By Caroline Pufalt
There are many ways to participate in your local Sierra Club. One way is to take an interest in and vote in the election of local officers. The Sierra Club in Missouri is organized in a state-wide chapter, and in five regional groups. The chapter is managed by an executive committee, nine of whose members are elected at large - meaning chosen in an election in which members across the state can participate. Each group can also send a member to the executive committee.
The executive committee makes important decisions for the Missouri chapter about financial and conservation issues. The chapter also has a conservation committee which deliberates on conservation topics and determines some priorities and strategies. But whenever the conservation committee considers taking an important position on a new issue, that position must also be approved by the executive committee.
We face a lot of important environmental challenges in MO. Within the past year we have been involved promoting better transportation policies in MO, commenting on the Ozark National Scenic Riverways management plan, encouraging cities to reduce their greenhouse emissions, promoting energy efficiency in utility service, proposing new wilderness areas in MO, and reducing our state's dependence on coal. Those are just a few of the issues we have been involved in. Some of our efforts on those topics occur through work in Missouri's state legislature, other times ballot issues are our focus and we are always trying to educate and encourage participation and enroll new active members.
How do we manage all this with a limited budget, too busy volunteers and very minimal staff? Those are some of the issues the chapter's executive committee must deal with. It's a challenging and rewarding job - done by volunteers. A volunteer term is for 2 years, but members may run for another term.Terms are staggered so that each year there are some more experienced members.
The executive committee has traditionally met 6 times a year. In 2009 the committee started conducting some of its meetings via conference calls. This cuts back on time, on travel and on energy use. See http://missouri.sierraclub.org and click on committees to see more about the executive committee.
Please review the enclosed ballot and ballot statements and make your choice for new members of the MO chapter executive committee for 2010.