Six seats up for election on the IRE Board - Deadline to file and appear on absentee ballots is April 26

The filing period has begun for those planning to run for the IRE Board of Directors. Six seats on the 13-member board are up for election. The election will be held June 11 at the IRE annual conference in Orlando, Fla.

The IRE Board serves as the governing body of IRE and generally meets in person twice a year to discuss and vote on IRE business. One of the meetings is at the annual IRE conference in June. The board periodically has conference calls.

Directors serve on committees and task forces made up of board members and appointed non-board IRE members.

The seats are for two-year terms, and incumbents may seek re-election to the board. A board position is unpaid; board members and their news organizations are expected to pay all, or a substantial amount, of travel expenses to board meetings. IRE will provide limited help in cases of need. Candidates must be IRE members in the professional or academic category.

Board members are expected to help raise funds and contribute financial or other resources to the organization. In addition, they lose eligibility to enter the IRE Awards contest if they have a significant role in the contest entry.

Here is the schedule for this year’s elections. Details about each part of the process are available online. Full information about election procedures is available online.

• April 26: Deadline for candidates to file and appear on absentee ballots; opening day for absentee ballot requests.
• April 29: Candidates’ statements posted online on the IRE website.
• May 24: Last day to request absentee ballots.
• May 25: Deadline for candidates to be listed on the website (5 p.m. CDT).
• June 1: Deadline for absentee ballots to reach the IRE office.
• June 10: Final deadline (at noon CDT) to declare candidacy for the election-day ballot.
• June 11: Board elections at annual membership meeting.

Submit your declaration of candidacy to IRE membership coordinator John Green at jgreen@ire.org. Requests for absentee ballots should be submitted to ballots@ire.org.

In addition to selecting new board members, those in attendance at the June meeting will select two members for the Contest Committee, which will judge the IRE Awards. Anyone interested in those positions can contact the IRE office for further details.