Nominating Committee Annual Report 2023

submitted by Jim Cassaro

Current Roster

  • Jim Cassaro, chair (2024)
  • Donna Arnold, member (2024)
  • Rick McRae, member (2024)
  • Abbey Thompson, member (2024)
  • Melissa Wertheimer, member (2024)

List of Previous Goals and Progress Made

  • 1. The Committee, formed during April 2023, and focused on the following goals:
    1. Prepare a slate of candidates for MLA Vice-President/President-Elect, Board Members at-Large, and Recording Secretary and make recommendations regarding the MLA Citation.
      • The Committee posted the call for nominations in May, and several nominations were received. We posted reminder calls for nominations twice more, in June and August. For all open positions, nominees recommended by MLA members and by Committee members were contacted. As instituted last year, and with the agreement of the Board of Directors, we initially did not intend to limit the number of those who agreed to stand for election, but our efforts were only able to identify the traditional number for each position. The Committee also discussed potential recipients of the MLA Citation. The election slate and MLA Citation recommendation will be submitted to the MLA Board of Directors for consideration at their Fall 2023 meeting.
    2.  Evaluate pilot of having all Board position nominees who have agreed to run on the Fall election ballot.
      • In collaboration with the MLA Board of Directors, the Committee reflected on how things went with the pilot of not limiting the total number of Member-at-Large candidates to six, and decided that it should continue in future cycles, but not limited to Members-at-Large, but apply to all open positions.

List of Future Goals

  • 1. Update the committee handbook.
    • Supports Goal Area 1: Organize Strategically from the Strategic Plan.
    • The committee will complete revisions to clarify committee processes and timelines, including a list of previous committee members.
  • 2. Establish guidelines for the number of candidates to appear on future ballots.
    • Supports Goal Area 1: Organize Strategically from the Strategic Plan.
    • The Committee and Board will consider whether it is wise to set an upper limit on number of candidates, so we do not end up with an unwieldy election slate (e.g., ending up with 15 Member-at-Large candidates to fill the three available slots).