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CONVENTION Resolutions COMMITTEE REPORT
BY FRED ELLIOTT, CHAIR
Get ready, get set, and send in those
Convention Resolutions. For the 2009 Convention, we hope
to improve further on the process of submitting, evaluating,
presenting, and finalizing resolutions submitted by members
of Vietnam Veterans of America.
We
encourage you to submit resolutions that are workable, concise,
and have attainable objectives. We realize that resolutions
will—and do—range from the feel-good
to the serious, and we will gladly accept them all, as directed
by the VVA Constitution.
Each state council and chapter will
receive a copy of the Policies and Procedures of the 2009
Convention Resolutions Committee to be used as a guide for
the submission of resolutions. Included in each package will
be an official resolution submission form. This is the only
form acceptable for submissions.
When
you are considering a resolution, give it this litmus test:
(1) Can this be accomplished through the regular action of
the National Board of Directors, a state council, or other
VVA leadership? (2) Is this something we are already or should
be doing? If so, can we get this accomplished through a simple
request by a National Officer or Director?
If the answer to
any part of either question is “yes,” reconsider
submitting your resolution and follow one of the paths described
previously. If “no” was the answer, then you
should ask yourself: Can we accomplish this without breaking
the bank? Does the funding requirement match the priority
of the resolution? Does it fit within the long-range goals
of the organization? If you can answer these questions with
a definite “yes,” then bring forth the resolution
to the committee for consideration at the Convention.
Once
your resolution has been received at the national office,
it will be assigned an official resolution number. A letter
of acknowledgment will be sent to the author of the resolution
informing him or her of the resolution’s number and
the committee or task force that it has been referred to
for completion. The proposed resolution then will be reviewed
by the Resolutions Committee to verify that the official
submission form was used, that it was postmarked by March
28, 2009, and that the required financial statement of cost
and funding is attached (if a resolution requires funding).
When
the Resolutions Committee’s review is complete,
the resolution will be sent to the appropriate committee
or task force. However, if a proposed resolution is found
to be incomplete, it will be returned to the author by certified
mail, return receipt requested. You will then have until
the postmark deadline of April 10, 2009, to resubmit the
resolution.
The National Board of Directors will be presented
the proposed resolutions at its April 2009 meeting for review
and comments. A final package of resolutions with committee
and task force recommendations will be sent to all state
councils and chapters by first-class mail no later than May
20, 2009.
At the Convention,
committee hearings will be held to allow the committees,
task forces, and delegates time to review all relevant resolutions
before they are presented to the delegates on the Convention
floor.
2009 Convention Resoulutions Committee: Fred Elliott,
Chair; John Weiss, Patrick Welch, Bruce Whitaker.
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2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910