We have several board members whose terms are expiring this fall.  This year, the offices up for election are Treasurer, and Membership Secretary, and four “Member-at-large” positions,  each being a 2-year term.  Election to the board is open to any member in good standing.

ALDHA Election Process:
Our bylaws require us to adhere to certain stipulations assuring an orderly and transparent election process, thus online and paper ballot voting will take place prior to the time of the Gathering in August and September.
 
1.  Nomination process: The following procedures have been established by the board to make publicly available to    our members the open positions along with description of their duties and expectations on the ALDHA Website.

• Dates will be published and processed via electronic and snail mail as close as possible to 1 August 2022. These dates and processes for nomination will be repeated in upcoming edition  of the Blaze.
• Election material will be published and sent to you based on your membership information in the ALDHA database and come via an email from the website.
• Members without email will be sent this same information via USPS.
• All links to our webpage information will be published on our ALDHA Facebook Group page.

 2.  Nominations:

• Nominations should be e-mailed/snail mailed to the Election Coordinator, c/o Dennis Newton, 244 E Eufaula St, Ozark, AL, 36360.
• The nominee needs to acknowledge that he accepts the nomination in an email chain.
• Nominees will submit a brief biography and a statement of why they want to serve on the board. 
• If snail mail is used, the nominee must accept in writing.
• Nominations will close on August 21.
• The Election coordinator will compile the bios and work with the Membership Secretary to post them on the website.

 
      The two Executive Officer positions (Treasurer and Membership Secretary) have specific responsibilities and duties above and beyond the general obligations of all board members. 

Section 5.6 Membership Secretary. The membership secretary shall keep the membership list of the

corporation, shall record applications for membership, payment of dues, renewal of membership and

expiration of membership, shall keep up to date the address and telephone numbers of the members in a

directory and shall distribute the directory to the members, and shall perform all duties incident with the office

of membership secretary and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the

coordinator or the board of directors. The membership secretary shall deliver a written statement on the

current status of the membership to the board of directors, at the Spring board of directors meeting and the

annual meeting during the Gathering as a matter of record.

Section 5.7 Treasurer. The treasurer shall have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds and

other financial instruments and financial records of the corporation, receive and give receipts for

disbursements, and deposit all monies in the name of the corporation in such banks and other financial

institutions as shall be selected in accordance with these Bylaws. The treasurer shall perform all duties

incident to the office of treasurer and such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by

the coordinator or the board of directors.

Board Members At-Large are expected to participate in all board meetings including the Spring Meeting, at

the Gathering and any monthly online meetings, and may be appointed by the Coordinator to help with

various ALDHA programs.

    • All board members must abide by and sign the standard “conflict of interest” statement.
 
     • Board members are expected to help carry the load of managing the day-to-day business of ALDHA.  We are a working board and it is not uncommon for board members to take on multiple tasks or… “hats”.

    • Board members are expected to attend the Gathering, in-person board meetings, and monthly electronic meetings.  Board members are encouraged, when possible and feasible, to attend trail functions such as the ATKO, Trail Days and local trail festivals
 
     • Board members are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the ALDHA bylaws, policies, and motions passed by the board both past and present.
 
      If you are interested or want to nominate another member please be sure they are interested.  Nominees will be expected to submit a brief biography and a statement of why they want to serve on the board.  This is similar to the process we observed when members were nominated from the floor at the Gathering.  These personal statements will be posted on the ALDHA website before ballots are sent the first week of September.  The timeline for this process is critical, so please watch the deadlines.  

   Accepting a nomination and subsequent election to the board gives you the ability to affect the future of ALDHA.  The pay is lousy (none), there is always plenty of work but you can’t beat the camaraderie.  During the last several months of very difficult decisions, our board has worked well together and moved forward.  If you love ALDHA and the hiking community, please give serious consideration to joining the board. 
 
Respectfully,
 
Dennis

Dennis Newton
ALDHA Coordinator

ALDHA Elections:

• Ballots will be formatted by the Election Coordinator and posted on the website. 
• Snail mail ballots and nominee bios will be sent to non email members no later than 1 September 2022.
• One ballot will be sent per membership.  If there is more than one active member per membership please contact the Election Coordinator.
• Electronic voting will be via the website.
• Elections close September 30th.  Ballots received after this date will not be counted.

 Posting of Results:

• The website will tally electronic ballots and paper ballots will be tallied and verified by the Election Coordinator and/or the Recording Secretary.
• Results will be announced at the Gathering.  
• Results will be posted on the website, in the Blaze and the Winter Newsletter.

Calendar Overview:

August 1st - nominations open

August 21st - nominations close

September 1st - both electronic and snail mail ballots (for members without email) will be made available.
September 30th - elections close.
October 9th - election results announced at the Gathering annual meeting.
  
Available Positions: 

Six positions are up for reelection this fall.  
 
Treasurer

Membership Secretary

Member at Large 
Member at Large
Member at Large 

Member at Large

 
Duties and Responsibilities for All Board Members: 
 
1.  All board members must agree to and sign a conflict of interest statement.
 
2.  Board members are expected to help carry the load of managing the day-to-day business of ALDHA.  We are a             working board and it is not uncommon for board members to wear multiple “hats.”
 
3.  Board members are expected to attend the Gathering, in-person board meetings, and monthly electronic                    meetings.  Board members are encouraged, when possible and feasible, to attend trail functions such as the ATKO, Trail Days and local trail festivals.
 
4.  Board members are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the ALDHA bylaws and motions passed by the both past and present boards. 

5.  Board members are required to adhere to the ALDHA Communications Policy.