[registrars] Statement of Bob Connelly, candidate for Secretary of Registrars Constituency.

[Robert F. Connelly]

Dear Members:

Our annual elections are now underway.  I would sincerely appreciate your vote for me to be your Secretary again.  If you should choose Jay, he will have my full support.  His statement was forthright and fair.  I greatly appreciate the fact that he has created a Wiki web site for our Constituency, it should be very helpful to the membership.

If you elect me, here are some thoughts about how *I* see the office of Secretary, not just for the RC but the Secretary of volunteer organizations in general:

A bit of my philosophy of the role of Secretary:  In addition to the assignments set forth in the By-Laws, the Secretary should support the Chair and other offices in the performance of their offices.  Further, the Secretary needs to see that the proper arrangements have been made for our meeting rooms -- microphones, projection equipment, lighting, entry security (for the closed portions of meetings), registration table, etc.  

I realize that Excom is considering employing a paid staff member to perform some of these functions.  However, the cost of transportation plus time away from a regular job could be a burden for our Constituency.  One "model" being considered is to have an employee of one Registrar be employed to attend our meetings.  However, if that employee is not employed by a member of Excom, it gives that Registrar preferential intelligence sources in that Registrar.

While it is important for the Secretary to be familiar with Robert's Rules of Order, under which we operate, on a more ephemeral basis, the Secretary can help create an atmosphere of cordiality and friendship between the members and officers.  That starts at the registration table, a smile and "howdy do you, please sign in on this registration sheet".

I have attempted to help us know one another by printing the "tent cards" to go in front of each voting member -- printed on both sides so that your neighbors right and left can see your name without feeling obvious about it.

One think I did not state in my prior posting of the "Role of the Secretary" relates to facilitating "good feelings" in our meetings.  In the Japanese society, all participants in a gathering are expected to maintain the "good kimochi" of the group.  Good  "kimochi" is defined as "to be happy, pleasant, feel well, be comfortable". (Romanized English-Japanese, Japanese-English Dictionary, Edited by Morio Takashashi)   Frequently heard in a Japanese gathering is "Kimochi ga yoi desu"  (The feeling is very good!).

A priority in my actions during meetings is to maximize the "good kimochi".  I will appreciate your vote.

Respectfully submitted,
Bob Connelly