Election

The Budapest Toastmasters Annual General Meeting and Election of Club officers for the Year Commencing 1st July 2011 will be held at the Central European University (Frankel Leo U.) on Monday 27th June, 6.30 p.m.

We urge all Club Members and Associates to attend.

The evening will be divided into two main parts, separated by an interval for refreshments. The first part will commence with the report of the outgoing committee to be delivered by outgoing President Hans Peterson. After that there will be a proposal to alter the Club Constitution by the addition of New Roles for the Committee. Thereafter, there will be the election proper.

In the second half of the meeting there will be three programmed speeches.

New Roles for the Committee

The rules of the International Organisation permit any Club to create additional officer roles as they see fit. Our Club already has one additional role in the position of VP Leadership. The strong interest in participation on the Executive Committee has prompted Peter Fekete (Current VP Leadership) and Andras Barath (Current VP Membership) to propose the creation of two additional positions. They say, “There is so much to do that it seems a shame to reject any offer of help.” The two proposed positions are, VP Mentoring, and VP Information Technology. At the same time there is a proposal to change the remit of the Sergeant at Arms to officially retitle this role, VP Hospitality.

At the present all the positions on the committee are uncontested. Nonetheless, it is expected that all nominees who agree to stand for election will express their strong support for the Club, their commitment to the role and an outline of their proposals prior to election. Each speech is scheduled to last 1 to 3 minutes. The election may then proceed by ballot or by acclaim, according to the general will of the Assembly. In the event of contested elections, each nominee may call on one Member from the Assembly to also speak on their behalf.

Elections take place in the order of precedence as laid down by the International Organsiation, followed by any other additional officer roles, in the order of creation.

President, VP Education, VP Public Relations, VP Membership, Treasurer, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms (VP Hospitality), VP Leadership, followed by VP Mentoring and VP Information Technology if created.

Many of the nominees would like to take this opportunity to say in advance something about their plans for the coming year.

Andras Barath has been nominated for President.

“Toastmasters offers an exceptional opportunity for self-development and this is especially true for the Budapest Toastmasters club. I always enjoy the professional yet friendly meetings even at those early hours on Tuesday mornings…The most important task for the club leadership is to maintain this special atmosphere which is our biggest asset. On the other hand we have to build the club further to make it stronger and have the Toastmasters education more widely recognised in Hungary.

As president I shall focus on three main priorities: 1) Speeding up the development of our existing members – both on the communication and the leadership area. 2) I would increase the focus on retention so that the club has a higher number of experienced speakers and even higher quality meetings. 3) Increasing the membership should remain high on our agenda since this is the bread and butter in the long-term development of the club.

Growing the club while retaining it’s unique culture – this is what my motto is.

Anna Laszlo has been nominated for VP Education

“As VP Education, my main task will be to assist in the scheduling of speeches and roles and organizing events, all with the purpose of raising the standard of the club. My goal is to lay down the basis for a successful cooperation between members and committee members and make the process as user-friendly as possible.”

István Szurop has been nominated for VP Public Relations

“I decided to accept the nomination for the VP Public Relations position because I would like to help run this Club in return for the intellectual engagement and self-development opportunities its open and supportive atmosphere offers me week by week. If elected, I promise that – by leveraging my 15 years experience in management, marketing and consulting – I will continue and further develop the good work of my predecessors.”

Bea Bincze has been nominated for VP Membership

“I plan to keep up the good work Andras did so far. Key areas of focus will be the increase of the membership, and to understand and address the needs of the members.”

Imre Pákozdi has been nominated for Secretary

“My intention is to provide a safe and precise logistic environment for the Committee. This means organizing the sessions, taking care about the agenda, keeping the time limits and the thematic limitations and recording the decisions properly.”


Peter Fekete has been nominated for VP Leadership

“I will continue to work energetically for the Club to help build it into a leading charity and voluntary institution in Budapest. The Leadership track is the vital partner programme to the Communication track and both mutually support the other. I intend to develop the track effectively into a vehicle for self-development and to provide a ready source of innovation and leadership within the Club.”

István Grafjodi has been nominated for Treasurer

István is currently unavailable for comment. He is the acting Treasure of the Club and a founder member of its Articles of Association as a Charity. He sends his good wishes and promises to continue to work efficiently to look after the financial affairs of the Club.

Article written by Peter Fekete