This semester is blazing by! We're nearing EOH, and after EOH is spring break. We're almost halfway done, and my tyrranical rule as Chair of the ACM executive board will be coming to a close pretty soon. 'Why is he telling me this?' you ask. The reason is that the nominations for the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer for next year will be taken at the next general meeting (March 3, 5:00 PM). The meeting after that will be elections, and we'd really love to see our members take an active part in the ruling of ACM.
If you think you'd be a good candidate for a leadership position, or if you have a friend whom you feel would be a good addition to the group, come to the next meeting. If you are confused as to what each of these positions entails, read on!
Chairperson: A simple explanation of the Chair position would be 'the person who makes sure everything gets done.' Of course, that's a bit vague, so I'll continue. The Chair presides over executive meetings and general meetings, doing his or her best at assuring things go smoothly in both situations. Further, the Chair is a contact point for the rest of the world. When people need to ask a question of the great, nebulous mass of our ACM chapter, they go to the Chair, who in turn replies with infinite wisdom.
What's the payoff for all the hard work? First, you get to lead the family of executives, a talented and diverse group of hard-working individuals. Right now, the ACM has around thirty executive positions, and members of the board work together to make the ACM a better organization. You get to meet and work with the administration of the Computer Science department, as well as faculty in many other areas. To top it off, you and the other executives make contacts in the outside world, such as the unique opportunity to meet the likes of Richard Stallman, Cliff Stoll, and Frank Beier.
Vice Chairperson: The Vice Chair's job is easily as nebulous as the Chair's. Basically, the Vice Chair is supposed to do everything that the Chair does, and the two try their best to split the duties as evenly as possible. Some people make up for the 'Vice' by doing more work, like being contact points with other departments, going to Conferences, and generally working hard to make the ACM run smoothly, while keeping the Chair in line.
Secretary: There are some menial tasks that are expected of the Secretary, but the sign of a good secretary is what he or she does aside from that. We've had the opportunity to experience two outstanding secretaries this year: first, Ed Burns, and now Amy Ryan. Before he went off to work, Ed took on a number of tasks besides those expected of him. We wanted someone who would take minutes of the executive meetings, organize office hours, and maintain the executive board records. What Ed added was a level head at exec meetings (by keeping me from moving on when things weren't concluded), a lot of work on our Executive Handbook, and many other things that kept the ACM running smoothly even when I tried my best to mess them up. Since Ed left for Co-op work, Amy Ryan has done all that Ed did and more. If you feel you could help support the executive board even half as well as these two have, give the secretary position a shot!
Treasurer: As ACM strives for new and better things, tracking finances becomes increasingly important. Sure, anybody can balance a checkbook, but the ACM treasurer holds the answers to all of our questions. Tony Ng has done a great job the past two years of not only keeping the books, but also providing the executive board with information about where we stand financially, what our projected projected expenses are, and where we should expand or contract our expenditures. In addition, he has provided ACM with funding by completing numerous SORF applications for ACM and the SIGs. The fate of ACM lies in its ability to maintain itself, and in this regard, our treasurer is invaluable.
Besides the top four positions of the ACM, there are many other executive positions, each of which needs someone to fill it. Just because you've never done anything with the ACM, that doesn't mean you can't become an integral part in its success. The UIUC Student Chapter of the ACM is the largest of its kind, and one of the largest student organizations on campus. The reason things like EOH, Quad Day, and all of our general meetings run so smoothly is because of the hard work and dedication of the sleepless exec board. Come out and be a part of a growing tradition of excellence.