Elections for Guild Officers

This years election for the Board positions of the Guild of Oriental Dance went well thanks to Deb Brazil!.


2011 - 2012 Board Officers Elect Are:

  • First Chair - Sandra Hounder
  • Second Chair - Joanna Lessard
  • Treasurer - Kathy McCurdy
  • Secretary - Sandy Prochaska
  • Communications - Katie Burton
  • Membership - Katie Burton
  • Newsletter - Saskia Nichols
  • Webmaster - Theresa Jurisch

Introducing the Officers Elect!

First Chair
Sam Huonder

I have been a Guild Member for over 2 years and I would enjoy assuming a more active leadership role as the First Chair. I think the First Chair position requires an individual with the ability to bring diverse groups of people together toward a variety of goals. I enjoy meeting new people and would work to help promote camaraderie and fellowship among all dancers in the community. I have worked for several non-profit and hobby organizations for many years. I have frequently held a leadership role because of my ability to organize and motivate others. In one group I was instrumental in developing and implementing a program to attract new members. This effort resulted in a membership increase of more than 20% and several of these new members went on to assume leadership roles within the group. In another club I functioned as the Social Chair where I successfully planned, coordinated and completed five different social events for 100 plus members.

Second Chair
Joanna Lessard

I have a passion for music and dance, self-expression and creative outlets. I see being a member of the board as a way to promote the art and joy of Middle Eastern music, dance, and culture among our members as well as the local community, as well as being able to help provide opportunities for our members to express that. As a ballroom dance teacher and studio owner, I believe my years of experience there will allow me to provide professional leadership as well as creative opportunities for the guild.

Treasurer
Kathy McCurdy

I have been an active Guild member for 26 years (yes - I know it sounds like I'm old but it only sounds like that). For much of that time I have been a member of the Board and have held several positions. I enjoy working with numbers and have always been good at math (this should relieve many of your worries). I have been the Treasurer of the Guild for more than 6 years so I bring a lot of experience and proven ability. There have been many changes to the Treasurer's position during this time. When I started I inherited a position that used a paper log to track all expenditures and payments. Since then I have worked to continually upgrade our processes which so that now I use Quicken to track income and expenses and produce reports for the Board. Before we began using PayPal, I also researched and implemented other payment services that allowed members to join or renew easily. I enjoy being the Treasurer and hope you will reelect me to this position.

Secretary
Sandy Prochaska

I feel the position of Secretary will help me stay actively involved in this beautiful dance and the art form that it truly is. I am interested in meeting others that are interested in this art and actively involving others that may not at this time be involved in it and would like to be. As Secretary (being fairly new to belly dance), I will bring to this position dedication, excitement and a long history of note taking, recording and keeping written records (current Criminal Justice student and Cosmetology Instructor) and no fear of speaking in front of others. I am up for the challenge and believe being new to a position brings fresh ideas and a different perspective. I may be a newcomer, but I am not new to volunteer work (St. Francis Hospital ER, Shakopee Police Department Citizens Academy , CERT, Basset Buddies Rescue: Paperwork, calling and fundraising, and Project Homeless). I have a genuine love of life, people, music, and of course Rak Sharqi!

Communications
Katie Burton

Being new to the Guild, I am very excited by the opportunity to be Communications Officer within such a great organization. I discovered Middle Eastern dance 2 years ago and something that was a hobby has now seemingly taken over my life, so serving in the Guild seems to be the next logical step! I hope that with this position I can bring a fresh new voice to the community and of course help out in any way possible. Thank you for your consideration!

Membership
Katie Burton

Being new to the Guild, I am very excited by the opportunity to be Membership Officer within such a great organization. I discovered Middle Eastern dance 2 years ago and something that was a hobby has now seemingly taken over my life, so serving in the Guild seems to be the next logical step! I hope that with this position I can bring a fresh new voice to the community and of course help out in any way possible. Thank you for your consideration!

Newsletter
Saskia Nichols

I am interested in being the Newsletter Editor because I enjoy writing and communicating, especially about dance! Currently, I work as an Insurance Inspection Reviewer (it’s like correcting papers all day). I have a B.A. in Dance from Antioch College which I bring up so that you know that: 1) I’m used to writing about dance, not just insurance; 2) I am open to and interested in many forms of dance; 3) I’m familiar with committees, meetings and all the joys they bring; and 4) I understand how important dance can be for the soul, but that sometimes we get so wrapped up in practical stuff we need reminders to drop everything and GO DANCE! (Or at least put it on our calendars). So even though I’ve only been bellydancing since January of 2009, I am really happy to have discovered this community and would like to be able to “give back” a little. Thanks!

Webmaster
Theresa Jurisch

I am running for the Guild webmaster position. I recently was appointed to this position and picked up quickly on the to-do items. I made some improvements to the forms on the site, added pages for elections as well as for next years’ Guild Show! Additional items have been requested for an [on-line] photo album and reimbursement form. I have been a guild member since 2005 and this is my first time serving as an officer. I would like to continue my recent appointment as an elected officer and serve the Guild for the next two years as the webmaster. We are planning to move out of state in the next two years and I fully intend to continue membership in the Guild as well as serve as the webmaster.

Here are some details about being an officer:

  1. Descriptions of each position can be found on the Constitution and By-laws page. The descriptions are listed under Article VII - Duties of Officers. You may also want to review Article V - Executive Board.
  2. 1st and 2nd Chair Officers may hold only 1 board position at a time, but other Officers may hold up to 2 positions at the same time.
  3. Term of office is 2 years. We ask that if you feel you cannot commit to the full 2 years, that you refrain from running for office, but please note there are many, many other ways to volunteer and support the Guild. If you have an idea, let us know!!
  4. During an election to nominate someone else, you MUST provide that person's name, phone # and/or email address, and the positions(s) for which you are nominating them. If you are nominating yourself, please be sure to indicate which position(s) you are interested in.
  5. All positions are available and the only requirement to be a candidate if that you must be a member in good standing - in other words, your membership dues must be paid up to date. If you're not sure of your status, please let the nominating committee chair know and she will find out for you.