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.

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.

from the May/June 2009 NIOA News

Two candidates have met the June 1st deadline established by NIOA by-laws* to declare their intent to seek the Vice-Presidency – Jack Goldhorn and Krystn McArthur. Lou Thurston is the only candidate to submit his intent to run for Secretary. Both positions will be up for election at the annual Training Conference in Nashville 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. 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

Jack Goldhorn, Norfolk VA Fire/Rescue
“As an NIOA Regional Director for six years and organization member for 13 years I have decided to declare for the office of Vice-President. I have been an active member and have attended every training conference since being a member of NIOA and hosted the 1999 Conference in Norfolk, VA. I have worked for the City of Norfolk Fire-Rescue for 25 years and have been an active PIO since 1995. 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. I look forward to another fine conference that has been planned for Nashville and ask for your vote.”

Krystn McArthur, City of Mukilteo, WA
“I am excited to have the opportunity to run for a leadership position within the NIOA. I have long believed our organization to be very unique and special, which sets us apart from other national organizations in our field. I value and appreciate the friendships, networking opportunities and wealth of information and training the NIOA provides to its membership, constantly working to keep abreast of the latest in media, ever-changing technology and best-practices. I spent more than a decade of experience in public relations, communications and over twenty four years in local government. I retired in 2004 from the United States Air Force and held positions in the Security Forces and the Office for Public Affairs, from 1984-2004. Presently, I am the Communications Officer and Assistant City Administrator for the City of Mukilteo, Washington (including the Mukilteo Fire Department) where I oversee media relations and community outreach efforts, direct the production of the city newsletter and is leading the city’s brand management campaign. I am also responsible for cable television programming, and other promotional strategies for the advancement of the City. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and Public Administration from City University. I have been a member in good standing with the NIOA since 2005 and have served as Regional Director of Region 10 of the NIOA since 2006. I sincerely thank all of you for this outstanding opportunity to serve our membership and the NIOA.”

Candidate for Secretary

This candidate is running unopposed, therefore no ballot vote is necessary.

Lou Thurston, Newport News VA Police
“First of all I want to express my gratitude to the Board of directors and all who have worked diligently to provide what promises to be another outstanding conference. Until you have experienced the frustrations of putting such an event together, it is difficult to understand everything that is involved. I sincerely believe this year will be extremely beneficial to everyone who attends.

I have notified the Board of my intention to seek election to secretary at this year’s conference and I ask for your support. I have been an active member of the NIOA for over fifteen years, have served previously on the Board and hosted the conference held in Virginia Beach. I have watched this organization grow from a handful of public safety PIOs to the highly respected international organization of today. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to work with the NIOA to bring the high quality of training for, and the professional recognition to, the PIO profession. Having worked as a PIO, then in the media, and now as a PIO again, has provided me a much broader perspective and respect for what we do. I am extremely passionate about media relations, particularly when it comes to public safety agencies. I am a firm believer in “working with, not dealing with the media”. I carry this same passion when it comes to the NIOA. I will say this, if elected secretary, I will continue to work as a member of the “NIOA team”, which includes the Board of Directors, the Regional Directors, the Past Presidents Council and, most importantly, you the membership. I believe that in order for any organization to be effective there must be good communications with the membership. I pledge to make myself available to any member who may have a suggestion, question or concern. I can’t promise I will be able to fix every issue or make everyone happy all the time. I can promise to keep the best interest of the NIOA and its membership in the forefront and to communicate as a member of “the team”. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Nashville and hope that you will consider selecting me to be your secretary for the next two years. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or if I can, in any way, be of assistance.”

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.