Running for Regional Office in Michigan
Being a Michigan Regional Officer is the highest honor you can achieve within Regional leadership and an obligation you should not take lightly! Any member within their chapter can be nominated by their chapter for a Regional Office. Each chapter may only nominate one candidate per Regional Office. The nominated candidates must be in good standing with their chapter (as defined by their chapter bylaws) and the nominating chapter must be in good standing within the Region as defined by Headquarters.
There are four Regional offices to be filled and they are President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer and PR/Historian. A candidate must be willing to fulfill the duties of the office and be enrolled in at least one college-level, three-credit course each semester at his/her community college for the next academic year while serving their term of office. It is also expected for you to be engaged with your Phi Theta Kappa Chapter while serving as a Regional Officer.
No one may be elected to a Regional office more than once. All terms are for one year and the officer must remain in good standing with his/her chapter for the duration ("good standing" means the officer must meet the chapter's "maintenance gpa”). Article V, Sec. 3B of the Michigan Regional By-laws reads: "Candidates must be nominated by their chapter, and their names should be received in writing by the Regional Coordinator two weeks prior to the Regional Convention; however, nominations may be accepted at the Convention during the first general session."
The elected Regional offices are:
President:
Presides at Regional meetings and chairs the Regional Board
Vice President:
stands in for the president as necessary, runs Roll Call at Regional meetings and assumes other duties
Secretary/Treasurer:
assists the VP in taking roll at meetings, takes minutes at meetings, creates the Regional Directory, and, when feasible, assists the Coordinator with the maintenance of the treasury and its records
Public Relations/Historian Officer:
keeps a record of the Regional year and produces the Regional Newsletter at least once per semester. Maintains a chapter picture page/history for the Region. Serves as the official moderator of the miptk-chapters list serves and updates the Regional web site.
Please see the By-Laws for a fuller description of the officer responsibilities, but specifically note that each officer must be enrolled in at least a three hour course in a Michigan Community College for both the fall and winter/spring semesters. In addition, the officer must be active in his/her chapter for the duration of his/her term of office and meet its grade point average maintenance standards. These italicized requirements represent recent amendments to the Michigan Region bylaws.
Regional Officers plan and host the MI Regional Leadership Conference, help run the other Regional meetings and serve as Regional representatives and speakers at various chapter functions during the year. Regional officers should be prepared to attend the three official Regional meetings during their year in office, an Officer Orientation, and other general officer meetings either online or by conference call. Generally, officers have no costs at official Regional events except for travel and an occasional meal, for which they may use some of their official expenditure allowance, currently $400. In addition, it is expected that Regional officers will attend the International Honors Institute, for which they receive a scholarship. Currently, Regional officers also receive a stipend of $400 for travel to the International Convention, which they are strongly encouraged to attend. (Please realize that funding each year is contingent on the Regional budget that is approved by the MI Region at the Leadership Conference.)
All officers should be available to visit chapters for special events including orientations, Induction Ceremonies, to be observers and/or help facilitate chapter challenges or to speak about Phi Theta Kappa, the Honors Study Topic, Service or Leadership. (If elected, the candidate agrees to present a speech on the Honors Study Topic, Leadership and College Completion—three speeches total—at the Orientation.) The chapter inviting the officer to speak or visit the chapter should provide a stipend to cover the officer’s costs. Please Note: It is strongly recommended that all officer candidates have a reliable method of transportation at their command for their various travel obligations!
Regional officer candidates should return the Registration form to the Regional Coordinator by May 4, 2018. Candidates should prepare a three minute speech on the 2018-2019 Honors Study Topic (Transformations: Acknowledging, Assessing, and Achieving Change) to be delivered on the evening of Friday, May 18; they should also be prepared to answer three or four Phi Theta Kappa-related or other questions posed by the current officers after their speeches. Each candidate will be given a table for campaign materials during Saturday’s Political Rally. Candidates may not distribute campaign materials at other times during the Convention; a limited number of supporters may wear campaign materials in support of their candidate during the Convention. (Additional information will be provided at the mandatory Candidate Orientation on Friday evening, May 18th.) The Michigan Region does not limit the amount (except prior to the Political Rally) or kind of campaign material distributed, but please use common sense and good taste. Remember: Phi Theta Kappans are intelligent folk!
To prepare for the questions the current officers might ask, candidates should read the International Constitution, the Michigan By-Laws, a Chapter Resource Manual and/or their Chapter Officer’s Manual before the Convention, and be cognizant of the material available there and on the MI Region and Phi Theta Kappa websites. Some questions might simply be judgment questions to determine how well a candidate can think and react in a spontaneous fashion; for instance, a candidate might be asked what famous historical person he/she most admires or most would have liked to be…often there may not be a right or wrong answer; instead they give us an opportunity to know how you think.
Each chapter will be asked to designate one member as its voting delegate. This person will vote for the entire chapter, but should consult the chapter members for their input. Members should share their viewpoints of the candidates with the voting delegate. A simple majority of votes cast determines the winner. Ties require a run-off vote. The officer candidates themselves vote for the Sherman Award (the candidate who best represents the values of Phi Theta Kappa).
Questions?
Call Kari Kahler at 231.995.1228 or e-mail at kkahler@nmc.edu
Forms Needed to Run
Running for Regional Office is a fantastic experience! Being a Regional Officer is an honor and holds a lot of responsibilities. If you feel that you are up for the task then Good Luck!
Here are all the forms you need to run for Regional Office! Click on the links to download the documents. Please review the Bylaws below as well.
Regional By-Laws
Regional Officer Candidate Form