SAVMA 2025 Leadership: apply by 10/20

SAVMA 2025 leadership on your mind? Never been on a board before? That’s ok, a professional association is a great organization to start. You can start in any position and catch on quickly due to the size of the organization and the support you have from the prior year’s boards. This process is called institutionalization. What is means is there are lots of materials available to you so you won’t be “reinventing the wheel.” So you might have questions about serving in a leadership position, like why do you keep saying leadership instead of board member? We say leadership because you might end up serving on a committee, or chairing an event, but not serving on the board. All of those volunteers will still be a part of the SAVMA 2025 leadership team. Here are some more Frequently Asked Questions!

SAVMA 2025 Leadership Process and Timeline

Nomination, Qualification, Selection, and Election of Directors and Officers

This process was adopted by the general membership in December 2019. Individuals may nominate themselves or a colleague. The nomination process is open August 31 – September 30th each year. The schedule for nominations and elections are as follows:

SAVMA 2025 Leadership Dates to Know

  • Nomination Open: August 31st
  • Nomination Deadline: September 30th
  • Candidate Phone Interviews: First week in October
  • Slate Announced: by third week in October
  • Voting Opens: last week in October
  • Voting Closes: No later than 30 days prior to annual meeting
  • New Board and Officers Notified of Results: 2nd Week in November
  • Election Results Announced at Annual Meeting (near December 15th)
  • Additional nominations from the floor accepted (if spaces were open) at annual meeting.
  • Governance Committee (vets floor nominations during December for referral to the Board at the January meeting): The Board shall elect eligible candidates at the first meeting of the Board.
  • Board Orientation: Second week in December
  • Board Term Begins: January 1st

SAVMA 2025 Leadership Positions open for application

  • President
  • President-Elect
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Communications Chair
  • Membership Chair
  • Programs and Events Chair
  • SAVMA Awards 2026 Chair
  • SAVMA Volunteer Fair Chair
  • Volunteer Management Conference Chair
  • Member at Large
  • Member at Large
  • Member at Large

Qualifications for Leadership

  1. Active membership in SAVMA (any eligible membership type is acceptable)
  2. Complete leadership profile submitted to SAVMA leadership (email our Secretary Jill LaBrie at the SAVMA email with your bio, CV, résumé or a letter of interest).
  3. Supervisors support for your participation in SAVMAs leadership (please get a letter of support from your supervisor).

Collaborative Directors’ Responsibilities

  1. Determine mission and purpose.
  2. Ensure effective strategic planning (goals/objectives).
  3. Monitor, and strengthen programs and services.
  4. Ensure adequate financial resources.
  5. Protect assets and provide proper financial oversight.
  6. Build a competent board.
  7. Ensure legal and ethical integrity.
  8. Enhance the organization’s public standing.

Individual Director Responsibilities

  1. Review meeting materials and participate actively in meetings
  2. Serve on at least one committee or task force (this is where most of the work occurs)
  3. Attend general programs and events
  4. Solicit or assist in the solicitation of your organization for support

Committee Chair Responsibilities

SAVMA committees are chaired by a board member, but committee members may be from the SAVMA general membership.

  1. Sets and distribute agendas, meeting notices, and minutes
  2. Ensure minutes are taken and submitted to the Chair of the Board
  3. Facilitates committee meetings
  4. Develop committee goals and objectives that are connected to the strategic plan
  5. Ensure all committee members are actively assigned projects as this is where the work of the board is accomplished
  6. Help the committee formulate philosophy statements, and recommendations and motions to the Board of Directors
  7. Plan for committee sustainability by recruiting new members with pertinent skills and talents to the work of the committee

Committees (where the real work happens)

  • Membership: Purpose shall be to recruit, retain, and support the membership of SAVMA.
  • Program and Events: Purpose shall be to coordinate monthly professional development and networking meetings for the general membership including arranging for presenters and securing facilities.
    • SAVMA Awards 2026
    • Volunteer Management Professional Conference
    • SAVMA Volunteer Fair 2026
  • Communications: Purpose shall be to communicate with SAVMA’s membership and local media through the integration of the organization’s fundraising, marketing, and service delivery activities.
  • Governance and Administration: To ensure that the board meets its legal, ethical, and functional duties related to corporate filings, financial management, policy development, review, implementation and oversight. Supports activities related to financial management and reporting and board education, monitoring of board activities, and evaluation of board members’ performance.

Apply here:

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