4 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 45, No. 2 The Continued Importance of Community From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe PLSO Exec. Secretary Last month, PLSO had a meeting of the Nominating Committee to begin searching for the 2022 chair-elect. We have started much earlier this year for two reasons. It is often left to the last minute the past few years, which did not give anyone time to ask in-depth questions and genuinely think about it. As a result, this often led to the answer “no.” What happens when nobody agrees to step up to be the chair of the board? Just like with other responsibilities that have to get done, the same generous people continue to volunteer in order for PLSO to keep running without a hitch. On one hand, this can be helpful because it offers institutional knowledge during board meeting discussions. On the other hand, thinking of what we’ve already done oftenmakes it hard to try new ideas without being hindered with fears or expectations of what happened before. Currently, the steps one needs to take to become the chair of the board is to first serve as a chapter president. Each chapter has two representatives on the state board—the president and president-elect—making a total of 18 positions to potentially be filled (the 2022 board has 16 board reps, plus the chair and chairelect). Chapter officers coordinate their chapter meetings and communication autonomously from the PLSO office as well as function within the PLSO construct on the board of directors. This means, if both positions are filled, that area of the state has two votes for every proposed motion to represent their wishes. If that chapter (or geographic area) only has one chapter officer, they get one vote. If they have zero chapter officers, they get no votes. All past chapter presidents are eligible to be nominated as chair-elect. This position serves on the executive committee with the chair and past-chair and attends board meetings throughout the year (many are via teleconference). It is a good time for the chair-elect to start thinking about a signature project they would like to see PLSO accomplish during their time as chair (or get it started as chair-elect). The following year, the chair-elect moves into the chair position to work on the executive committee with the past-chair and newly nominated chair-elect. The chair oversees the board of directors and works with the executive secretary on matters relevant to running the organization. Why would one want to volunteer to be a Chapter President and serve on the board? Yes, yes, I get it. You’re busy. Work is insane. You have a baby. Your dog needs walking. The lawn won’t mow itself. I often say and feel those things, too. (Except change “baby” to “temperamental teenage student athlete who doesn’t have her license yet.”) Much like membership in PLSO, volunteer roles are as big or small as you want to make them. While having someone do the bare minimum isn’t necessarily ideal, it can be a good step for some people to understand how they can make an impact simply by saying “yes.” “Yes” does not always have to be life-altering. “Yes” can mean, “I have 10 minutes a day I can spare for you while I’m in the Starbucks drive-up line.” Making sure your local colleagues are staying connected is a big impact and serving on the board is about running the organization and making decisions that can directly affect the profession in Oregon. This, in turn, affects you. As chapters began looking for their officers this year, think about stepping up and letting them know how much time you can give. Because I know you will get a lot back.
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