The Mid-Atlantic Section Web site is  www.midatlanticfencing.com Please visit. 

THE 2011 NOMINATING COMMITTEE IS STILL TAKING

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSTS UP FOR VOTE THIS YEAR

The 2011 Nominating Committee will be receiving the names of people, who wish to run for posts that will be opening up on the W. Pa. Division Executive Committee, until Friday, May 6, 2011.

There are three posts up for election this year:  Chair, 1st Vice-Chair, and Treasurer.  These positions will be for a 2-year term beginning with the 2011-2012 fencing season.  Additional information, about the duties for these posts, is listed below.

The members of the 2011 Nominating Committee are:

     Dave Theriault  (Pgh. Fencers East)        
     Renee Weiss   (Tiger Fencing Club) 
     Mike Opferman (Pittsburgh Fencing Association) 

The Nominating Committee is responsible for reviewing candidates' qualifications and deciding who to recommend for each open post.

The names of those individuals will then be put on the official ballot for this year's elections, which will be held during the WPD Annual Meeting in June (additional election details will be available shortly).

The Nominating Committee will use a list provided by the USFA to determine candidate and voter eligibility.

Please note:   Although the Nominating Committee will recommend candidates for the "official slate", a potential candidate doesn't have to be recommended by the Nominating Committee in order to be elected.

Any eligible voter can recommend, and vote for, an "alternate" candidate.  Alternate candidates can be recommended when voting takes place at the annual meeting.   People have been elected for WPD posts in the past, using this "alternate candidate" route.

If you are interested in running for one of the open posts, contact either of the following Nominating Committee members by Fri., May 6th:

     Dave Theriault             dtheriault@windstream.net               
     Renee Weiss                rjo_weiss@yahoo.com


Please provide either of them with a brief description of the experience (fencing-related and otherwise) that you would bring to your post.   The Nominating Committee will receive the names of potential candidates up until 5/6/11, and will make their recommendations shortly after that date.

(If you don't receive an e-mail confirmation from the Nominating Committee person once you submit your name and information, re-send your message;  their spam filter may have deleted your original message, so they may not have seen it.)

That's it for now.  Please feel free to contact the WPD Chair if you have questions about the responsibilities for the positions that are up for election, or if you have any questions about the election process, itself.



                  =====  RESPONSIBILITIES OF W. PA. DIVISION OFFICER POSTS ====
                                                    UP FOR ELECTION IN 2011

The Executive Committee is responsible for operating and administrating the Western Pa. Division (WPD).  Only voting members of the USFA can serve on the WPD Executive Committee.   The basic responsibilities of each Executive Committee post, up for election in 2011, are described below.  

Please note that in addition to the "individual" responsibilities associated with their posts, Exec. Committee members also have the following "shared" responsibilities:

**  At least one member of the Executive Committee must be present at each sanctioned
     fencing meet held within the W. Pa. Division. (Meets, that the officers will attend, are
     decided on a case-by-case basis.)
 
**  Executive Committee members are also considered to be "additional directors" to the
     Mid-Atlantic Section (MAS), with the exception of the Chair, who has automatic voting
     privileges in the Section.

     Additional directors to the MAS are appointed in the following order (the number of
     directors depends upon the number of members in the W. Pa. Division):

          Chair (has automatic voting privileges)
          1st Vice Chair   -  first additional director
          Treasurer  -  second additional director
          2nd Vice Chair  -  third additional director
          Secretary  -  fourth additional director


In addition to the "shared" responsibilities above, individual responsibilities for the Chair, 1st Vice-Chair and Treasurer include (but aren't strictly limited to) the following:

CHAIR - The Chair is responsible for the overall smooth operation of the Division.  Among other things, the Chair's responsibilities include:
 
*  Working with the other Exec. Committee members to:
    -  promote the sport of fencing within the Division
    -  develop the Division's tournament schedule for each fencing year
    -  sanction the Division's fencing tournaments
*  Presiding over meetings of the Exec. Committee
*  Presiding over the annual meeting of the WPD membership
*  Resolving USFA-related problems, conflicts and disagreements that arise within the
    Division (which involves dealing with Division members, club representatives,
    USFA national personnel and other USFA representatives, as necessary)
*  Initiating special projects, and appointing people to chair the ad hoc committees
   for those projects
*  Making sure that each sanctioned event, held within the Division, has at least one
   Exec. Committee member present
*  Appointing people to fill other Exec. Committee posts that may become vacant

1st VICE-CHAIR -   The 1st Vice-Chair is responsible for carrying out the Chair's responsibilities,
if the Chair is unable to do so, or if the Chair resigns.

Because of their potential for assuming the Chair's post, the 1st Vice-Chair must not
only be familiar with the Chair's responsibilities, but they must also be aware of
any special projects that the Chair is working on at any given time, and of any
problem areas that are currently being addressed by the Chair.

The 1st Vice-Chair's additional responsibilities also include carrying out any tasks,
duties or projects that may be assigned to them by the Chair.
 

TREASURER -  The Treasurer is responsible for accounting for all money and other
assets of the W. Pa. Division.  The Treasurer's duties include:

*  For each Exec. Committee meeting, and annual membership meeting, submitting a
   financial report that details the financial transactions (receipts and expenditures)
   of the WPD, that occurred since the last meeting   
*  Reviewing, and submitting, all USFA membership forms and fees collected at WPD meets
*  Depositing all monies received from:
    -  the USFA for the WPD's share of membership fees
   -   any additional revenue sources
*  Completing any forms that may be required by the USFA
*  Completing any forms that may be required by the state and/or federal government, as related
    to the WPD's non-profit status
 

Checking Ratings Online

The WPD Executive Committee suggests that fencers who have been awarded new ratings check to see that the new rating has been posted on-line by the USFA. 

The USFA updates ratings on their website at least once each week, so if a new rating has not appeared on the USFA website two weeks after it's been awarded, contact the USFA National Office to see whether the rating change was ever received. 

If it was never reported to the USFA, contact the Division officers of the Division in which you received your rating.  Remember, if you received a rating from an "out-of-division" event, the Western PA Division can not do anything.  If you received it at any Western PA Division event, contact the WPD Chair.