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Note from the ExCom
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by Paul Wilson | 12, 2004

Thanks for all the good work on the Chapter Executive Committee election process, but we can do better

A blessed winter greeting to my fellow West Virginia Sierrans. Hopefully, you have enjoyed some outdoor, winter activities this year and are looking forward to spring.

At our January 31st Executive Committee meeting, we installed the new Executive Committee with the addition of Regina Hendrix (Charleston, WV), and the re-election of your current Chair. Donna Price (Dorothy, WV) will be serving as Vice-Chair, as Dave Saville was not re-elected to the Excomm. I would like to thank Dave for his service to the Chapter Executive Committee, and especially for assisting the Chapter on new efforts to protect the Monongahela National Forest and add new wilderness areas in our wild, wonderful West Virginia. I am sure we will find new duties and activities for Dave to work on, so "don't wander too far afield, Dave!"

And I would like to thank all of you who participated in the Chapter Executive Committee election process. This is an important part of Sierra Club's democratic structure as such elections provide direction from the membership on what issues should be emphasized by the Chapter, as well as providing individuals that are willing, and able, to do the administrative work of the Chapter.

That said, only 10 % of our Chapter's 1800 members voted in this Executive Committee election. We can do better! Please read the article by Drusha Mayhew in the issue of your Mountain State Sierran ("Outside Interests Push to Hijack Sierra Club"). This is really what is at stake at all levels of the Club, when the vast majority of members do not participate in the election process.

Only 8 % of the Club's 750,000+ members voted in the 2003 Board of Directors election. While you may consider that the Chapter is doing a bit better, I would say there is not much difference. In contrast, I belong to a 10,000-member professional society where almost half of the members hold Ph.D.s, and yet only 12-13 % participates in the election of its national officers. When I was a Group Chair in the Sierra Club, we had over 35 % of our 250 members participating in elections of our Group executive committee. That is obviously much better.

But I think we can do even better than that. The Sierra Club of Canada has a small membership, but 50 % of its members are involved activists, and the vast majority of its membership participates in national elections.

Now, those are some numbers to strive for. Do good work.