Nominations Committee

Mission Statement:

The Nominations Committee ("Committee") is responsible for soliciting and communicating information to the FIRMA membership regarding open positions on the FIRMA Board of Directors. In addition, the Committee is responsible for approving the nomination requests and for conducting a fair and proper election for open Board positions. If an insufficient number of members voluntarily seek election (including reelection) to fill the open positions, the Nominations Committee will work with the Board to identify additional candidates for consideration to run for the Board.

This Committee is appointed by the FIRMA Board and may be asked to advise the Board on related matters.

Nominations Procedures:

  • The Nominations Committee will solicit nominations from the general membership by publishing a notice in the Fall issue of the FIRMA Forum and by a general email notice to the members.
  • Nominations will be accepted until the date published in the notice.
  • Candidates must attest that their organization (if any) has agreed to the time and financial commitments to permit them to fulfill their role on the Board.
  • Candidates must submit a brief history of their  professional background, current position, and any certifications;
  • Candidates should also submit a brief statement (generally not to exceed 100 words) about why they should be elected to the Board.
  • Based on the above and the Committee’s due diligence, candidates will be recommended to the Board for final approval to be included on the ballot for election by the general membership of FIRMA.

Rules:

The rules and regulations governing nominations and voting are:

  • Nominations will announce by the Committee to the FIRMA membership and ballots distributed online no less than one month in advance of the voting deadline to permit the membership to take appropriate action.
  • Nomination eligibility requires that candidates should be FIRMA members in good standing for at least three (3) years.
  • Board representation is generally limited to one individual per organization.
  • Voting shall be conducted online through the FIRMA website.
  • All online votes must be received by the deadline established by the Committee and communicated on the current year’s ballot.
  • Write-in votes are acceptable. Should a write-in candidate receive enough votes to be considered for election to the Board, the Committee will determine whether the candidate meets the eligibility requirements and contact the elected candidate to determine if they  would accept the election results and commit to the requirements of being a Board member. Based on the above, and the Committee’s due diligence process, the Committee will provide their recommendation to the Board for final approval of the write-in candidate’s election and admission to the FIRMA Board of Directors.
  • Only FIRMA members in good standing (i.e. members whose dues have been paid in full for the current year as of the close of voting) are eligible to vote.
  • Member’s may cast only one vote for each candidate (including any write-in candidates); up to the number of open Board positions.
  • In the event a member votes once and later submits additional votes, the first ballot/vote received will be counted as the valid ballot/vote.
  • Ballots containing votes for fewer than the number of open positions will be accepted.
  • Ballot forms must be signed and dated by the voting FIRMA member.
  • The results of the election are overseen by the Nominations Committee and certified by the Chair(s) of the Committee. In addition, the Finance Committee Chair will independently validate the election results.
  • In the event of a tie vote for the last open position, a run-off vote will be held. The candidate who receives the simple majority of votes cast by the deadline established will be offered the open position.
  • Announcement of voting results will not include the number of votes received by any candidate, except in the event of a tie-breaking run-off

Voting Procedures:

  • The election notification will be distributed to the general membership electronically. Candidate statements and a link to the ballot forms will be posted in the members-only section of the FIRMA website.
  • Voting members will indicate their choice(s) by marking the box next to a candidate's name.
  • Upon receipt, ballot selections are recorded and safeguarded. As noted above, the Chair(s) of the Nomination Committee certifies the election results; and the Finance Committee Chair will independently validate the election results.
  • All votes will be destroyed after the vote is certified and validated, except in the event of a tie-breaking run-off vote. Such votes will be retained for not more than sixty days in the event the election is contested, and a re-count is requested. Once a requested re-count has been completed, certified, validated, and accepted by the contestants, those votes will be destroyed.

 

The minimum number of committee members will be three. No Director eligible to run for election may serve on the Nominations Committee in the year of such eligibility. In addition, should a non-Director committee member choose to run for election to the FIRMA Board, he/she would need to resign from the Committee.