Most of us who serve on the AERC Board of Directors do so to give back to the sport that has given so much to us. Some of us feel we have skills and ideas we can contribute to help the organization. If you have ever thought that you would like to serve on the AERC BOD, the time to nominate is coming up quickly. You will need to send in your name and contact numbers along with a mere $5 nomination fee.

If you know someone you feel would be a great addition to the BOD, you can ask that person if he or she would be willing to serve and then send in a nomination for that person.

The elections coming up this fall are for the regional directors. (Every other year AERC has Director-at-Large elections.)

Each of our nine regions has two directors. One of the regional directors is determined to be the sanctioning director. Ride managers send their ride sanctions to their sanctioning director for approval. The sanctioning director tries to make sure the ride schedule for their region is what is best for AERC, the existing rides, the new rides and the members of their region. Sometimes this is a challenging task as it can be hard to make everyone happy.

The non-sanctioning regional directors serve on the Hall of Fame Committee. This committee looks over the nominees to the Hall of Fame (for both person and equine), Pard'ners and volunteer awards to determine who should be awarded.

All directors will be available for the membership or the AERC office whenever called upon.

All AERC directors, both regional and at-large, need to attend two meetings face-to-face with the other BOD members. The first meeting is held during the convention. It consist of three actual meeting times during the convention.

Each BOD member is personally responsible for all transportation and hotel expenses to attend but is not charged for the convention registration fee or national awards banquet. Most of the time you will be too busy attending committee meetings to even think about attending the great educational seminars during the convention!

The regional BOD members should be available during the regional awards to meet and congratulate all their region's winners. Board members must come early to attend the meeting held on the Thursday evening before the convention.

The next meeting during the convention is held with all the AERC membership during the general session on Saturday. During this session, the floor is open for the AERC members to question or discuss issues with the BOD members and other members of AERC. This is also the time where the new board members are sworn in. Your final meeting of the convention is held on Sunday morning.

The second face-to-face meeting is the midyear meeting, normally held in August or September. The site of this meeting varies as the president and the BOD try to make it in a convenient site. The past few years most of the transportation and hotel expenses have been paid for the attendees by AERC. (We hope this will continue to encourage more of you to run for the job).

Board members are expected to be available once a month for evening phone conferences. They are normally held the first Monday of every month and last about one to two hours.

The BOD members are expected to serve and participate on committees. They are expected to read and be up to date on the current issues before the board and work with the other board members and the treasurer concerning the budget for AERC.

Even though the job at times can be very frustrating and take some long hours, it is also very rewarding. It is my hope that if you feel you can be an addition to the board of directors, you will enthusiastically throw your hat in ring and nominate!

Here is the oath of office taken by board members: "Do you promise that you will administer the directorship to which you have been elected in conformity with the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the Conference; that you, in all of your acts, will be governed by the principles of honesty, justice, and fair play; uphold the high purposes of the Conference and the welfare of its membership; and will you accept these responsibilities and promise to fulfill them to the best of your ability?"

I'm hoping to hear enthusiastic responses of "I will" to the above question at next year's convention. n