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Demystifying The Process Of
Selecting ALA’s Leaders
(or
what the heck is RNC and ANC?)
written by Karen D. Griggs, CLM,
Region 3 Education Officer
At the recent Chapter Leadership
Institute held in Denver, there
was a significant effort to
explain how our association
leaders are selected. This article
will describe this process and its
vital importance to the future of
our organization.
What is the Regional Nominating
Committee (RNC)?
The Regional Nominating Committee
(RNC) for Region 3 is comprised of
six to nine ALA members who are
geographically located in Region 3
and are in good standing with ALA.
The committee is responsible for
selecting the officers for the
Region 3 Management Team.
Who serves on the RNC?
The chairperson of the committee
is chosen from the group of
representatives who served on the
RNC the prior year. This year’s
chairperson is Betsy Prinz, Past
President of the Wisconsin
Chapter. Betsy was recommended by
last year’s chairperson and
approved by the Regional
Management Team. As chairperson,
Betsy will be responsible for
disseminating information received
from ALA Headquarters to the other
committee members. She will
coordinate the committee’s efforts
and conduct the meeting held at
the Region 3 Conference in
Minneapolis. After the meeting,
Betsy will be responsible for
reporting the committee’s
recommendations to ALA
Headquarters.
The other committee members are
chosen from a group of Region 3
members who responded to ALA’s
request for volunteers. Careful
consideration is given to each
volunteer to make sure that the
makeup of the committee is
representative of the region
overall.
How are the officers for the
Regional Management Team chosen?
All members are encouraged to
nominate anyone they think would
be a good candidate for an officer
position, including themselves.
This year the deadline for
nominations is August 1. Once ALA
Headquarters has received the
nominations, notified the nominees
and secured the nominees’
acceptance and biographical
information, the information is
forwarded to the chairperson of
the RNC (for this year, Betsy.)
Jan Waugh of the ALA staff will
hold a conference call with all of
the chairpersons from each region
to explain the process and answer
questions. Betsy will then hold a
telephone conference with her
committee members to advise them
of the timeline and
responsibilities. Each committee
person will be responsible for
conducting due diligence on one or
more of the candidates. Due
diligence is similar to reference
checks and consists of telephone
calls to other ALA members
regarding the qualifications,
experience and commitment of the
candidates. When the committee
meets on October 7, they will
report to the rest of the
committee the results of their due
diligence. The committee will then
select the officers for the Region
3 Team. These appointments are
ultimately ratified in late
November by ALA’s Board of
Directors at which time the
results will be announced to the
candidates themselves and to the
rest of the membership.
What is the Association Nominating
Committee (ANC)?
The ANC is responsible for
selecting the Board of Directors
for ALA which includes the
President-Elect and the Regional
and At-Large Directors for ALA.
The directors serve staggered two
year terms and each year half of
them rotate off the Board. This
year, in addition to the
President-Elect, there are three
Regional Director and two At-Large
Director vacancies to fill. The
ANC, like the RNC, is responsible
for conducting due diligence on
the candidates.
Who serves on the ANC?
The committee is comprised of
twelve members. Six members are
selected from each of the six
regions. There are three at-large
members. The other three consist
of ALA’s current President, Past
President and President-Elect. The
President-Elect is not a voting
member of the committee but rather
serves as a coordinator of the
meeting. The six regional and
three at-large members are
selected from those who responded
to ALA’s request for volunteers.
How is the President-Elect
selected?
Each candidate for the position is
personally interviewed by the ANC
at its formal meeting in November.
Immediately following the
interviews, the committee
considers the candidates and,
based on the interviews and due
diligence, they select the
President-Elect.
How are the Directors chosen?
ALA members are responsible for
nominating those who they feel
possess the qualities to assume a
leadership position on the Board
of Directors. Once the nomination
process has closed, the ALA
Headquarters staff notifies the
nominees. The nominees must accept
or decline the nomination. If
accepted, the nominees must have
the consent and support of their
firms as there is a significant
time and travel commitment.
Each ANC member is responsible for
conducting due diligence on one or
more candidates. At the November
meeting and after the ANC has
selected the President-Elect, they
then consider the candidates for
the various vacant director
positions. The ANC members
communicate the results of their
due diligence research to the rest
of the committee and the committee
then selects the Directors.
Careful consideration is given to
each candidate and a number of
factors (geography, gender, skill
sets and expertise, firm size,
employer type, etc.) are taken
into account when selecting the
Directors.
Why serve on the RNC or ANC?
Service on these committees and
the power to select ALA’s leaders
is one of the most important ALA
volunteer responsibilities. Not
only do the committee members have
the satisfaction from this
worthwhile endeavor, but they have
the opportunity to further enrich
their own ALA network and
membership benefits. Since I
served as chairperson of the RNC a
few years ago, I can personally
relate that it was one of my most
pleasurable service opportunities
to date.
(written by Karen D. Griggs, CLM,
Region 3 Education Officer)
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