By Current Club President, Peter Fekete

In June we elect a new committee and a new President.  The new committee will take over in July.  The Club constitution requires Immediate Past President, Hans Peterson, to chair the nominating committee and conduct the election.
    We are therefore calling on all members who are interested in holding office in the forthcoming period to contact Hans (see the contact form below).

Undertaking

    I am the longest current member of the Club, and the history of my service to it has been extensive.  So I think this is a good opportunity for me to share with you some of my thoughts regarding the election.  Our AGM, the date of which is yet to be announced, could be an opportunity for further fruitful discussion.
    Joining the committee is not a light undertaking, and no position on the committee, least of all that of President, can be described as "ceremonial".  We encourage everyone to step forward to help drive the Club forward, but invite those interested to seriously consider the nature of the undertaking.

The position of President

    The position of President is crucial.  The President should ideally be someone with lots of experience running the Club as a previous member of the committee.  The role requires dedication and time.
    It is not sufficient merely to conduct and chair meetings, the President must have a vision for the Club and the strong support of committee members to that vision.
    It is my view that the position of the President is constitutionally weak and that we need to do something to strengthen the role.
    The President has no official functional role - that is, the mechanics of the Club are conducted by other committee members and not by the President.  This creates difficulties for the President who as a consequence has no hands on contact with the day to day machinery of the Club.  To redress this problem some clarification of the constitution of the Club could be desirable.  I would also strongly recommend that the forthcoming President takes on at least one of the routine roles of the committee.
    The existing Constitution requires that I step down as President of the Club this July.  No member is allowed to stand in consecutive years.

Conduct of elections

    Regarding the conduct of the election, I would expect every person putting themselves forward to make a brief statement in advance of the vote.  I believe that it is normal in democratic institutions for candidates to state their credentials and their intentions, to be elected on manifesto and to be accountable for their actions.  So I would expect candidates to state clearly what they intend to do in office.  Anyone wishing to publish a manifesto in advance of the election is invited to do so on this website.

On Saturday April 21st, the Area conference was held in Vienna under the auspices of the Vienna Clubs and the leadership of Klaus Hammer, our Area Governor.
    It was great fun with some innovative ideas, including an extensive session of improvisation and drama.  Professional workshops by Nicko Formanek and Charles LaFond added to the quality and fun of the event.

The Budapest Club was well represented at the Conference.  Mary Murphy won the evaluation contest.

Atis Szabo gave a great presentation of the motivational speech that won him our Club trophy.  The competition in Vienna was strong, and he came third, losing to the highly experienced Kathie Kultanova from Bratislava. In second place was Silvio Michal, also from Bratislava.

Further details about the Vienna Conference can be found at the official conference website:
Vienna Conference, April 2012

With three Clubs in Budapest, we now form our own Area.  This is an occasion for both mirth and sadness - sad because we are saying goodbye to our excellent companions in Vienna and Bratislava.
  
We need an Area Governor

The new Area requires a new Area Governor.  Traditionally, area governors tend to be appointed by the hierarchy of the European District.  However, provision for democratic election does exist, and this is therefore also an opportunity to invite anyone interested in taking on the role to step forward, and to debate our own nomination at our AGM.
    The responsibilities of the Area Governor are primarily to (1) Organise the Area Conference, (2) Conduct officer training for all clubs in the area.

Thanks to Klaus Hammer

We also take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to our existing Area Governor, Klaus Hammer from Bratislava, who is stepping down this term.  Klaus has been an outstanding leader and we are all amazed at his dynamism.  Many thanks!