APTA House of Delegates kicks off the 2013 session

The APTA House of Delegates kicked off its 2013 session tonight in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tonight’s House activities consisted primarily of introductory remarks, elections, and some logistical/procedural items to get us ready to dig into House business first thing tomorrow morning. Here’s a quick recap and a few things you need to know:

All 2013 motions with their original language are published in Packet I on the House Community and on the APTA HOD 2013 website. If you’re interested in the business of the House, Packet I is a good place to start. However, there’s a LOT of collaboration and discussion that goes on before and during the House as Delegates work together to edit motions, compromise, and come to a consensus on language. This collaboration is a good thing, and the fact that it happens OFF the House floor is important and necessary. However, it makes it challenging at times to stay up-to-date on the most current motion language. Packet II has already been posted with updated language on the following motions: RC 2, RC 7, RC 8, RC 16, RC 22, RC 27, and RC 29. More changes are coming, and Packet III with more updates will undoubtedly be available soon. Updated packets can be found in the “Onsite Packets” section of the HOD Community.

The main event today was Board of Directors & Nominating Committee elections (click here to learn more about the 2013 Slate of Candidates). I’m embarrassed to say that – before I became a Delegate – I had no idea how APTA officers were elected. So here’s the drill. Prior to the HOD, candidates prepare a number of materials that are posted online. Once at the HOD, they participate in candidate interviews, where they spend a morning rotating through rooms full of Delegates, answering questions from different Chapters and Sections. After a brief lunch break, the candidates participate in a “meet and greet” session where they have an opportunity to meet Delegates in a more informal, personal environment. A few hours later, the first order of business of the HOD is to hold elections. Here are tonight’s election results:

Secretary – Laurita Hack
Vice Speaker – Stuart Platt
Director (3) – Roger Herr, Susan Whitney, Carolyn Oddo
Nominating Committee (2) – Cecilia Graham, Peggy Newman

Did I mention that these people VOLUNTEER their time and – if elected – spend more than 40 days per year away from their friends and families? Major kudos to all candidates and congratulations to the winners!

The HOD will be back in session at 8:30 tomorrow morning (local time). Want to follow along? Check out the APTA HOD livestream, follow @APTAtweets and the #APTAHOD hash tag on Twitter (you can also follow me @KendraPedPT), and check the APTA HOD 2013 website and/or House Community for updates.