring, as well as monthly conference calls.
      4. Trained with the other Senators
   3. Eligibility
      1. Must be voting members of the Society.
      2. Recommendations for additional qualifications of professional senators and alternates include:
         1. Prior leadership experience of at least one year within SWE (this would include service as a member of the Council of Representatives).
         2. b. Proficient understanding of their constituents.
         3. c. General working knowledge of the organization to which they are
            assigned, the Senate, Society, and Bylaws
         4. d. Willing and able to communicate actively at the Region level,
            including ability to attend Region meetings.
         5. e. Ability to travel and attend senate meetings, discussions and
            teleconference
2. Region Alternate Senator:
   1. What does the Alternate Senator do?
      1. The Alternate Senator(s) shall be elected for a term of one year without term limits, shall assume the duties of the senator if the senator is  temporarily unable to serve, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the governor or the region council.
      2. An alternate is not mandatory, but if the region nominates alternate candidates the professional member candidate with the highest number of votes will be the first alternate. If collegiate members are nominated as alternate candidates, then the collegiate candidate for alternate receiving the highest number of votes will be the second alternate.
      3. The Alternate Senator representing the professional members can stand in
         for only that Region’s Senators elected from the professional members of that region. If a collegiate member Alternate Senator is elected, she can stand in only for the Collegiate Senator from that region.
   2. Eligibility
      1. Same as the Senator
         1. Nonvoting members of the Senate (BOD members, DDR, and Deputy Speaker) cannot be alternates.
3. Region Secretary:
   1. The Secretary shall:
      1. Record and distribute the minutes of all region meetings.
      2. Prepare and distribute the meeting notifications for all Region Meetings as directed by the Director.
      3. Maintain Region Guidelines and Procedures.
4. Region Treasurer:
   1. The Treasurer shall:
      1. Be responsible for the collection, safekeeping, and disbursement of the Region’s funds, as directed by the Director.
      2. Prepare quarterly financial reports in a line item format to the Director.
      3. Present a line item budget plan for the coming fiscal year, at the Region
         Meeting at the Society’s National Conference and present a financial report in line item format at all other Region Meetings.
      4. Prepare a year-end financial report for submittal to the Director and the
         Society’s Treasurer.
      5. Answer inquiries in Region financial matters.

Please note: For FY10 the collegiate senator nomination and election process is being  handled by a separate group, the Senator Transition Team. This is a temporary measure, and will be levied onto the region nominating committee within 2 years. At that time, at least one member of the region nominating committee should be a collegiate member or recent graduate that could effectively identify and vet nominees for the Collegiate Senator positions.

More information about the Collegiate Senator nomination and election process will be
forthcoming. Applications for the Collegiate Senator position are be taken on-line.

If you have more questions, please contact any of the Region D Nominating Committee.

Yolanda Childs, Chair Region D Nominating Committee
Nancy Hundley Region D Nominating Committee
Sandy Pettit, Region D Nominating Committee
Ramona Walsh , Region D Nominating Committee

Call for RCRs and RCNE

The call is official! Region D is now looking for it’s next Regional Collegiate Representatives (we need two) and for it’s next Regional Collegiate Newsletter Editor! More details follow in a copy of the e-blast you, as a Diva, should have recieved from Pamela Snyder and Jennifer Vallero, RCR-RCNE Coordinator and Coordinator Elect, respectively.

(I’ve edited the e-blast to include information relevant to our Region.)

Call for Applicants!

Are you interested in taking your SWE leadership to the next level?  Do you want to make a difference in programs for collegiate members?  If so, this is your opportunity to apply! You could be your region’s next Region Collegiate Representative (RCR) or Region Collegiate Newsletter Editor (RCNE).

The RCR is responsible for representing collegiate members’ interests among regional leaders.  The RCNE is responsible for communicating important SWE events and best practices primarily through the region’s blog.  Plus, the RCR(s) and RCNE from each region will get to attend next summer’s Collegiate Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL!

Both positions provide invaluable interaction and coaching from SWE leaders.  These leadership opportunities sharpen your career skill-set in the areas of leading and facilitation, group dynamics and communication, and project leadership. Please click on this link to get started on your RCR or RCNE application.

When you apply you will need:

• Member number
• Section/Region
• School and Permanent Address
• Position of interest
• SWE leadership positions
• Other leadership positions
• What you bring to the RCR or RCNE position
• What SWE means to you
• Interest outside of SWE
• Reference to confirm GPA/academic standing

Applications are due by Friday, February 13^th.

Like FY09, in FY10 there will be 1 RCR for every 1,000 collegiate members in the region up to 2.  Below is a summary of each Region’s membership as of November 30^th.  Regions with a collegiate membership of 1,000 members by Dec 31^st 2008 will host 2 RCRs.

Region D: 1,226 members (2 RCRs)

Note the application for becoming Collegiate Senator was provided in a separate eBlast.  There will be opportunities to learn more about the differences between Collegiate Senator, RCR, and RCNE in the coming weeks.

