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Elections COMMITTEE REPORT
BY SCOTT DeARMAN, CHAIR
Vietnam Veterans of America will
conduct its election of all National Officer and Board positions
during the 13th National Convention to be held July 17-22,
2007, in Springfield, Illinois.
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 2007 National
Convention, through the close of the 2009 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, as revised August
12, 2005.
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 (1) not less than twelve months immediately preceding
the opening of the National Convention at which such candidate
seeks election; …and (2) 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,
Article I, Section 4, Paragraph B (1 and 2) for Regional
Directors and Article I, Section 4, Paragraph B (1 and 3)
for At-large Directors, as revised August 12, 2005.
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 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
January 1 to March 31, 2007.
LETTER OF INTENT
Prospective candidates must submit Letters of Intent to the
VVA Elections Committee by March 31, 2007. Letters of Intent
must include the candidate’s name, address, home and
work phone numbers, and the position he or she is a candidate
for. A prospective candidate may announce and run for only
one position.
With regard to the paragraph entitled “Eligibility,” prospective
candidates for National Officer and Board positions must
include in the Letter of Intent a signed statement that includes
the National, State Council, or Chapter positions they have
held and the dates they held these positions.
The Elections
Committee began accepting Letters of Intent January 1, 2007,
at the following address: VVA ELECTIONS COMMITTEE, c/o Adolph
Gardner, 7 Crum Road, Walkersville, MD 21293-8018.
IMPORTANT
NOTES
All Letters of Intent must be postmarked on or before March
31, 2007. All Letters of Intent must be sent to the Elections
Committee’s Walkersville, Maryland, 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 Elections Committee.
CANDIDATE’S
PACKETS
The Elections Committee will begin mailing Candidate’s
Packets to those prospective candidates who have submitted
their Letters of Intent January 1, 2007. 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 every
candidate. Included in these packets will be some forms.
Candidates are required to complete the forms and return
them to the Elections Committee.
NOTE: The Candidate’s
Packet will include a Cut-off Date Calendar that lists events
and dates that are very important to each candidate’s
campaign for office. Failure to meet any of the deadlines
will be grounds for disqualification.
CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGNS
Candidates may use the National flag of the United States
of America, VVA National logo, and the VVA National flag
on their campaign material. Any other flag or logo of a State
Council or Chapter may not be used in or on candidates’ campaign
material. Any kind of VVA, State Council, or Chapter letterhead may not be used.
Campaign materials are considered to be (but are not limited to) buttons, pins,
brochures, posters, pictures, e-mails, web sites, etc. A photograph of a candidate
wearing his or her VVA National, State Council, or Chapter lapel pin is acceptable.
Additionally, a photograph of a candidate who is wearing a jacket, shirt, or
hat that has a VVA National, State Council, or Chapter logo or patch on it also
is acceptable.
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. Candidates
may not solicit or accept any campaign endorsement from VVA,
any VVA State Council, Chapter, or VVA newsletters, newspapers,
web, or electronic mail sites.
Candidates may solicit and
accept campaign contributions and endorsements from any member
of VVA, provided that the contributions or endorsements are
not in violation of rules and that any written endorsements
are on the individual’s
personal stationery. It is strictly prohibited for any person to use VVA National,
State Council, or Chapter letterhead, web site, or electronic mail for the purposes
of writing letters of endorsement.
A candidate’s own web site or electronic
mail may be used to campaign, but the restrictions mentioned
above remain in effect.
It is not the wish, nor is it the
intention, of the VVA Elections Committee to embroil prospective
candidates in unnecessary red tape in order for them to have
their names on the 2007 VVA National Election Ballot. There
are, however, certain 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.
The rules, instructions, and requirements
set down in this announcement, as well as those in the Candidate’s
Packet, are simple and 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 Elections Committee will cause that candidate to
be disqualified and his or her name removed from the ballot.
The
VVA Elections Committee welcomes those members who are about
to step forward and take part in a most important part of
VVA: the election of Officers and Board Members who will
guide VVA for the next two years.
MEMBERS OF THE 2007 ELECTIONS
COMMITTEE
Scott DeArman, Chair
Prescott Valley, Arizona
1-928-710-1068 (cell)
Jill Mishkel
Richmond, Virginia
Adolph Gardner
Walkersville, Maryland
Terry L. Nolan
Humboldt, Arizona
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©2006-
2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8605 Cameron
Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910