Are you interested in being an officer next year?

Attention class of 2017: Officer elections are fast approaching!

At the end of the February 4th Mandatory Meeting, we will be holding elections where the current junior members will choose their leadership for next year. Now, the question is, do you want that leadership to be you?

Here are the officer descriptions from Article X of the bylaws:

Article X – Officers

1. The officers of this chapter shall be president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and historian. The following are the duties involved in each office:
1. President – Presides at the meetings, prepares the agenda, keeps track of member involvement in Individual Service projects.
2. Vice President – Presides in the absence of the president and also keeps a record of members’ contributions to peer tutoring.
3. Secretary – Keeps the record of all attendance and works with the adviser to send out correspondence. All officers coordinate with the secretary for sending regular hours and attendance updates to the members.
4. Treasurer – Keeps record of all chapter expenses, dues, and all other financial transactions of the chapter. Keeps track of member involvement in Chapter Service projects.
5. Historian – Documents all events by taking pictures and preparing an end of the year slideshow of all events. With the secretary, manages the NHS blog, Facebook, and Twitter account. All officers coordinate with the historian to keep an ongoing record of projects completed.
2. Officers for the BHS Chapter of the NHS will be selected by a direct election of chapter members for the next year. All returning active members are eligible to run for a position as an officer. New officers will mentor under the current officers until the current officers graduate. If a member has a legitimate complaint about an officer it should be taken directly to the Chapter Adviser. The complaint will be considered and, if necessary, appropriate action will be taken.
3. Officers are expected to meet with the adviser at least once a month outside of our regularly scheduled meetings.

Now, note that the officers are elected by "direct election". This is an area of need in our bylaws, since while "direct elections" means a selection of a the candidate by the membership (as opposed to an indirect election where the selection of the candidate is conducted by a smaller group of the membership's choosing), how the direct election actually works has not been officially determined.

So, to foster the best possible leadership possible, this year interested members must choose a specific role of leadership that interests them. This will continue to foster the idea that you take a leadership role for the work that you want to accomplish, not the title you get. (I also want to make clear that this is not an indictment of your senior leadership, simply an avenue for improving our organization even further).

This, of course, will mean that it is possible for members to run unopposed or a position could be unfilled. We won't know unless we try!

If you are interested in being an officer for next year, you must select one role from the options above and complete this interest form by next Wednesday. This will create the ballot that members will use for voting after hearing your brief speeches at the mandatory meeting.

Attendance Counts

I just sent the following email to new members who were absent from our mandatory meeting last Thursday.

Greetings New NHS Member,

Your responsibilities to the chapter have begun, and to that end, your required attendance to NHS mandatory meetings have as well.

The attendance secretary's records show that you were absent from last Thursday's meeting. Your attendance has been recorded as unexcused. A member with an unexcused absence is placed on probation.

Here's the deal: It was the first meeting. Many of you have already come and spoken to me. It could have been as simple as forgetting to sign in. So, you need to recognize that attendance is a requirement of the character tier for NHS membership and now take the steps to maintain your good standing.

Always, always, always, always... if you miss a meeting, use the Meeting Absence Form (available right on the main page of our website) within this 2-week grace period to explain the reason for your absence. Use the box on the form titled "excuse materials" to link evidence of your valid absence. Even more importantly, don't leave it blank. When the officers are deciding to mark your absence as excused or unexcused, they are looking for students who care and want to be at the meetings regardless of their absence. You are not guaranteed an excused absence just by filling out the form. You must show that you care.

Please fill out the form as soon as possible, you have until January 21st.

It's a good reminder for all of us that attendance counts. Although mistakes happen, if you want to stay in NHS, you need to demonstrate that you care about your attendance. Miss a meeting? Fill out the form.

Remember: Mandatory Meetings Every First Thursday

I'm looking forward to seeing the entire membership tomorrow. If you can't make the meeting, do yourself a favor and ask for a meeting excuse ASAP. You only have two weeks after a meeting absences to do so. The form is linked here.

If you are a new member, your dues of $20 start getting collected tomorrow. If you are paying by check, please make the check out to "Bedford High School". We can not accept checks to "NHS" or "National Honor Society".

2016, here we go!