More information about the election process can be found in the SWE Community “Collegiate Leadership Opportunity Community“. If you have any questions regarding the RCR/RCNE positions or the election process, please contact your Region Leadership:

Position	Region D
RCR	rcr-d@swe.org
RCNE	rcne-d@swe.org
Region Governor	Karen Ramsey-Idem

or Pam Snyder, FY09 RCR-RCNE Coordinator

Thank you,

Pam Snyder, FY09 RCR/RCNE Coordinator
Jennifer Vallero, FY09 RCR/RCNE Coordinator-Elect

Region D Conference: March 6 – 8, 2008

The Georgia Institute of Technology Collegiate Section and Atlanta Professional Section of the Society of Women Engineers are excited to host the 2009 SWE Region D Conference in the dynamic cosmopolitan city of Atlanta, Georgia this spring from March 6-8, 2009.

The theme for this spring’s conference is “Innovation and Collaboration: Fueling the World of Tomorrow”. We want each woman engineer to be aware of the many possibilities to positively impact society, contribute to the economy, and improve life for future generations. Some highlights include workshops on green energy, sustainability, and recent advancements in technology from women engineers who are “fueling the future”.

The conference will also include a variety of networking events, a career fair, workshops, seminars, and keynote speakers. Especially for professionals, there will be a Professional Development series sponsored by Southern Company.

Registration is only $40 for students and $60 for professionals. Prices with a weekend hotel stay included are provided on the conference website.
To register, get contact information or find extra details please visit Region D Conference web site.

Register today and reserve your spot!

Call for Speakers
We need speakers!!!  If you are interested in participating as a speaker for the conference, please click  here to fill out and submit the speaker request form.

Call for career fair participants
For Only $500 your company can have a booth to recruit from over 200 students and 100 professionals throughout the southeast.  Click here for more information.

Call for Sponsorships!!!
We need your money! Planning a conference in this economy is quite a challenge, so we are in desperate need of sponsors.  We have options ranging from $25 to $5000.  Please review the sponsorship link to see ways that you (and your company) can help!

Governor’s Corner: November 24, 2008 E-Blast

Just in case you missed this last month, here’s Karen’s (our Region Governor) e-blast from November 24. You can also view it as a webpage here.

Region D Members,

I hope this finds each of you doing well and enjoying these last few weeks of tranquility before the holiday season is upon us.  The 2008 SWE National Conference was amazing.  I hope you had the opportunity to attend and bring something back to your jobs and your SWE section.  Just in case you were unable to attend, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight just a few of the many award winners from our region.  Kudos is extended to the following:

·Pam Androff – 2008 Best Region Website Award
·Carol Craig – 2008 Entrepreneur Award
·Amy Herbert – 2008 Emerging Leader Award
·Chris Cathcart – 2008 Fellow
·Jennifer Braganza – 2008 Distinguished New Engineer Award
·Dr. Beth Todd – 2008 Outstanding Faculty Advisor

Many thanks to the Celebrate SWE! skit performers for Region D.  The skit was very well done, original, and showed wonderful spirit.  The Region D membership showed our spirit with style and dignity — way to go Divas!

There were many, many other awards that went to Region D individual members and sections.  What award was your favorite for 2008?  Which award went to someone / another section / another region that you thought should have gone to a different recipient?  If you could create an award category, what would it be?

Please act upon these thoughts in preparation for the 2009 SWE Region D Conference in Atlanta March 6 – 8 at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).  Begin preparing your materials for Region Conference Awards and plan to attend the conference.  More details regarding the Region Conference will be sent over the next few weeks.

As well as preparing for the Region Conference, there are two very important items that Region D members need to focus on:

·Membership Drive
·Elections

The October membership numbers have been released and Region D is a bit behind in our membership goals. The current membership for Region D is 768 paid professionals and 1099 paid collegiates. This information is as of November 1, 2008.  Last year’s numbers were 1042 professionals and 1392 collegiates.  I encourage each member to reach out to a friend who would benefit from being a member of the Society.  Invite them to a meeting, include them in a social event, or set up a webseminar re-play for them.  We have much to offer and they may only need a bit of encouragement to join.  The next membership count will be December 1, 2008.  While that is only a few days away, let’s see what we can do to actively encourage new membership or renewals of past members!

Secondly, please plan to vote on-line if at all possible.  The Region D election schedule is as follows:

·Call for Applicants: Friday, January 9, 2009
·Applications Due: Friday, February 13, 2009
·Voting Begins: Friday, February 20, 2009
·Voting Ends: Friday, February 27, 2009
·Results sent to RCRs/RCNE/RG: Monday, March 2, 2009
·Results Announced at Region D Conference: Friday, March 6, 2009

Lastly, the GFIG (Governance Focus Interest Group) met last week to determine the election process for the Region Senators.  While the timing for the elections will be as described above, there are additional details which must be decided.  As soon as that information is available it will be distributed throughout the Society’s membership via the Region Governors.  Please be anticipating that information and considering who within Region D should be considered as candidates for these new SWE offices.

Hopefully, the information contained in this eblast is helpful to you.  Please let one of your Region Officers know what you would like to have included in future eblasts.

Karen Ramsey-Idem, Region D Governor

…we’re working on it…

Hey there! Thanks for dropping by! Unfortunately, not everything’s set up and ready, at least not quite yet. But if you’re patient, you’ll see that the Blog is filling up pretty quick; we’ve already got posts in other areas, and we’ve even got a FAQ page (somewhat ironic for a Blog that has yet to receive it’s first couple of comments).

Although I’ll try and keep this updated at least once every week; you can most definitely help me out by sending in stories and pictures. Your help is not only deeply appreciated, but it’s also the reason we’ve got this Blog up in the first place – to showcase YOU and your sections.

Thanks for your patience, but more importantly, thanks for dropping by!