continue to work on Mega Issues

between now and january the Senate is working in our mega issue teams and preparing for the face to face meeting in January in Chicago. We have been invited to attend the Strategic Planning Committee meeting Friday afternoon before the Senate meeting on Saturday. We continue to look for volunteers for the committees.

Happy Holidays!

1st Senate Meeting

The first senate meeting was held on 10/17 in Long Beach. All 30 Senators were present and no alternates were needed to fill the seats required for a quorum. A special thanks to Sharon Cascadden, our Sonora Alternate, for being ready to back us up if needed. All of the bylaws motions were passed, a few with modifications – check out the SWE governance community for details. The position paper was adopted. Penny Wirsing was appointed to lead a new task force (name TBD) to review the financial structures in SWE in order for the Senate to better understand our fiduciary responsibilities.

After the Senate agenda items were completed, the Senate adjourned to a closed-door session to work on Mega Issues and team building. The Mega Issue Teams were introduced and the five teams began working on the assignments. At the end of the Mega Issues breakout session, each team had an assigned leader and an action plan for the rest of the fiscal year. The Senate meeting ended on a high note when we participated in a group exercise to help us understand the natural communication and leadership styles of our Senate members. It was a great experience to see how we all fit together and learn more about each member of the Senate.

Before we retired to prepare for Celebrate SWE, we posed for a group photo. It was a fun way to end the day and we all had something to smile about.

Our next meeting is scheduled for January 23 in Chicago.  So far, the agenda items include updates from each Mega Issue team and MI discussion as a collective group. The Senate Task Force (name TBD) will provide an update and maybe some recommendations. Other agenda items…. we’ll find out as we prepare for Senate meeting II only 99 days away.

What questions do you have for the Sonora Senators?

Long Beach here we come!

The first SWE Senate meeting is only 8 days away! All of the preparation meetings and teleconferences are completed and now we are reviewing the documents that will be discussed at next Saturday’s meeting. The Mega Issues have been posted and we are awaiting for a few mort people to pick a topic so that the teams can be announced. I’ve read over the position paper and am anxious to hear the options of the other Senators and SWE members.

Your Sonora Senators encourage you to attend the Senate Meeting on Saturday at 1:00. Remember 1 professional senate, 1 alternate and 1 collegiate position will be open each year, so please come to the meeting to get a taste for what we do.  We will also be at the region meeting at 1:00 on Thursday to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have.

I think we’re ready. I am looking forward to seeing my SWEsters in a few days, wrapping up or handing off old projects, takeing on new action items, recognizing our accomplishments and celebrating this years successes!

Mega Issues Call

The Senate completed the second call dedicated to Mega Issues (MI). The MI Chair, Sally Rautio, reviewed the MI process, i.e how MI are collected, distributed, worked and implemented. We briefly reviewed each of the 4 new MI for the Senate. Each Senator will choose a MI to work during the year. The teams have been allocated an hour on the 10.17 meeting agenda, to get a jump start. Our goal is to complete our work and report to the BOD by the end of the year.

MI-104 is a carry over from last year . The white paper is drafted, the document needs to be finalized and submitted.

All Mega Issues are listed in the Strategic Long-Range Plan April 2009 document which can be found in the Resources space in the  Governace Document Community.

The Mega Issues assigned to the Senate are: 105, 106, 109 and 110.

Your senators will be collecting data in order to compile recommendations for the white paper. Please take a look and provide us your insight, experiences and input.

What questions do you have about MEGA ISSUES?

17-Oct-09 1:00 pm PT Senate Meeting Preliminary Agenda

FY 10 October Senate Meeting Preliminary Agenda
(Motion titles were omitted due to posting limits)

I.		Senate Meeting
	A.	Call to Order	Bernice Brody
	B.	Roll Call, and Certification of Quorum	Helen Patricia
	C.	Adoption of Agenda	Bernice Brody

 

II.

Consent Calendar Motion S1002, S1003, S1004, S1005, S1006, S1007, S1008, S1009, S1010, S1011, S1012, S1013

 

III.		Bylaws Amendments Motion S1014, S1015, S1016
IV.		SWE Policy Statement on Equal Opportunity
	A.	Motion S1017:  Adopt SWE Position Paper on Equal Opportunity	Melissa Tata

 

V.		Closed Session
VI.		Adjourn	Bernice Brody

 *It is my understanding that the Closed Session is for Senate team building and Senate development.

Submitted by Deb Willems

Bylaws discussions

We have participated in 2 conference calls regarding the bylaws amendments that will be voted on at the annual conference in October. The call leaders (Bernice and Helen) read each proposed amendment and facilitated questions.  From my perspective, the calls were our opportunity to review the amendments and ask any clarifying questions and raise any concerns that Senators may have that would prevent us from adopting these changes.  All of the proposed changes seem very straight forward and no one (on the calls or the communites) has raised concerns that indicate the amendments will not be adopted. 

The amendments are posted in the communities

http://communities.swe.org/COP/BylawsAmendmentCommunity/

let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Submitted by Deb Willems

General information 9.19.09

The Sonora Senator’s have created this space to keep you updated on what the SWE Senate is working on. Please post any questions or comments here, so that all of the region members can benefit from our dialog.

The inaugural Senate has gained its momentum. The conference calls are going very smoothly and provide an environment where members can dialogue openly. I am looking forward to our in person meeting on October 17 where we will vote on the amendments, discuss a mega issues and a position paper. We will post the agenda when it is available to us.

We have several calls scheduled before our in person meeting in Long Beach.

July 15 & 22 Contingency Researve Fund Withdraw Motion

Sept 13 & 19 Bylaws Amendments

Sept 20 Position paper

Sept 24 & 25 Mega Issues (the 4am Pacific time call on 9/25 may require some additional coffee.

Although the 4am call is an inconvenience to the west coasters, I am glad that it will make it easier for our international members to participate.

  What questions do you have for the
Sonora Senators?

Submitted by Deb Willems