Freelance Community Annual Elections!
Hello Freelancers … Got any ideas for how to make the Freelance Community better? Join our board!
Annual elections are coming up, and we’d love to get new folks involved. Anyone who is a member of SPJ and the Freelance Community is encouraged to run for any of the following positions. Nominations are due Tuesday, Nov. 21.
POSITIONS
Chair – serves as liaison with SPJ Board, staff, committees and chapters as needed; responds to questions from freelancers; with other Board members, coordinates activities of the Community throughout the year
Vice-Chair – assists and stands in for the Chair as needed; other duties as assigned
Secretary – coordinates submissions to the Quill magazine and the Independent Journalist blog; keeps notes of the Community’s annual meeting and periodic board meetings
Membership chair – welcomes new members; plans membership campaigns and retention efforts; serves as liaison with the national SPJ Membership Committee
Events chair – coordinates and plans online events throughout the year; leads the Community’s suggestions for training sessions at EIJ
Resources chair – edits and updates On Your Own: A Guide to Freelance Journalism; works with SPJ staff to update and improve the Community’s hub on spj.org, including the Freelancer Directory; creates and maintains other freelancer resources
At-large directors (2) – monitors and maintains the Community’s social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter; other duties as agreed
If you want to run for one of these positions or if you’d like more information, please email the current chair, Hazel Becker, at hazel@hazelbecker.com so she can let the SPJ headquarters staff know of your interest. You must be an SPJ member and a Freelance Community member (no extra charge) in good standing in order to serve on the board or vote in the election.
NOTE: If you’re not sure whether you’re officially a member of the Freelance Community, don’t let that stop you from expressing your interest in running for the board. As long as you’re a current member of SPJ, we can get that rectified easily, and there’s no extra charge.
Nominations are due this Tuesday, Nov. 21, so don’t delay!
I have found that it feels really good to give back to the community where I found support and valuable resources as I started my freelance career three years ago. It’s also been a great way to connect on a deeper level with other freelancers and share the satisfaction of getting good work done in the world.
I hope you’ll consider chipping in, too!
– Hilary Niles, secretary