Letter from the President - November 2015
ELECTION TIME
No, I’m not referring to the ever-increasing media coverage of the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. Rather, it is that time of year when AUGI holds elections for the Board of Directors. By the time you read this, we should have a good idea of who will be the candidates.
While it is too early in the process to give you a preview of the candidates, I wanted to write to you about the process.
We form a committee that searches for potential candidates and seeks nominations coming from the membership. This is a serious process that requires care and attention to the qualifications of the potential nominees. There are times where it feels like finding enough nominees will not happen and then the opposite occurs—we find a plethora of folks. (An aside: I cannot use the word “plethora” without thinking of The Three Amigos: “Would you say I have a plethora of piñatas?”)
Once the committee has a vetted slate of nominees they present the group to the board of directors for approval. I am proud that the board of directors has always handled this stage very responsibly.
The board of directors presents the candidates to you and then voting opens, typically at Autodesk University.
But the work for the committee is not done when they present the list of nominees to the board. The committee also makes sure that the forum for the candidates is active so that you may ask the candidates the questions that are important to you. Take advantage of the forum so you can get to know each candidate.
The committee also makes sure the voting system is populated and ready for the opening of the voting.
All of this work would be for naught without your involvement. Yes, you are the most crucial part of the process. It is your vote that makes all the difference. You tell AUGI which candidate you believe would be best to help take the organization forward. It is an important decision.
There are all sorts of reasons for voting for a specific candidate. The most important consideration, from my perspective, is that you should want someone you feel will professionally represent the organization to other professional organizations and companies. When someone acts professionally they have an ethic that makes them truly useful to the organization.
I hope that you appreciated this glimpse into the process leading up to the vote for the board of directors.
