In accordance with Section V of the Huntsville Section Bylaws, Chairman Sonya Hutchinson, at the Executive Committee Meeting held on September 3, 2003 appointed a Nominating Committee consisting of Eric Grigorian (Chair), Jim Anderson, and Ron Hackett. The Section Bylaws, as required by IEEE Headquarters, direct that the Nominating Committee "... shall make every reasonable effort to recommend a minimum of two...section members for each office ..." Historically this goal has been difficult to meet at least in part because of a very low rate of participation in the nominating process by the general membership of the Section.

Accordingly, the first official action of this Committee is to issue a call for nominations to the general membership of the Section. The Huntsville Section has six elected officers consisting of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and two Members at Large. Any member of the Huntsville Section may be nominated for one of these offices by means of a petition signed by a minimum of five (5) members in good standing. Petitions must be received no later than October 1, 2003, and will be accepted by the following means:

Because of the Bylaws requirement for signatures, e-mail by itself is not an adequate response medium. However, the Nominating Committee will accept a notice of intent to nominate by e-mail if:

1. It is received prior to October 1, 2003 and
2. It is followed up by mail or fax with the required signatures within two (2) additional weeks. E-mail should be sent to egrigorian@ieee.org

It is highly desirable that you contact your nominee in advance to ensure that he or she is, in fact, (or is willing to become) a member of the Huntsville Section and also indicates a willingness and ability to serve a full term. Both of these are required, and must be verified by the Nominating Committee. All officers will take office January 1, 2004 and terms of office run for one calendar year. During this period, each officer is, as a minimum, expected to attend monthly meetings of the Executive Committee, normally held during lunch hour the first Wednesday of each month at a local restaurant and there participate in transacting any business which may come before the Executive Committee. Most officers have additional duties. A brief listing of duties can be found in the IEEE Regional Activities Board Operations Manual, Section 9.4.F at the bottom of page 9.11, which may be accessed at:
http://a957.g.akamai.net/f/957/3680/1h/www.ieee.org/organizations/rab/rab/RABOpsMan/Section09.pdf.

It would also be helpful if your nomination included basic biographical information, which will be sent out with the ballots. Biographical information should include but is not limited to: education, employment, IEEE member grade, length of IEEE membership, prior IEEE service, community service, and the like.

Section Officers are all volunteers and receive no financial compensation for their service, however, the positions involve significant responsibility. The Executive Committee, for example, annually directs the disposition of a budget in excess of $10,000, mostly financed from your dues money. The Section Executive Committee also engages in activities and takes positions in the name of the general membership. Responding to this "Call for Nominations" is your best chance to actively participate in assuring that the best people are selected for these offices and that they are responsive to your interests.

Signed: Eric Grigorian,
Chair,
Huntsville Section Nominating Committee.