[Arizona-students] Important AABS Info!

[Arielle Silverman]

Hello everyone,

	NFB of Arizona state convention is fast approaching on Sept. 7-9,
2007! During the convention, all of our state divisions hold
elections, including the Arizona Association of Blind Students (AABS).
This year AABS will be holding elections on Saturday, Sept. 8, from
noon-1:30 p.m. at the Fiesta Inn, our convention hotel.

	To help coordinate the elections and recommend a slate of officers,
AABS traditionally appoints a nominating committee. This year the
nominating committee is chaired by Allison Hilliker and also includes
Kristen Johnson and Sylvia Begay. The nominating committee will meet
via telephone just before convention to recommend a slate of officers;
at the election, the active (paid) members can decide whether to vote
in the recommended candidates or to elect someone who is nominated
"from the floor". In other words, if you aren't recommended by the
nominating committee and still wish to run for an office position, you
can always do so by having a friend or other active member nominate
you. The nominating committee can't keep people from running; its main
purpose is to help strong candidates get elected and keep them from
competing against each other for the same positions.

	The nominating committee needs to know who is interested in running
for the various positions in order to make recommendations. So, if you
want to run for an AABS board position, please contact Allison
Hilliker with one or two board positions that you are interested in. The
available positions are president, first vice-president, second
vice-president, secretary, treasurer, acting secretary/board member,
and board member. If the nominating committee decides to recommend
you, you will be notified at or before our Friday afternoon seminar.
(Don't worry, the committee won't recommend anyone without asking
first!) If you are not recommended by the committee, again, you can
still run by having a friend nominate you at the Saturday elections.
Please keep in mind that because we are a student organization, our
president and vice-presidents must be students or have been students
during the past year. If you aren't a student currently and weren't
last year, you are still welcome to run for our other positions.
Indeed, we have had several non-students serve on our board in the
past, and very effectively, but since we are a division that
represents student issues, the nominating committee will most likely
favor students when making its recommendations.

	If you want to run for office, vote or nominate someone from the
floor, please also ensure that you  have paid your $5 dues for this
year before the end of our Friday afternoon seminar. (Contact me if
you are unsure as to whether or not you have paid this year).

	In a related vein, I will be graduating from Arizona State University
in December and then will be out of Arizona for several months to
attend one of our NFB training centers (either Louisiana or Colorado).
I will return to Arizona for part of the summer, but I plan to start
grad school in the fall and I do not yet know if the program will be
in Arizona. Therefore, I will not be running for re-election as
president of the Arizona Association of Blind Students. I am
supporting Ryan Thomas, first vice-president and a 2006 state and
national scholarship winner, as the presidential candidate; of course,
though, it is up to you as the membership to determine who our next
leader will be. I have much faith that you will choose a strong
president and board to keep our organization thriving.

	It has truly been a pleasure to head up this organization over the
past four years and to watch it grow and develop from its beginning.
We have made a great deal of progress since we organized in 2003. We
also have a long way to go still in order to reach our full potential
as an NFB state division and a vehicle for collective student action.
I believe that we can grow strong and wide enough to take our rightful
place as the leading blind student organization in the state. It will
take a great deal of work to make this happen—I expect hard work and
dedication from our new president and board, but ultimately it is up
to you, the members, to set the standards and goals that AABS will
live up to. This time of transition is an excellent opportunity for us
to take a critical look at what we've done thus far, what we've done
well and what we need to learn to do differently. Please feel free to
voice your opinions about our organization, its direction and goals,
or its programs—on this list, to me or another of our current
officers, or at our convention. This organization was originally
formed not because of me or anything I wanted, but because our
original members dreamed of having an NFBA student division. Now, as
before, we need your active participation in order to keep moving
forward.

	This is your organization and not mine, but please also remember that
I will always be just a phone call or an email away. Please don't
hesitate to communicate with  me about questions, concerns, problems
or success stories that you may want to share. In AABS we are
colleagues, and we are also friends—I feel fortunate to have all of
you as friends. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors,
academic and otherwise.

	See you at convention!

Cheers
Arielle