On Thursday, October 26, Region C met in Austin, TX, at WE17. This was our last face-to-face Region meeting, as the Senate voted at WE17 to dissolve Regions after much planning and conversation across the Society for the past several years.
We started the meeting by presenting Region awards. Congratulations to the following award winners!
Next two of our Life Members, Hope Toole Schwalls and Shelley Stracener, drew names for our Life Membership Award Drawing. Region C will support half of a Life Membership for a number of its Professional members, pending a final vote of the Region Council.
Our Region C Governor, Sherry Williams, introduced all the Region C officers and LCC coaches and then held an election for the FY18 Region C Nominating Committee Chair. Congrats to Olivia LeBlanc on being elected! Two Region C positions will be elected for FY19: a three-year Senator and a two-year Region Representative to the Society Nominating Committee. Please contact Olivia if you are interested in running for either of these positions.
Kate Van Dellen gave a Senate update, including a discussion of the motions to be voted on during Saturday's Senate meeting. Senators would have three-year terms and would not be voted in by Regions. Instead all members (professional and collegiate) would be given a slate of candidates. The total number of senators would decrease over time, from 32 to 21. This is because the Senate would serve more as a strategic body, while committees would take over day-to-day work. As Regions dissolve, a lot of the current Region work would be delegated to HQ and/or LCC; and there is a targeted plan with dates. (As you may have heard, all motions passed; and SWE will be moving forward with governance changes! Stay tuned for more details.)
Olivia LeBlanc gave a Leadership Coaching Committee (LCC) update, including how section support will change with the new governance structure. LCC will still be very focused on section vitality, offering coaching and presentations to SWE sections, affiliates, and MALs. HQ will take on more of the administrative roles, while sections will also receive support from online resources and collegiate section advisors and counselors.
Inaas Darrat, our FY18 Region C Rep to the Society Nominating Committee, gave an update from the committee, including her own role in interviewing, vetting per SWE's Leadership Competency Model, and slating candidates. You should have received an email from HQ about providing feedback on potential candidates; please provide feedback and then vote when the slate is released!
Sherry Williams ended the meeting with a few announcements, including WE Local. The FY18 WE Local conferences will be held as follows:
We are proud of all of our Region C members who participated not only in the Region C meeting but all across WE17. Over 14,000 people attended the conference! Our members served on the conference host committee; volunteered; spoke at sessions; won awards; and served in the Senate, LCC, Nom Com, and other committees. They worked hard not only during WE17 but for months beforehand. Thank you to you all for your service and for making SWE what it is! Though we will not gather again as a Region, we look forward to taking our SWE experience into the future and making a difference in new ways and spaces. Thank you, Region C!
We started the meeting by presenting Region awards. Congratulations to the following award winners!
- Outstanding Participation (Collegiate) - Texas A & M University at College Station
- Outstanding Collegiate Section - University of Texas at Austin
- Collegiate Outstanding/Innovative Existing Program -
University of North Texas - Collegiate Outstanding/Innovative
New Program - University of Houston - Sustaining Benefactor Award - Lockheed Martin
- Emerging Leader (Collegiate) - Bailey Bauman
- Emerging Leader (Professional) - Olivia LeBlanc
- Distinguished Service Award - Shelley Stracener
Next two of our Life Members, Hope Toole Schwalls and Shelley Stracener, drew names for our Life Membership Award Drawing. Region C will support half of a Life Membership for a number of its Professional members, pending a final vote of the Region Council.
Our Region C Governor, Sherry Williams, introduced all the Region C officers and LCC coaches and then held an election for the FY18 Region C Nominating Committee Chair. Congrats to Olivia LeBlanc on being elected! Two Region C positions will be elected for FY19: a three-year Senator and a two-year Region Representative to the Society Nominating Committee. Please contact Olivia if you are interested in running for either of these positions.
Kate Van Dellen gave a Senate update, including a discussion of the motions to be voted on during Saturday's Senate meeting. Senators would have three-year terms and would not be voted in by Regions. Instead all members (professional and collegiate) would be given a slate of candidates. The total number of senators would decrease over time, from 32 to 21. This is because the Senate would serve more as a strategic body, while committees would take over day-to-day work. As Regions dissolve, a lot of the current Region work would be delegated to HQ and/or LCC; and there is a targeted plan with dates. (As you may have heard, all motions passed; and SWE will be moving forward with governance changes! Stay tuned for more details.)
Olivia LeBlanc gave a Leadership Coaching Committee (LCC) update, including how section support will change with the new governance structure. LCC will still be very focused on section vitality, offering coaching and presentations to SWE sections, affiliates, and MALs. HQ will take on more of the administrative roles, while sections will also receive support from online resources and collegiate section advisors and counselors.
Inaas Darrat, our FY18 Region C Rep to the Society Nominating Committee, gave an update from the committee, including her own role in interviewing, vetting per SWE's Leadership Competency Model, and slating candidates. You should have received an email from HQ about providing feedback on potential candidates; please provide feedback and then vote when the slate is released!
Sherry Williams ended the meeting with a few announcements, including WE Local. The FY18 WE Local conferences will be held as follows:
- WE Local Tulsa: January 26-28, 2018
- WE Local Phoenix: February 23-25, 2018
- WE Local Milwaukee: March 9-11, 2018
- WE Local Portland: April 6-8, 2018
- WE Local Providence: April 20-22, 2018
We are proud of all of our Region C members who participated not only in the Region C meeting but all across WE17. Over 14,000 people attended the conference! Our members served on the conference host committee; volunteered; spoke at sessions; won awards; and served in the Senate, LCC, Nom Com, and other committees. They worked hard not only during WE17 but for months beforehand. Thank you to you all for your service and for making SWE what it is! Though we will not gather again as a Region, we look forward to taking our SWE experience into the future and making a difference in new ways and spaces. Thank you, Region C!
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