COUNCIL OF REPRESENTATIVES (COR)

 

The FY10 SWE Region H Leadership is as follows:

Lt Gov - April Privett, Central Illinois
Secretary - John Kasab, Detroit
Treasurer - Renata Vallese, Southwest Michigan
Region H Rep to National Nominating Committee - Beth Mack, Central, Illinois

The FY09 SWE Region H Leadership is as follows:

Gov - Elizabeth Bierman, SWE - Minnesota
Lt Gov - April Privett, SWE - Central Illinois
Secretary - Jenny Morikawa, SWE -Detroit
Treasurer - Julie Long, SWE - Minnesota
The FY09 Council of Representives from the Minnesota Section are:

Jenna Rendon
Lindsey Roberts
Lisa Schmalhurst


National and Regional FY09 Awards:
Every year SWE-MN submits applications for Regional and National awards for individuals and professional sections. This year, SWE-MN
will apply for awards in career guidance, professional development, member-ship and communications on both the region and national levels.
Thanks to all of you who have put in the time and work that allows us to apply for, and hopefully win, these awards! SWE-MN will also be
nominating Alyse Stofer for the Region H Emerging Leader Award. Alyse is currently the SWE Director of Regions and a professional member
of SWE-MN. Best of luck to Alyse!

Region H FY10 Chair and Committee Openings:
The following Region H committees are in need of members and chairs for FY10:
Audit Committee – Chair and Members
College Transition Committee – Members
Celebrate SWE – Members
Procedures – Chair and Members
If one of the groups listed above sounds interesting to you, please contact Region H Governor Elizabeth Bierman at ekbierman@yahoo.com or
us at cor@swe-mn.org and we can get you in touch with the correct person to learn more.

Region H Senator Election Results:
Starting in FY10, the Senate structure will be put in to practice and the recently elected Region H Senators will be the new voice for Region H
membership at the national level. The following Region H senators were elected via the National SWE ballot:
Professional Senators: Diane LaFortune – Chicago Regional Section and Laurel Jaeger – Southwest Michigan Section
Collegiate Senator: Emily Carroll – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Diane will be serving a two year term, while Laurel will only be serving a one year term, allowing for leadership overlap year to year.
Congratulations to Diane, Laurel and Emily!

COR will act as the official contact between the Senate and the Section, so please feel free to contact us with comments or questions at
cor@swe-mn.org.

Potential Change in Number of COR per Section:
A discussion item during the May Region H conference call was to potentially change the required number of COR per section. Currently,
each section needs to provide one COR per 100 members, with a minimum of one COR and a cap at four. Larger sections within SWE are finding
it difficult to fill all four positions with qualified leaders. It was proposed that the Senate consider changing the by-laws to require a smaller number
of COR per section, which would be in-line with the newly implemented Senate structure. If passed, the new COR structure would go in effect
for FY11. Three options will be openly discussed during the June Region H conference call:

  1. One COR per professional section, regardless of the number of members.
  2. One COR per 100 professional members, capped at two COR per section.
  3. One COR per 200 professional members, capped at two COR per section.
Each professional section will need to provide at least one COR, regardless of the minimum number of professional members. We are looking for
your comments, questions, and concerns on this topic to present at the June Region H conference call. Please email us at cor@swe-mn.org with
your thoughts!

National SWE Budget for FY10:
Like many other businesses and organizations, SWE has not been immune to the recent economic downturn. National SWE has spent the past
few months reevaluating its spending habits and tightening the belt to eliminate unnecessary spending. Even with these efforts, the Board of
Directors is expecting FY10 to have 20% less income than FY08. It has been brought to the attention of the COR the need to consider utilizing funds
from the SWE Contingency Reserve Fund (CRF) to supplement the FY10 budget. Currently, a motion is being planned for presentation to the FY10
senate in July to petition moving money from the CRF. We are looking for your comments, questions, and concerns on this issue to present to the
rest of the COR. Please email us at cor@swe-mn.org.

Region H Fall Leadership Meeting:
Region H leadership is planning a leadership meeting to be held on August 29, 2009 in St. Joseph, MI. The Southwest Michigan Section in conjunction
with Whirlpool Corporation will be hosting the meeting. Attendees will include Region H Officers, COR, Senators and Section presidents, who will
gather to preparefor the upcoming National Conference. The agenda of the meeting will focus in on Region Hbusiness and train-ing of leadership.
With the new Senate structure, this event will also give attendees the opportunity to edu-cate and prepare Senators with feedback for the National
Conference. Look for a summary of issues dis-cussed at the leadership meeting in an upcoming SWE-MN newsletter this fall.

WE09 – The National Conference for Women Engineers:
The Gateway to the World will open up wider than ever with opportunity as more than 6,000 women in engineering and technology will converge in
Long Beach, CA for WE09 – the largest and most comprehensive gathering of forward-thinking women engineers and technologists. When these
bright and energetic women come together great things will happen. Careers will advance, as will the world of technology. Plus, it’s on the
beach! …and nothing’s bad about that!

Mark Your Calendars!
WE09 – The SWE 2009 National Conference
October 15-19, 2009
Women Advancing the World of Technology
Long Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, California
1.877.SWE.INFO