November 1st begins a new era for the APA-NJ Executive Committee. We welcome a new President-elect, as well as many new volunteers to fill expiring and new Executive Committee positions. Before summarizing the changes to the Executive Committee, I would like to recognize those officers that will not be returning after October 31.

Carlos Rodrigues—outgoing Past President
Carlos brought his own touch to the Presidency with his frank cantor about planning and policy in NJ, helping to bring APA-NJ into policy conversations. He continues to be a voice for sound planning in his position as NJ Director of RPA. I certainly do not expect Carlos to fade into the woodwork, and look forward to his continued support of the organization.

Deborah Lawlor--outgoing 1st Vice President
Debbie has served on the APA-NJ Executive Committee for 7 years in various positions, including Northeast Area Representative, 2nd Vice President and 1st Vice President. Among her many contributions to the organization, she has taken on the Chapter’s FAICP nominations for the past three cycles, is providing great assistance on the committee revising the Complete Guide to Planning (coming soon) and participated in Conference Planning Committees and Awards Juries. She also initiated the Walking Tour program that brings planners out into the field to see the results of our efforts. I would personally like to thank her for being a mentor and sounding board throughout my term as President. Debbie continues to serve the APA as Vice-Chair for State Planning of the Regional and Intergovernmental Affairs Division.

Eric Powers—outgoing 2nd Vice President
Eric joined the Executive Committee last November, and provided great assitance in organizing the Infrastructure Policy Forum the Chapter held earlier this summer. Due to time constraints, Eric opted not to run for a position this cycle. We are sorry to lose him, and hope he will come back to volunteer when time permits.

John Reiser—outgoing Treasurer
Please give John a pat on the back the next time you see him. As former Treasurer of this and another non-profit organization, I know the great deal of labor that goes into the day to day bookkeeping, as well as the generally budgetary responsibilities of this volunteer position. Not only did John fulfill his Treasurer duties, he continuously volunteered to provide technical support to the organization (i.e. webpage support, facebook, online payments, etc.) While John did not run for a formal position this cycle, he promises to continue to assist us in keeping up with technology.

Jay Corbalis—outgoing Legislative Chair
Jay was only appointed to the position this summer, and thus did not have much time to work in this position. He did start a dialogue with allied organizations about creating a NJ Planning Report Card, which I hope will come to fruition soon and be a guide to the next Administration (whomever that might be).

Bylaw Amendment
This summer, the Executive Committee of the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association put forward a by-law amendment for its members’ consideration. Due to the substantive nature of the amendments, the Executive Committee opted to propose a new edition of the bylaws rather than confuse the situation with extensive track changes amendments. The amendments were ultimately adopted by an overwhelming majority of voters, and are summarized as follows:

• The first objective of the amendments was to improve the readability of the bylaws. The bylaws now include a table of contents and have a more logical flow.
• Second, the amendments represent a major restructuring of the Executive Committee. Currently, there are a significant number of non-elected voting members on the Executive Committee, including committee chairs, the newsletter editor, professional development officers and student representatives. The restructured Executive Committee redistributes some of these duties to elected offices, leaving the professional development officers and the student representative as the only voting Executive Committee members not elected by the full membership. The amendments also better define the duties of the Executive Committee officers, and represent a more efficient distribution of workload.
• Finally, the amendments include new guidelines regarding financial management, something lacking in the current bylaws. In furtherance of the bylaw amendments, the APA-NJ held elections to fill the new and expiring Executive Committee positions. I would like to thank everyone that put their hat in the ring, as well as recognize and congratulate the winners at this time.

Charles Latini, AICP, PP
President-Elect
The President-Elect will serve in that position for one (1) year before assuming the Presidency for a term of three (3) years (until October 31, 2013). The President-Elect shall carry out duties assigned by the President and assume the duties and responsibilities of President should the office become prematurely vacant. Upon assuming the Presidency after one (1) year, or sooner should the office become vacant, the duties of the President include the following:

• Call meetings of the Chapter and the Executive Committee and preside at these meetings;
• Create and, except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, appoint, discharge, and serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of all committees;
• Execute any contracts authorized by the Executive Committee;
• Establish and discharge any committees as may be necessary unless otherwise provided for in the Bylaws;
• Oversee the administration of the Strategic Plan and Work Program of the Chapter;
• Oversee the preparation of a draft annual Strategic Plan and Work Program and draft budget and submit same to the Executive Committee prior to October 1;
• Represent the Chapter on the APA Chapter Presidents Council;
• Represent the Chapter before the APA and its Board of Directors and staff, unless said President shall specifically delegate such authority for particular functions to a Chapter member;
• Perform such other duties as are customary to the office.

Mirah Becker, AICP, PP
Vice-President of Policy
Because the Vice-President of Policy would normally be elected in even years, per the APA-NJ bylaws, the term of office for this positions will only be one (1) year (until October 31, 2010). At such time, the Vice-President of Policy can opt to run for re-election to a full two (2) year term beginning November 1, 2010. The duties of the Vice President of Policy include the following:

• Oversee the Chapter’s legislative affairs and advocacy program;
• Serve as Chair of the Legislative Policy Committee;
• Coordinate with and assist the chairs of any ad hoc committee(s) established to advance the policy initiatives of the Chapter, aka policy committee (s);
• Report on ad hoc policy committee(s) activities and concerns at each Executive Committee meeting, and serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of said committee(s);
• Oversee the development and the annual update of the Chapter Administrative Procedures and Policy Manual and present it to the Executive Committee for action;
• Assume the duties and responsibilities of President at such time as the office becomes prematurely vacant and until such time as a new President is installed as provided in ARTICLE V.2 (d) and (e);
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.

