SSA Board Nominations -- Deadline January 31, 2008

December 10, 2007

Dear Member:

I am writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA) to request the submissions of names for nomination to the Board for 2008-09. The SSA Board has begun to prepare for the Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held April 4-6, 2008 and the Nominations Committee of the Board wants to ensure that we have a good head start this year on the process of recruiting new Directors.

As was promised at the 2007 Annual General Meeting, the SSA Board has been working hard on developing formalized processes for governance for the Association. These include effective and transparent processes for the recruitment and nomination of new Directors, as described below.

BOARD REPRESENTATION

One of our goals is to achieve diversity in the make-up of the SSA Board. We want to attract individuals not only from different communities across the province but, equally importantly, from different walks of life and with diverse backgrounds, interests and expertise. After having studied the composition of the current Board, our Nominations Committee has suggested that we expand the Board’s diversity by recruiting more individuals from minority groups, (e.g., women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people), as well as individuals who have expertise or experience in the following areas:

• law
• corporate and/or business
• communications or media
• marketing/public relations

However, we wish to emphasize that individuals who do not fall into any of these categories are equally welcome and necessary, and we encourage our Members to put forward their names. There are many different skills, backgrounds and experiences that can contribute to the SSA’s success.

AN OPEN, RESPONSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The SSA Board of Directors has developed a recruitment process for new Directors that is open, responsible and effective. The process works as follows:

1.Members submit names and basic biographical* and contact information to the Chair of the Nominations Committee.
2.Candidates are sent a folder of information, in the way of an orientation, outlining the SSA Mission, the nature of the SSA’s work, and the responsibilities and expectations of Directors of SSA.
3.After looking at the above information, candidates make a decision on whether they wish to have their names forwarded for nomination to the AGM, and so inform the Nominations Committee Chair (by mail or e-mail).
4.The names of confirmed candidates are forwarded by the Nominations Committee to the Board for approval in principle so that a slate of candidates can be prepared for the AGM.
5.The AGM votes on the candidates whose names have been forwarded by the Board.

*The basic biographical information forwarded to the Nominations Committee should
include the following: name, address, District, gender, occupation, any Board experience, and any expertise (e.g., legal, financial, administrative, other) that might be useful to the Board.

A key step in this process is the candidate’s reading of the information about the nature of her or his work as an SSA Director and the commitment that is expected by the organization. The SSA Board strongly believes that the decision made by a candidate to let her or his name stand for nomination must be an informed one and thus must be made, before the AGM takes place, on the basis of accurate information about the nature of the responsibilities entailed. In this spirit, we would like to adopt the practice (commonly used in non-profit organizations) of accepting only those nominations received in advance of the AGM, and not from the floor of the AGM.

Please remind interested candidates that they must be nominated by a Member of SSA (normally a District). Members are asked to forward names to the Chair of the Nominations Committee, Leonard Lewko either by regular mail (c/o SSA Head Office) or e-mail (leonard.lewko@sasktel.net). The deadline for submission of names is 31 January 2008.

If there are any questions about the nomination process, please contact Leonard Lewko.

Sincerely



Jeannette Kuc,
President, SSA Board of Directors