As your new North Carolina Federation
of Chapters President I want to thank you for your support at the recent
Federation Convention in Rocky Mount. I
will do everything that I can to exceed your expectations and hope to be a
president for all of our members, including those who supported my opponent in
the recent election.
At the
convention I mentioned four priorities that I wanted to start work on
immediately. I would like to share
information with you about each of these:
Implementation of the 2014 Federation
Membership Plan
Our
Federation Executive Board approved this new plan in March, we discussed it
briefly at the Convention and the six Area Vice Presidents are starting its
implementation. Those at every level in
the Federation – the Executive Board, the Membership Committee and Membership
Coordinator, the Area Vice Presidents and chapter officers all have action
items and due dates that must be met. If
you’re not familiar with the new Membership Plan please talk to your chapter
officers or Area Vice President.
Managing the Delegate and Proxy
Process for the National Convention
Just as in
2012 the Federation wants to have the greatest number of delegates attending
the National Convention in August.
Chapters should now be determining whether they will have one or more
delegates representing them at the convention or whether they will need
delegates from other chapters to carry their votes by proxy. This information can be input online through
the OAM on the NARFE Headquarters website or completed by paper on a Form
C/14-2. The Area Vice Presidents have
been given details instructions, will be in contact with each chapter to
determine what they are doing and will be reporting that information to
Executive Vice President Robert Allen.
Having a Successful August Grassroots
Advocacy Month
The August
congressional recess is the longest period of the year when Members of Congress
are in their home districts and states.
It is a perfect time for individuals and chapters to schedule
appointments and meet their Members or key staffers face to face or in town
hall type meetings. Our new National
Legislative Officer Henry Brattlie will be leading
the planning for this key period of the year, using our legislative advocacy
structure of Area Legislative Contact Officers (ALCOs), District Legislative
Contact Officers (DLCOs) and Chapter Legislative Contact Officers/Chairs
working together in 13 teams. Please participate in our statewide
grassroots advocacy activities.
Filling Standing Committee Slots
We have four
standing committees that function all year long. These include the Audit Committee, Bylaws
Committee, Nominating Committee and Resolutions Committee. Each committee has a Chair and Advisor
appointed by the Federation President and six members, one from each of our six
areas, nominated by the Area Vice Presidents.
Each Area Vice President will be selecting their committee members
between now and the August Executive Board meeting. If you are on one of these committees and
wish to remain a member please let your Area Vice President know. If you would like to serve on a standing
committee contact your Area Vice President to volunteer.
I am
available to attend your chapter meetings as a guest speaker, to take your
comments or to answer your questions. I
can be reached by email at ronbuffaloe@gmail.com or by telephone at 704-633-7599 and
look forward to hearing from you.
Ron Buffaloe
NC Federation
President