General elections for the elected NISOA Executive Board and senior leadership positions are scheduled to occur in April 2016 for the 2017-2018 term. The NISOA By Laws allow each chapter to forward a name for each elected office position and the regional representative for the chapter’s geographical region.

The NISOA Executive Committee just completed our mid-year meeting and discussed a number of critical topics. A theme of the discussions was the need for more openness and inclusion in both our organizational structure and communications. There is an acknowledgement that NISOA must continue to evolve to meet the needs of our membership and the needs of the ever changing collegiate soccer environment. We also recognize there is a sense of urgency around these changes and the need for NISOA to be more responsive to its members and its customers. We have made a significant number of meaningful changes over the last few years to streamline our decision making, define accountabilities, maintain and strengthen communication and conduits to the local chapters and increase transparency and inclusiveness. To that end, we are revising up the election nomination process to be more inclusive and open and to drive more diversity in our leadership (geographic, ethnic, and gender diversity). All elected positions will be open to nominations from the membership and not only from the nominations committee (chaired by the Past President, Todd Abraham) as long as the nominee meets these few basic requirements:

• Membership in good standing for the past 4 years.
• Submission of a position statement about the candidates qualifications / intentions in the role. This statement should reflect how the candidate would further the organization and better engagement with the membership. (Note: we want elections to be based on the qualifications and positions taken by the candidate, not simply name recognition)
• Willingness to serve for the term of the office – 2 years for each position except Vice President which has a 6 year commitment – 2 years as VP, 2 years as President, 2 years as immediate Past President (reduced duties and expectations)

There is an application form on the NISOA web site which will allow members to apply for the elected positions online. The application will be sent directly to the chapter contact for action. Since only the chapters may place a name into nomination for elected office, chapter contacts should be prepared to receive these applications via email and notify the Nominating Committee as appropriate.

Thank you, in advance, for your attention and assistance moving our organization forward.