Nominating Committee Task List

Last Revised on October 2, 2006

• General Information - fun facts to know/Background Information
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• Task Details - detailed information on each task.
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• Reference Documents - forms, documents that have been used in the past. You may find them useful.

General Information

The Nominating Committee is responsible for soliciting candidates for open positions on the Board of Trustees. The candidates should be evaluated against existing criteria (noted later in this task list) and the final slate presented to the membership before the annual meeting. Members of the Nominating Committee are not allowed to run for the Board in the same year they serve on the committee.

Quick List

Complete?	Task	Timeframe
	Criteria for evaluating a prospective nominee
	Incumbent Trustees
	Minimum Eligibility
	Ideal Slate	Slate should be complete by February 1.
	Choosing the slate	Slate should be complete by February 1.
	List of eligible nominees	November
	Copies of Bylaws	November
	Review list of eligible nominees	November
	Announce Candidates	early February
	Candidate Statements	early February
	Bylaw Changes	early February
	Prepare Ballot	early February
	Election and Results	Last Supper
	Attend Debriefing Meeting	Date is determined by the Producer
	Return Task List	Return to the Task List Manager at Debriefing Meeting. See Calendar for the exact date.

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Task Details

Criteria for evaluating a prospective nominee

1. A key role of the Trustees is getting other people to do things. Try to pick people who are good at getting along with others and at motivating people to do what has to be done.
2. The Trustees must determine a set of common goals and work toward them effectively. Try to pick people who are able to listen to and accept other people's ideas, and who can work effectively as part of a group.
3. Trustees should have experience in volunteering to take on commitments, which they then have carried out successfully. Try to pick people who have accepted positions of responsibility in the Savoyards or a similar group. If an otherwise good candidate has not taken on a position of responsibility yet, try to get them to do that, and then consider nominating them in the following year.
4. Trustees must be committed to the organization for the long term. When considering lead players or artistic staff for nomination, consider whether they would be likely to remain with the group in some capacity if they did not have such a role one year.
5. Each individual candidate should have demonstrated willingness to work towards the goals of the organization, good judgment, competence, common sense, and leadership skills. A vision of the future is very desirable.
6. Trustees should be significant contributors to the whole organization. They should be able and willing to fill in the cracks (do what has to be done even if no one else will do it). They should be willing to do a significant role for the group (i.e., Publicity or Producer). Trustees should be willing to put up 5 hours per month toward the organization off-season and 10 hours per week toward the organization on-season. Trustees are not necessarily idea people, but they should be capable of recognizing, encouraging, and guaranteeing execution of ideas.

Incumbent Trustees

It's difficult to predict in advance how effective a given person will be as a Trustee, or in which areas that person will be effective. Board work is just too different from most of the activities involved in theatrical production. But incumbent Trustees have seen each other in action, and can readily grade each other in the above areas of effectiveness.
The Nominating Committee, therefore, should consult with each incumbent Trustee about the effectiveness of the others. When opinions differ, the most weight should be given to the views of those Trustees whose terms will continue into the next year. Keep in mind that these continuing Trustees will form the nucleus of the new Board.
Trustees that are up for re-election and are not proving to be effective, or whose areas of effectiveness do not balance well with those of the continuing Trustees, should be replaced. This criterion should be the single most important factor in selecting the slate of candidates.

Minimum Eligibility

The Bylaws state that each candidate must have participated somehow in two of the last three productions (counting the current show). Trustees are prohibited from serving more than four consecutive years. If you find omissions or errors in the eligibility list, please bring them to the attention of the Second Trombone promptly.

Ideal Slate

At least two more candidates should be presented than there are positions available. Each Trustee is nominated at large, which means that you don't need to meet any quotas like "one from the orchestra", though it is desirable to have candidates with a variety of backgrounds within the organization.

The Board (probably at its first meeting in May) elects the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Church Liaison, which means that you need not specify candidates for those positions, just the Trustees. The slate should be completed by early February, to allow the nominees to prepart their candidate statements.

Choosing the slate

The Nominating Committee should carefully design the slate based on information obtained from discussions with incumbent Trustees, the candidates themselves, and various members of the Savoyards. Include the Stage Director, Music Director, Producer, and Technical Director, who have strong concerns and feelings about the group, with the added perspective of having worked with/for the current Board.

The general membership does not have access to the same information, and thus might base its choices on factors that have little to do with the candidates' suitability for Board membership.

Use the Bylaws. Each candidate should be aware of the general duties of the Board of Trustees and of the individual Trustees (refer to those respective tasks lists). Each candidate should be prepared to contribute wholeheartedly and to serve as an Officer.

List of eligible nominees

The Database Manager will prepare a list of all members who are eligible for running for the Board of Trustees. This list can be used to start searching for good candidates.

Copies of Bylaws

The Database Manager will prepare a list of all current bylaws. Get copies of these for reference.

Nominations-Review

Before the committee solicits nominees, the members might make a list of prospective nominees for Board review. The Board's review is useful for insights and comments, as the nominating committee may not know the histories of the possible candidates. This is not meant to be an approval, only an information gathering tool. The Board may not remove names from the committee's list, but may make suggestions for additions.

Announce Candidates

The Nominating Committee should announce the slate to the membership at the combined Chorus/Orchestra rehearsal. The slate should list the names in alphabetical order with the incumbents clearly identified. Print at least 10 copies of the slate and the candidate statements. Post a copy at every rehearsal and backstage and provide the rest as handouts. If there are any bylaw changes, present them as well and include the full text and commentary with the candidate statements. During tech week, post one copy near the music room for the orchestra and post another copy behind the stage for the cast and crew.

Candidate Statements

Candidates should prepare a paragraph to describe their past experiences and their current qualifications. Post these at the combined chorus/orchestra rehearsal and backstage in two places during tech week. (See task above)

Bylaw Changes

Ask the Board if there are any proposed bylaw changes for this year's ballot. If so, obtain the full text of each bylaw change, a commentary on the reasons behind it, and a brief summary of the bylaw change for use on the ballot. Post these at combined chorus/orchestra rehearsal and backstage in two places during tech week.

Prepare Ballot

The Nominating Committee should prepare a ballot that lists the candidate names in alphabetical order with the incumbents clearly identified. Print 150 copies. If there are proposed bylaw changes, include brief summary statements on the ballot, together with boxes marked "yes" and "no". Post the complete text of the candidate statements, bylaw changes, and commentaries by the food line and also leave a copy on each table.

Election and Results

Nominating Committee Chairman announces the candidates and announce who is permitted to vote (typically, everyone present). Committee distributes and collects the ballots -- keep the Chairman's ballot separate, since it is only counted in the event of a tie. Count ballots while certificates are passed out. Here is a way to count ballots quickly and effectively:

• Divide all the completed ballots into groups and distribute among those who are counting.
• Each person goes through one group of ballots, once per candidate, and tallies the number of votes on a blank ballot.
• Trade groups of counted ballots with another person, who counts the ballots using the same technique, and have a third person recount any discrepancies.
• Summarize the tally onto one ballot. Hand this tally to the chairman, who should announce the winners but not the vote tally.

Attend Debriefing Meeting

The Producer is responsible for setting for scheduling the Debriefing session, generally held within a month of the show closing. The meeting is to go over the production, focusing on areas of great success and areas which need significant improvement.

Return Task List

If not already turned in, return the task list at the Debriefing Meeting.

Tasks that require your input, but are the responsibility of others

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