Since January, the Nominating Committee, comprised of Sheila Ardery (Chair), George Batchelor, Jim Emerson, Andrew Morse, and Ann Woodbury, has met regularly and worked diligently, conducting outreach via the FUUSN business list and Newsletter and providing information during Coffee Hour to recruit qualified candidates for elected leadership at FUUSN. We appreciate the committee’s willingness to take on this role. We are also grateful to Dwight Golann, FUUSN’s Moderator, who convened this group and will preside over the Annual Meeting on Sunday June 4. At the Annual Meeting, the Society’s budget is presented and voted on and the Nominating Committee presents a “slate” of recommended officers for the Board, Operations Council and other elected positions. The Moderator accepts nominations, if any, from the floor and the election is held.

Serving as an elected leader at FUUSN is a meaningful way to invest in and contribute to our congregation. In the weeks ahead, the Nominating Committee will contact those who expressed an interest in volunteering or submitted a name of someone they’d like to see in a particular leadership role. A host of factors go into determining whose names will appear on the slate to be voted on in June, including a person’s interest and ability to serve, any key skills or qualifications they might bring to the job, and the particular needs of the congregation at the time. In the case that there are more candidates than there are jobs to fill, the Nominating Committee hopes to create a “pool” of prospective leaders who can be considered as positions become available and for the following year.

One of the Board’s tasks this year was to support the nominating committee by updating the Job Description for the Board position at FUUSN. Included among the skills we identified as important for this role are: being a good listener and communicator (e.g. expresses own ideas and handles disagreement constructively); being able to set aside personal interests to act in best interest of FUUSN as a whole; possessing moral courage and ethical integrity to hold self and others accountable (and resist Groupthink); committing to our aspiration of being a welcoming, inclusive and multicultural community and being approachable to congregants and able to hold and encourage a diversity of viewpoints.

Board of Trustees (continued) The Board of Trustees meets monthly, and our meetings are open to members of the congregation who would like to attend. We aspire to be responsive to the needs of the congregation and are available to speak with anyone with questions or concerns related to our FUUSN community. Please feel free to contact us anytime. Happy Spring! –Josie Greene, Board of Trustees  

Cathy Morocco (Chair), Brian Burba (vice-chair), Eric Haas, Gregg DiBiaso, Lesley Sneddon, Josie Greene, Sara Fazli and Juliana Lakomski

A reminder that the Annual Meeting will be held in two parts this year: On June 4, we will vote on the FY18 Budget and the Nominating Committee’s slate of nominations for open officers positions. In September (date to be announced), we will present the Final Reports of the minister, staff and committees, and discuss and vote on any proposals to the Congregation.