Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology

Role of a CMI Director

Nomination

 

We need your ideas and opinions! Contribution of thoughts, ideas, measured advice and opinion, sparkling wit, humorous anecdotes, sly repartees, and the occasional friendly insult are essential to making our Director's team work and CMI a success. We depend on our Directors to keep us in touch with the needs of regional ecologists and resource managers.

To be nominated as a Director, you need to be nominated by a member in good standing, and be a member in good standing when your Directorship begins. Each Board member is required to maintain a personal membership in the CMI, rather than be included under a corporate membership. This ensures Directors are able to act independently, and not as representatives of their agency.

A call for nominations goes out in February and elections are held by mail before our Annual General Meeting, which is usually held in late April or early May. Terms are for two years.

Time commitment

The CMI Board of Directors is a working Board and requires a minimum of one day a month so you can prepare for and attend (in person or by conference call) our monthly Directors’ meetings. There is no maximum on the time you can contribute; we can use every last ounce of volunteerism you can give us!

Board meetings

We have ten monthly Board meetings each year, every month except July and August, in Revelstoke. Out-of-town Directors usually attend by conference call with CMI picking up the phone charges. You will receive the agenda in advance and are asked to study any relevant background material before the meeting. Board meetings are meant to address major issues, policy, direction, and hear reports from committees. We try to keep all meetings to a maximum of about 1 1/2 hours. The Board holds strategic planning sessions once every two or three years at different communities in southeastern British Columbia.

There is no remuneration for your services to the Board. In exceptional circumstances with pre-approval, we can help with expenses.

Committee participation

As a Director, you are expected to help out on a committee from time to time. We have two types of committees:

• Executive Committee: includes President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer (elected annually by the Board) and the Executive Director (non-voting).
• Ad hoc event or project committees - most of the work for conferences, and other projects, is done on committee time and then an update is given at the Board Meeting. It is our custom to have a Director on each of the event committees.

Represent CMI’s interests

From time to time CMI is invited to participate in initiatives coordinated by other agencies. Directors, and sometimes members, are asked to participate and represent CMI’s interests, and then report back to the Board.

Spread the word about CMI and its mission

Outside of meetings and committee work, promotion of the CMI and its mission is a vital CMI Director's activity. You can obtain business cards and pamphlets from the CMI office.

What can the CMI do for you?

As a Director you have the opportunity to:

• Be actively involved in increasing awareness and knowledge about the ecology of the Columbia Mountains and regional ecosystems. Establishing and maintaining professional links that facilitates effective communications spanning all levels of government, private corporations, and individuals is not an easy task.
• Expand your horizons and network by becoming part of a diverse and dedicated group of Directors.
• Exercise skills and experience you may not otherwise use (e.g. workshop organization, research proposal review, and setting policy directions).

What background documents are available for new Directors?

The items are available from the CMI office; some are also available on this web site in the “About CMI” section of our web site.

• List of current Directors and short biographies
• CMI Constitution and Bylaws
• Conflict of Interest Guidelines
• Annual Reports: Reading these will give you an idea of the types of activities we have tackled in the past few years.
• Other items as requested—past financial statements, past meeting minutes, etc.

 

Any questions? Please call the CMI office at 250-837-9311.