NAMPI Update: Transitions and Future Opportunities

by Kelly Bennett, NAMPI Board President

Late June 2023 marked a transition in the NAMPI  community as Dawn Mock (ND), our Treasurer, bid farewell to her state service. Dawn’s departure leaves a void at NAMPI, and we express our heartfelt appreciation for her contributions and wish her success in her new endeavors. Her commitment to upholding the financial integrity of the organization has been invaluable. As we move forward, we are fortunate to have Lori Stiles (ID), our former President, who has graciously accepted the role of NAMPI Treasurer on an interim basis until the next elections.

Next year, NAMPI 2024, will be an election year for NAMPI Board members – Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary will all be up for election.  Vanessa Templeman (AZ), our current Vice President, will become President, and I will become past-President.  I am kind of hoping that Joan Senatore (MA), our current Secretary, will be willing to run again (Joan, please, I hate to take notes and you do such a good job keeping us organized).  Maybe we will luck out and Lori will have so much fun being Treasurer again that she will run for that position.

I can say from experience, that even a little bit of continuity on the Board is very nice.  

Just a reminder that our bylaws call for the Regional Representatives to be the Nominating Committee for elections – which means that a Regional Representative has to put your name on the ballot.  So you have to tell your Regional Representative that you want to run for an office.   

At the beginning of the conference (so Sunday, if not before then), the Regional Representatives tell the Chairperson of the Regional Representatives who has been nominated to be on the ballot.  I have to admit that I have read the bylaws and am not 100% sure if I think that means the Regional Representatives can veto someone who wants to run – I don’t think it has ever come up so I just don’t know.  I know that what I did when I was the Chairperson was take all the names, I spoke to the candidates and wrote up a quick bio about them, and then at some point (probably Wednesday before the official business meeting) I read them out to the membership so that the membership had the information to contemplate.  Many years, we only have one nomination for an office so there isn’t an election (it’s not necessary).  

If we do have to have an election, each state and territory that is present at the conference gets a vote.  We haven’t had to consider whether a state or territory that is only present virtually also gets a vote (hmmm…maybe I need to mention that to the bylaws committee; more about the bylaws later).  But how the vote happens is that the Program Integrity Leader for each state or territory gets to vote.  If the Leader is not there, then their “second in command” can vote for them.   I don’t think it has come up before, but I think basically the highest ranking person in any state or territory that is present can do the vote – the important point is that it is one per state/territory and has to be turned in by the designated time to count.

All this to say, no election during the Arizona NAMPI that is coming up really soon…but be thinking about if you want to run in the future.  The organization is only as good as its membership and our NAMPI Program Integrity Leadership is really who we count on to keep things progressing as they have been.