How to Nominate Candidates for Board of Directors ================================================= What is the Board and What does it do? -------------------------------------- The Board of Directors consists of 11 directors elected by all NCF members who vote at the Annual General Meeting of members. The Board's task is to set the mission, vision, principles, and broad policies to direct NCF. The Board is also responsible for employing and evaluating the Executive Director, and for monitoring the operation of NCF. The Board works with her staff to develop NCF's strategic plan and to make decisions about major projects. No individual director has any authority to give instructions or direction to the Executive Director; only the Board as a whole can do that. The Board directs NCF through the Executive Director; she is responsible for ensuring that the direction set by the Board is implemented, coordinating staff and volunteers. Board Member Responsibilities ----------------------------- The National Capital FreeNet (NCF) is governed by an 11 member Board of Directors elected by NCF members. The Directors' mandate is to ensure that NCF is managed to meet the needs of the members, and to maintain financial stability. As representatives of NCF members, the Directors establish strategic objectives and policies; approve major financial transactions; advise on matters pertaining to organizational structure; and review and approve operating budgets. The Board of Directors meets approximately 12 times a year. In addition, most Directors serve on committees which meet to deal with specific issues. Prospective Directors come from all walks of life and bring varied experience to the Board. The ability to understand financial reporting and to make business decisions is essential, but Board Members must also possess a keen interest in online community networking and a desire to work to help NCF reach its objectives. Nomination Procedures --------------------- All registered NCF members may nominate eligible individuals to stand for election to the Board of Directors of the National Capital Freenet. According to the Corporations Act, eligible candidates cannot be: 1) Under 18 years of age 2) Bankrupt 3) Mentally incompetent. Nominations will only be accepted between the 6th and 23th of February 2001, inclusive. Nominations must be posted to the nominations moderated newsgroup (ncf.agm01.nominations). The moderator (NCF's Election Returning Officer) will verify the candidate, remove any confidential information and approve the posting. The posting must include the name of the nominated person, the name of the nominator, and the name of a seconder. Day-time phone numbers should also be provided for all these people (phone numbers do not need to be posted, they can be emailed to the AGM Chair). If the Returning Officer cannot contact the parties to confirm the authenticity of the nomination and the willingness of the nominee to stand, between the 6th through the 26th of February, the name will not be placed on the ballot. Deadline for submitting nominations is 11:59 pm, February 23, 2001. After confirmation, the Returning Officer will post the candidate's name to the newsgroup, the List of Nominated Candidates found in the AGM menus, and will ensure that the name is also on the ballot. On-line voting will take place between February 27th and March 13th 2001. To help members evaluate candidates, each candidate is asked to provide a statement (maximum of 400 words) and answers to three questions (maximum of 30 words per answer): 1) What skills will you contribute to the National Capital FreeNet (NCF) board? 2) What do you think are the most important functions of the NCF for its members? 3) Why do you want to be an NCF director? The statement and answers must be submitted together in one message by March 2 , 2001 by email to the Secretary of the Board. To: secretary@freenet.carleton.ca Subj: Candidate statement and answers to questions Receipt of email will be confirmed by return email within 2 days (contact the NCF office at 520-9001 if you don't get a confirmation). The material will appear on-line for the benefit of NCF members on Feb 27th , 2001. You may re-submit by re-emailing, until Feb 26. Statements and answers may be in english and/or french, using plain text (ASCII or ISO Latin 1 characters). Statements may be re-formatted to a consistent form for publication. Candidates may also post biographies, position statements on issues, or other relevant information to a menu item under their name on the AGM menus. While providing this information is not mandatory for candidates, it is encouraged as it will contribute to a successful campaign. On-line campaigning will take place between the 27th of February and the 13th of March at 6:00pm. Candidates may change information in their menu area during this period. Confirmed candidates wishing to have their relevant information posted to the AGM menus should read the "Information Update by Candidates" document in the "How the AGM and elections work" menu. Candidates are listed in menus and on the ballot in an random order, determined by drawing numbers rolling a die. A general discussion area will be open in the election area for the duration of the election period for use by all candidates and members.