The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
January/February 2003
ELECTION COMMITTEE REPORTThe Race Is On
BY JOHN KAHLER, CHAIR
The Vietnam Veterans of America will conduct its election of all National Officer and Board positions during the 11th National VVA Convention. This convention will be held from July 29 to August 3, 2003, in St. Louis, Missouri.POSITIONS OPEN FOR ELECTION
VVA National President, VVA National Vice-president, VVA National Secretary, VVA National Treasurer, VVA National Board Of Directors (At-large) [All Ten Seats], VVA National Board Of Directors (Regional) [All Nine Seats].
TERM OF OFFICE
All National Officer and National Board positions are for terms of two years, beginning at the close of the 2003 VVA National Convention, through the close of the 2005 convention.
ELIGIBILITY
Candidates for all positions open for election must be individual members of VVA in good standing.
Candidates for any of the National Officer positions must meet the requirements to hold office, as set down in the VVA National Constitution, under Article I, Section 5, Paragraph A.
To wit: "To qualify for election... to any of these offices a candidate must have been an individual member of the Corporation, in good standing, for a continuous period of not less than twelve months immediately proceeding the opening of the National Convention at which such candidate seeks election; ... and such candidate must have held a position as an officer or board member at the national level or as an officer at the state council or chapter level, during any continuous period of twelve months prior to the date of the opening of the National Convention at which such candidate seeks election...."
Candidates for At-large and Regional Board of Directors must meet the requirements to hold office as set down in the VVA National Constitution, under Article I, Section 4, Paragraph B (1) for Regional Directors and Article I, Section 4, Paragraph B (2) for At-Large Directors.
To wit... "To qualify for election, a candidate must have been a member of the Corporation, in good standing, for a continuous period of not less than the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the opening of the National Convention at which candidate seeks election.... The candidate must have held an elected position at the national, state, or chapter level, for any continuous period of twelve months prior to the date of the opening of the National Convention...."
Candidates for Regional Board positions must reside within the region they wish to represent.
ANNOUNCEMENT DATES
The time period this election announcement covers is from November 1, 2002, through March 15, 2003.
LETTER OF INTENT
A prospective candidate must submit a Letter Of Intent to the VVA Election Committee, providing name, address, phone number (home and work), and which position they are a candidate for.
A prospective candidate may announce and run for only one position.
With regard to the paragraph entitled "Eligibility," (above in this announcement), prospective candidates for National Officer and Board positions must include in their Letter Of Intent, a signed statement which includes the National, State Council, or Chapter positions they have held, and the dates they held these positions.
The Election Committee is accepting Letters of Intent at the following address:
VVA ELECTION COMMITTEE
PMB 134
5500 Olympic Dr. A-105
Gig Harbor, WA 98335IMPORTANT NOTES:
All letters of intent must be post marked on or before March 15, 2003.
All letters of intent must be sent to the Election Committee's Gig Harbor, Washington, address.
Any letter of intent that does not meet the postmark requirement, or is sent to any other address, will be considered invalid and will not be accepted by the Election committee.
CANDIDATE'S PACKETS
The Election Committee will begin mailing Candidate's Packets to those prospective candidates who have submitted their Letter Of Intent, on Friday, January 31, 2003. To avoid possible loss or destruction of these packets, they will be sent via Certified Mail-Return receipt Requested.
These packets contain information, instructions, and rules regarding the conduct of the election process that are of vital importance to each and every candidate. Included in these packets will be some forms. You are required to complete them as instructed and return them to the Election Committee.
Note: The Candidate's Packet will include a Cut-off Date Calendar which lists specific events and dates which are very important to each candidate's campaign for office. Failure to meet any of the deadlines established will be grounds for disqualification.
CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGNS
(1) Candidates may not use the VVA National logo or flag, nor that of any State Council or Chapter in or on their campaign materials. Campaign materials are considered to be (but are not limited to) buttons, pins, brochures, and the like. A photograph of a candidate wearing his/her VVA National, State Council, or Chapter lapel pin is acceptable. Additionally, a photograph of a candidate who is wearing a coat, jacket, shirt, or hat that has a VVA National, State Council, or Chapter logo on it is also acceptable.
(2) Candidates may not solicit or accept campaign contributions in any form from VVA, or any VVA State Council or Chapter. Campaign contributions are considered to be (but are not limited to) money, paper, envelopes, postage, free printing, free phone calls, use of web sites or e-mail.
(3) Candidates may not solicit or accept any campaign endorsement from VVA, any VVA State Council, Chapter, their newsletters, newspapers, web or electronic mail sites.
(4) Candidates may solicit and accept campaign contributions and endorsements from any member of VVA, provided that any contributions or endorsements are not in violation of Rules 2 and 3 and any written endorsements are on the individual's own personal stationary. It is strictly prohibited for any person to use VVA National, State Council, Chapter letterhead stationary, web or electronic mail sites for the purposes of writing a letter of endorsement of a candidate.
(5) Candidate's own web site or electronic mail may be used to campaign, but the restrictions mentioned in Rules 1-4 above remain in effect.
It is not the wish, nor is it the intention of the VVA Election Committee to embroil the prospective candidates in unnecessary red tape in order for them to have their name on the 2003 VVA National Election Ballot. There are, however, certain procedural steps that must be followed by all candidates in order to keep the election process within the guidelines of the VVA National Constitution and to make the process fair and even for all candidates.
The rules, instructions, and requirements set down in this announcement, as well as those that will follow in the Candidate's Packet, are simple, easy to read, understand, and follow. Therefore, the failure of a candidate to play by the rules or meet the requirements of the VVA National Constitution and the Election Committee will be cause for that candidate to be disqualified and their name removed from the ballot.
We, on the VVA Election Committee, would like to welcome those members who are about to step forward and take part in a most important part of VVA, election of Officers and Board Members who will guide VVA for the next two years.
MEMBERS OF THE 2003 ELECTION COMMITTEE
John Kahler, Chair
713-794-3662 (w)
832-216-6368 (cell)
Scott DeArmen
Jill Mishkel
Cheryl Nicol
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