Presidential Column

CSEG 2010-11 Elections: Results are final...

It started back in September with the nomination committee creating a list of potential candidates. By the end of October the confirmed candidates were writing their biographies for publication in the December RECORDER. The election started in December and ballots closed on January 15th. On January 20th, after waiting for the last of the mail in ballots, the results were final.

So, here they are. Four months after the process began and with two months until the new officers begin their roles, the 2010-11 election results are as follows:

• Rob Kendall as Vice President;
• Glenn Malcolm as Assistant Director of Finance;
• Jason Noble as Assistant Director of Communications;
• Hugh Geiger as Assistant Director of Educational Services;
• Patrick Tutty as Assistant Director of Member Services (Acclaimed).

These new CSEG officers will serve a two year term, the first year as assistants and then as directors of their portfolios. Starting April 1st 2011 they will be joining the incumbents who are; Larry Herd (President), Pratt Barndollar (Finance), Cheran Mangat (Communications), Mike Perz (Education), Barrie Jose (Member Services), and myself as Past President.

We need to give our thanks to the four runner-up candidates, who put their names forward and were willing to spend their time and efforts for the betterment of the CSEG. To Brock Hassell, Sue Carr, Ed Lalande, and Jeff Deere, on behalf of all CSEG Members, I thank you for having the courage to stand out from the crowd and for believing in the society and for being willing to labor to improve it. All the best in the future for the four of you!

There were a few interesting learning’s from running the election. I thank everyone who voted and especially those who left their comments;

• 26% of eligible members voted (536 of 2051). This is similar to last year when 540 members cast ballots.
• Only 7 valid mail-in ballots were returned. About 110 mailin ballots were sent to the members without e-mail addresses in their CSEG member info. 11 mail-in ballots were returned but four of these were spoiled due to lack of a member number. Obviously, we have to consider going to a 100% online balloting system.
• 430 of the online voters really liked the balloting system. 3 voters were dissatisfied, 96 voters left no comment.
• About 40 voters left written comments and suggestions for improvement. All of these voters were extremely satisfied and offered good suggestions for improvement such as including the officer’s duties online while voting, and adding the candidate’s bios as link on the website.
• Unfortunately, the three unhappy voters did not leave any comments. I’d really like to hear from them.
• Lastly, Larry Herd is President-Elect, and I should have included his biography on the election website for voters to review but not to vote on. My apologies to Larry and to the voters, sorry.

My term as President ends in about 8 weeks. The CSEG has done many good things in the past year, but as President I usually just sit and watch active people doing good work. It seems like the most important things being done by the CSEG are done by our committees and not by our elected officers. In that respect, the election is probably the most important thing I’ve been directly involved with. I’m very proud of all the candidates and I’m certain the CSEG’s future is in good hands.

I recall my own candidacy in the fall of 2008. At the time, I thought the society was running just fine, so I made a commitment not to change things if I were to be elected, and then I promptly voted for my opponent, Laurie Ross. Well, a lot changed in the past year, and I will fill you in next month with my final report and my last column as CSEG President.