2026 SAEA Board President Information and Nomination Form

Call for Nominations

The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (SAEA) is seeking a candidate to serve as the President of the Board to provide leadership to work towards the objectives, goals, and activities of the organization. The SAEA Board President will have demonstrated strong leadership and reflect a diversity of experience, skills, knowledge, and abilities suited to the strategic needs of the organization. The individual SHOULD have served at least one term in the past on the Board of Directors of the SAEA. The Board President is elected by the members of the SAEA separately from the Board of Directors.

The SAEA Board Members consists of up to 5 Board Directors, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and President.

Expectations of a Board President:

• Hold a current membership to SAEA.
• Help promote the vision, mission, and programs of SAEA at all times.
• Commit themselves to ethical, businesslike, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and decorum when acting as a Board member and President.
• Attend and chair SAEA board meetings, AGM, and other SAEA events.
• Represent SAEA in other events and programs.
• Represent an unconflicted loyalty to the interests of the SAEA. This accountability supersedes any conflicting loyalty, such as advocacy for other interest groups.
• Ability to contribute significantly to the leadership of SAEA and to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities.
• Maintain confidentiality of privileged information.
• Attend a minimum of over 75% of scheduled board meetings.
• Participate on standing committees as needed.
• Participate, promote, and network at internal and external events, fundraising, related meetings, member and non-member events, and other activities as necessary.
• Abide by the SAEA Bylaws, Code of Ethics, and Governance Policies.
• In addition to the above, the President will also be a part of the Board with the following expectations:

Expectations of SAEA Board Members:

• Board members will be involved in ongoing evaluation of the organization’s mission, vision, and values.
• Monitoring the organization’s progress towards achieving its mission and strategic direction.
• Continued evaluation of the organization to best serve the membership.
• Community and stakeholder outreach.
• Financial oversight (due diligence) and fundraising.
• Board self-maintenance, including recruitment and orientation of new directors.

Expected Competencies of Board Members:

• Strong communication skills
• Successful leadership record
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Skills in providing constructive feedback
• Have business acumen
• Have a financial literacy background if applicable
• Have a legal background if applicable.
• Demonstrated understanding of legal and human resources principles and frameworks.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Board Member:

• Listen to others’ views, advocate their own, identify common interests and alternatives, and be open to compromise.
• Support governance decisions once made.
• Participate in the review of the Association’s mission and objectives and in the development of a strategic plan.
• Abide by the bylaws, code of conduct, conflict of interest, and other policies that apply to the board.
• Participate in the approval of the annual budget and monitor the financial performance of the association in relation to it.
• Help establish, review, and monitor operational policies.
• Contribute to the work of the board and appointed committees & follow the job description of the appointed position.
• Be informed about community issues relevant to the mission and objectives of the Association.

Time Commitment

The time commitment is not onerous, but board members must set aside time to attend meetings (8-10 meetings per year), attend fundraising initiatives, network and attend member and non-member events and meetings, and work with committees as determined by the board to support SAEA.

 

Eligibility, Application and Selection

To be eligible to stand for election, an individual must:

1. Be 18 years of age or older.
2. The individual SHOULD have served at least one term in the past on the Board of Directors of the SAEA.
3. Be an SAEA member in good standing, either an individual member of SAEA or a member of the group with good standing with SAEA.
4. Be nominated by an SAEA member (and accept) or self-nominate by completing and submitting the Nomination form, which includes a brief biography. 

Nominations can be made at any time, up to Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 11:00 pm MST.

The SAEA Nomination Committee will review nominations and request an interview with suitable nominees.

The Nomination Committee will recommend to the Board a slate of candidates it believes are best suited to the role based on the application/nomination criteria.

Members voting in person at the Annual General Meeting or electronically will be able to vote for candidates for the Board President.

 

All nominees should attend the SAEA Annual General Meeting (Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 6:00 pm) at the Multicultural Centre, Lethbridge, AB.

All fields in the form below aer mandatory, however only items marked with an ** before the question will be shared with the SAEA member. 

Please provide the following two public statements for use on the SAEA website, and to be shared in electronic communications to the SAEA membership. Please ensure you write in the first person and ensure statements are not more than 150 words.