ASHI Officer Nominating Committee Process Explained

by Don Norman October 1, 2006

As you know, the Officer Nominating Committee has met and presented the 2007 slate of Officers to the Membership for consideration.

As a committee, we are presenting the process so that you may understand how the slate of officers for our society is chosen.  

The Nominating Committee was created by ASHI’s bylaws, which state:

8.2.1 The Nominating Committee shall select annually, for election by the voting Members of the Society, one or more nominees for each of the following offices: President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, in accordance with these Bylaws and with procedures established by the Board.

a. The Nominating Committee shall consist of a chair, who shall be a past officer appointed by the President and approved by the Board, and eight additional members selected by the Council from among themselves. The chair shall vote only to break a tie.

b. An alternate member of the Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Council and shall serve in the event of unavailability of any member.

This committee, filled with eight members from the Council of Representatives (CoR) plus a chair appointed by the president, is one of the most important purposes that the CoR serves. The other, of course, is acting as a conduit for communication between the membership and the Board of Directors (BoD).

The committee meets face-to-face once a year to review and discuss the nominees for the coming year. Prior to that meeting, there may be one or more conference calls to discuss the nominees, agree on an interview approach and discuss other issues around the election process.

Any Member in good standing may run as an officer of the society. The positions that are open for nominations are Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and President-Elect. The President’s position is filled each year by the previous year’s President-Elect. The review and interview process itself is a time for the committee members to question the nominees personally, get answers to specific questions, and generally get a feel for the individual and how that person will perform as an officer of the society.

This year’s committee members interviewed the nominees prior to the meeting and asked that each be available by phone in the event that a question arose during the group discussion of each nominee. As in years past, the nominees were all qualified and the choice was very difficult. In fact, there were two candidates who the committee felt were equally qualified for the position of Vice President, and it placed both names on the ballot for Vice President.

While not required, often in the past the nominating committee has decided to select only one nominee per position on a slate.  However, ASHI also has a petition process. Any Member not in agreement with the Nominating Committee’s proposed slate may run against a particular nominee by obtaining a petition with the signatures of 10 percent or more of the society’s Members in good standing.  These petition nominees must also provide a matrix for the ballot for evaluation by the membership. This is yet another tool that allows Members’ voices to be heard.    

It is incumbent upon you, as a Member in good standing, to carefully read the nomination matrices and choose the nominees you feel will best serve your society. The Officer Nominating Committee has chosen the slate we believe will serve the society well, but you may not agree. Take the time to review each candidate’s qualifications, call them if you like, and then exercise your right and VOTE! Your voice and vote will decide the future of ASHI.


To Read the Full Article

ASHI offers its members unparalleled resources to advance their careers. ASHI offers training for inspectors at all levels of knowledge and experience, including resources about all major home systems. Members benefit from a vast network of experienced professionals, providing a community for mentorship and knowledge sharing..

Learn More About Membership »

In this Issue

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Professional Networking

Grow your professional network, find a mentor, network with the best, and best part of the community that’s making home inspection better every day.