Survey Says: Chapters Want to Set Their Own Election Schedule
STC recently conducted a survey of chapter leaders on the topic of STC model chapter bylaws and the chapter election process. Forty leaders responded, mostly from regular chapters (85 percent), with 15 percent from student chapters.
There was strong interest by 85 percent in using the Model Chapter Bylaws template that STC is currently preparing. Two-thirds indicated their chapters already have bylaws.
Chapter elections are held by 85 percent of the respondents, while 15 percent do not hold chapter elections, choosing to select their leadership teams through small group meetings where volunteers come forward as leaders. Some indicated there is often difficulty in finding leaders and/or that positions are currently open. The most popular months for elections are April (35 percent), May, and June. When asked about uniform rules and timeframes for chapter elections, only 10 percent felt all chapters should hold elections in the same month and two-thirds felt the time should be determined by the chapters.