Welcome

We had another great Illinois State Convention.
Thanks Shelley Zellers & Cheryl Quaka for chairing the event so successfully.

SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS go out to 2010's Postmaster of the Year, Nancy Buening,
and the Ruthie Barber Award winner, Carol Sue Carnes.
Congratualtions to Shawn Bennett for being elected Area 13 National Vice President too.

IS IT TIME FOR ELECTION REFORM?

Over the years we have seen little competition for National Office elections.  Recent National Office campaigns have generated much discussion and excitement among our members.  President Goff appointed me to chair a committee of National Board Members to explore alternatives to our current election process.  The Committee members are:  Ken Kinson - Area 1 VP, John Sertich - Area 13 VP, Diane Howland – Area 15 VP, Karen Boudreaux – Area 17 VP and Jackie Quinn – Area 21 VP. 

We met briefly in Anchorage after the Monday session and did some brainstorming.  Prior to adjourning we agreed on the following items:

• We need to set objectives to determine if any of the changes we propose will have a tangible benefit to NAPUS.  ie:  Does the current election process discourage qualified candidates from seeking national office? 
  

• We need to gather data to assess any additional cost that may result from any changes.  ie:  If we change from a convention election to a mail-in ballot what would it cost?

• We need to list the pros and cons of our present system.  ie:  What information could former national officers and their opponents have to offer from their campaign experiences?

• Establish a time frame for submission of our proposal(s).  Can we provide a rough draft to the board at the Leadership Conference, with any proposed constitution changes presented to the Constitution Committee 60 days prior to the 2010 convention?

We all agreed that we need to keep the board and our members informed of our progress.  We also invite your feedback.  Do you have any ideas for us to consider?  Some thoughts to consider are:

If NAPUS is promoting vote-by-mail legislation would it be in our best interest to hold our national election by mail? 

Would a mail-in election diminish the significance of our National Convention?  Or could future candidates use it as a forum to announce their candidacies and have podium time there and at the Legislative Conference. 

We have all discussed this issue at one time or another.  We see the tremendous amounts of money and energy spent in raising campaign funds and visiting each chapter.  We have many excellent leaders throughout our membership.  Would changes to the current system encourage more candidates to run for national office?

We welcome any ideas you may wish to share.  Our contact information is listed below.

Ken Kinson, Area 1 VP – kenandmarykinson50@myfairpoint.net            (617) 840-5732
John Sertich, Area 13 VP – jmsert@hotmail.com                                     (618) 830-6535
Diane Howland, Area 15 VP – dhowland@omnitelcom.com                      (507)0272-2239
Karen Boudreaux, Area 17 VP – cajunpostmaster@cox.net                    (337) 789-3766
Jackie Quinn, Area 21 VP – onejjquinn@comcast.net                               (360) 580-7524

If you have any ideas, comments or concerns please forward them to me.
Thanks.
John