Have you registered for the 2010 NIOA Conference to be held in Clearwater, Florida? Early bird registration fee of $495.00 for members and $595.00 for non-members ends next week.
Registrations made after July 1, 2010 increase to $695.00 regardless of membership.
Get the registration form here and the conference agenda here.
Two candidates have met the June 1st deadline established by NIOA by-laws* to declare their intent to seek the Vice-Presidency – Joe Laud and Chuck Allen. Both positions will be up for election at the annual Training Conference in Clearwater in late August.
If you would like to vote for one of these candidates, but are unable to attend the conference, absentee ballots are available.
The ballot must be mailed to Executive Director Lisa McNeal and be postmarked by August 1, 2010 to be accepted. Please follow the directions* on the ballot clearly, or the vote will not be counted. Download the ballot form here.
Joe Laud, City of Houston Emergency Center/Office of Emergency Management
“Greetings to all! My name is Joe Laud and I am seeking your support to help acquire the Vice President position in the upcoming election to be held in this year’s National Information Officers Association (NIOA) training conference in Clearwater, Florida.
I have been an active member of NIOA since 2005 and currently serve as a Co-Regional Director for Region 6.
On a local level, I have been with the City of Houston for approximately twelve years and I am the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the City of Houston Emergency Center and Office of Emergency Management. Prior to accepting this position, I was a PIO for the Houston Police Department.
In addition to my daily duties, I co-chair the Houston/Galveston Regional PIO Network and serve as the PIO for the Greater Houston Local Emergency Planning Committee.
NIOA is a great organization which has allowed me to develop friendships, networking opportunities, and the ability to stay current in the field of public affairs. It is for these reasons that I am compelled to seek a leadership position within the organization to apply my experiences for the benefit of NIOA.
Your support of my candidacy for Vice President is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your consideration and I hope the conference treats you all well.”
Chuck Allen, Nevada Highway Patrol
“To give you some background about myself, I have been with the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Highway-Patrol Division for twenty years and have spent the past six plus years as the spokesperson for my agency. I am also a twenty-six year member of the military and am currently assigned as the Human Resource Advisor for the 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard, and report directly to the Wing Commander.
I have been a member of the NIOA since 2004 and have attended every annual conference since then. Additionally, I assisted with a presentation detailing the lessons learned regarding the Steve Fossett search at the Sparks conference in 2008 and spoke at one of the breakouts in Nashville last year about doing more as a PIO.
The core values for my full time career are Dedication, Pride, and Service, and my Air National Guard core values are Integrity, Service before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. As a public information officer I live by the core values of Approachability, Availability, and Visibility. With a belief system in applying all of these values, I truly believe I represent my agency in the most professional manner and believe that by building and maintaining relationships with the media is the key to being successful.
As for my involvement in the community, I have been a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Nevada Humane Society for 4 years and am currently assigned as the Secretary. I am also heavily involved in the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) in Nevada and coordinate and participate in a number of fundraisers every year benefiting the athletes in the Special Olympics Nevada program. I also sit on the board of directors for the Sparks Traffic Survival School, a non-profit group involved with providing teen and adult driving safety training.
If elected, I will work as hard and as passionately as possible in promoting and expanding the growth of the NIOA. I love this organization immensely and will continue to be a proud member and a hopeful officer of the board at the conference in Clearwater this year. I will be happy to elaborate this desire when delivering my speech.”
*XII. ELECTIONS
C. Proxy votes may be cast by filling out a form provided by the Executive Director, and will only be counted if received by mail (USPS or commercial delivery service), postmarked by August 1st. No email proxy votes or proxy votes presented via other members at the Annual Training Conference will be accepted.