Board elections, IRE annual meeting set

Although the IRE national conference has been postponed until late August, IRE will follow the same calendar as it has in recent years for board elections and the annual membership meeting.

Starting April 6, IRE will begin accepting applications for candidates for the IRE board of directors. This year seven of the board’s 13 seats are up for election. The initial filing period for candidates is April 6 – May 8. All candidates filing by this time will appear on the initial ballot when voting begins May 19. Information about each candidate will be posted online.

As is customary, a candidates forum will be held at 6 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 19 -- this year online via Zoom. Electronic online voting will be open until 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 20. Results will be announced after the IRE annual membership meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. EDT on June 20, also via Zoom. Full details may be found on the IRE 2020 Board Election page.

As in the past, candidates may join the campaign after the initial filing period. However, voting will have already begun, which could diminish a late-filing candidate’s chances of being elected. Candidates filing after the initial deadline will have their materials posted online two business days after submitting all of the required information.

In addition to candidates for the board of directors, the ballot also will include candidates for two slots on IRE’s Contest Committee, which judges the IRE Awards. Those interested in judging will apply using the same procedure as IRE Board candidates and will be selected on the same ballot. Contest Committee candidates’ information will also be available on the IRE website, but they do not participate in the board candidates forum.

The IRE board of directors will hold its regularly scheduled meeting from 2-5 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 18, via an online Zoom webinar. Members are welcome to attend virtually and may ask questions at the end of the meeting, as is customary.

In addition, newly elected board members will join the rest of the board for a brief reorganization meeting on Saturday evening, June 20, following the announcement of board election results. The only item of business for that meeting, which also is open to IRE members via Zoom, will be the election of officers.