With the upcoming conference, elections will be held for Vice-President and Secretary this year. The Vice President position is a committed 3 year position serving as Vice-President, President , and Past President. The position of Secretary is a committed 2 year position.

     Anyone who would like to run for an office must declare their intention by sending an email to the Board (nioa@comcast.net) by June 1^st.  Setting this deadline will give the Board an opportunity to ensure that the candidate is in compliance with by-laws in terms of membership status and conference attendance. 

   The by-laws state “Any person wishing to run for office must have been a regular member in good standing for three consecutive years, including the year of the nomination and must have also attended at least two NIOA conferences in a five-year period, including the year of the nomination, in order to be eligible.”

The NIOA Board members are working hard to prepare for the 2011 conference in Phoenix, Arizona. We know that there are budget concerns for many agencies, travel monies are few and some agencies are not providing funds for training.

We also believe that this conference is the finest conference available for PIOs to hone their skills, receive new insights to help them improve themselves as PIOs and therefore benefit their agencies, and of course, to build networks with others that can help when help is needed.

As past NIOA Presidents have done, I am providing a letter for members to share with their chief or administrator to help show the value of the annual training conference. Please download, print and present it to your leaders so that they might better understand the overall value of this conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Phoenix.

Jack Goldhorn
2010-2011 President
NIOA

Tammy L. Chatman, NIOA Region 5 Director, has shared the Powerpoint presentation that she delivered at the August 2010 NIOA Conference in Clearwater.  The presentation, “Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, Blogging: What’s Your Policy?” addresses the need for developing a social media policy within your agency.

You can download this document:

Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, Blogging: What’s Your Policy?

NIOA members have elected Chuck Allen as Vice President for 2010-2011. Jack Goldhorn will advance as President of the organization. Marlee Boenig will continue to serve on the executive board for one year as Immediate Past President.

From Chuck’s recent election bio:

“…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.

…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…”

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.

Candidates for NIOA Vice-President

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.”

From the by-laws

*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.

You can now download the 2010 conference registration form. Please note that this is form-fillable. It is best for the Executive Director that you fill in the information on your computer before printing the document. Hand-written forms are often difficult to read and may result in incorrect information being recorded.

Download the registration form.

The NIOA Board members are working hard to prepare for the 2010 conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida. We know that there are budget concerns for many agencies, travel monies are few and some agencies are not providing funds for training.

We also believe that this conference is the finest conference available for PIOs to hone their skills, receive new insights to help them improve themselves as PIOs and therefore benefit their agencies, and of course, to build networks with others that can help when help is needed.

As past NIOA Presidents have done, I am providing a letter for members to share with their chief or administrator to help show the value of the annual training conference. Please download, print and present it to your leaders so that they might better understand the overall value of this conference.

We look forward to seeing you in Clearwater Beach.

Marlee Boenig
2009-2010 President
NIOA

Enclosure: 2010 NIOA President Letter to Chiefs

Jack Goldhorn, Norfolk Fire-Rescue, has been elected to the National Information Officers Association Board of Directors as Vice President for 2010. Elections were held Tuesday, August 25 during the 2009 Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Goldhorn has been an active member and has attended every training conference since becoming a member of NIOA. He assisted with the hosting of the 1999 Conference in Norfolk, VA.  He has worked for the City of Norfolk Fire-Rescue for 25 years and has been an active public information officer since 1995.

Jack says, “Being active on not only local and regional PIO councils has given me the passion to continue on the national level to share my experience and guidance with NIOA.”

Lou Thurston, Newport News Police Department, has been elected NIOA Secretary. This is a two-year term commencing at the end of the 2009 conference through the end of the conference in Phoenix in 2011. Thurston is not new to the role. He has served previously as secretary of the NIOA and is a past-president. Andrea Summers, Delaware Department of Highway Safety, served as secretary for two-years.

Marlee Boenig, Bowling Green Fire Department (KY), assumes the role of president of the NIOA for one year. She served as vice-president of the association this year and has been active in increasing communications to the membership and to the regional director team. Rich Palmer, Washington Township Fire Department (Montgomery County, OH), will continue to serve on the Board of Directors as Immediate Past President for one year.

Ike Pigott is scheduled to be a presenter on August 24 at our NIOA Conference in Nashville. In this interview he shares a few great success stories.

Have you planned to attend the conference? Visit the conference page for more info!