Lorissa Whitaker
Vice-President for Conference Affairs
The Vice-President of Conference Affairs has a term of two (2) years, from November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011. The primary responsibility of the VPCA shall be to organize, supervise, and manage the Chapter’s annual conference. Duties shall include the following:

• Serve as Chair of the Conference Committee;
• Develop a format, schedule and budget for the annual conference to be presented to and approved by the Executive Committee;
• Develop programming for the annual conference that is relevant, timely, and varied so as to appeal to the broadest spectrum of the membership;
• Coordinate with any policy or membership services ad hoc committee(s) established by the Executive Committee to solicit relevant programming;
• Coordinate with the Bloustein School of Planning and Policy and any persons appointed by the Executive Committee to organize the logistical aspects of the conference;
• Develop and implement a conference fundraising/sponsorship campaign;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.

Brandy Forbes, AICP, PP
Vice-President for Membership Services
The Vice-President of Membership Services has a term of two (2) years, from November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011. The primary responsibility of the VPMS shall be to serve the needs of the Membership. Duties shall include the following:

• Coordinate all membership service activities within the Chapter;
• Develop membership drive campaigns and membership expansion functions;
• Coordinate with and assist the chairs of any ad hoc committee(s) established to enhance membership services, and serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of said committee(s), aka membership services committee(s);
• Report on ad hoc membership services committee(s) activities and concerns at each Executive Committee meeting;
• Prepare an annual report of Chapter accomplishments, particularly related to the Strategic Plan and Work Program and budget, to be published electronically on the Chapter website;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President. The Vice-President of Membership Services has a term of two (2) years, from November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011. The primary responsibility of the VPMS shall be to serve the needs of the Membership. Duties shall include the following:
• Coordinate all membership service activities within the Chapter;
• Develop membership drive campaigns and membership expansion functions;
• Coordinate with and assist the chairs of any ad hoc committee(s) established to enhance membership services, and serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of said committee(s), aka membership services committee(s);
• Report on ad hoc membership services committee(s) activities and concerns at each Executive Committee meeting;
• Prepare an annual report of Chapter accomplishments, particularly related to the Strategic Plan and Work Program and budget, to be published electronically on the Chapter website;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.

Rebecca Hersh, AICP, PP
Vice-President of Public Relations
Because the Vice-President of Public Relations would normally be elected in even years, per the APA-NJ bylaws, the term of office for this positions will only be one (1) year (until October 31, 2010). At such time, the Vice-President of Public Relations can opt to run for re-election to a full two (2) year term beginning November 1, 2010. The VPPR shall serve as the Chapter liaison to all Sections. Duties shall include the following:

• Serve as the Editor of the bi-monthly APA-NJ newsletter;
• Serve as chair of the Newsletter Editorial Board;
• Maintain relations with the press, through creation and distribution of press releases and editorials;
• Oversee the promotion of National Community Planning Month;
• Ensure webpage content is current and relevant;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.

Karl Hartkopf, AICP, PP
Treasurer
The Treasurer has a term of two (2) years, from November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the maintenance of the Chapter financial records. Duties of the Treasurer shall include the following:

• Assist the President in preparing an annual budget;
• Oversee the receipt and disbursement of funds consistent with the adopted Chapter budget;
• Provide a quarterly financial report, to include budget line item income and expenses, a current balance sheet, and an income statement reflecting Chapter financial operations;
• Coordinate with the President, and any other person appointed by the Executive Committee, expenditures relating to the Strategic Plan and Work Program and functions of the Chapter Office on a timely basis;
• Coordinate with the President, and any other person appointed by the Executive Committee, an inventory of all Chapter property;
• Coordinate the annual independent audit or compilation report of the Chapter financial records;
• See that the results and summaries of the Chapter’s annual independent audit or compilation report are posted on the Chapter website within thirty (30) days of review and approval by the Executive Committee, but no later than June 1 of each year;
• Develop and secure adoption and maintenance of the Chapter’s financial procedures manual by the Executive Committee;
• Ensure that financial documents are available and in order to facilitate the preparation and filing of the Chapter’s annual tax statements;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.

Bonnie Flynn, AICP, PP
Secretary
The Secretary has a term of two (2) years, from November 1, 2009 through October 31, 2011. The Secretary shall be responsible for official records of the Chapter, assisted by any person hired by the Executive Committee to assist in the administration of Chapter duties. Duties of the Secretary shall include the following:

• Record the proceedings of each Executive Committee meeting and prepare and submit to the Executive Committee for approval meeting minutes of each Executive Committee meeting within thirty (60) days of their occurrence;
• See that the Executive Committee meeting minutes are posted on the Chapter website within thirty (30) days of Executive Committee approval. The minutes may be published once reviewed and approved, or reviewed and revised, by the Executive Committee and may be limited to generalized statements of the agenda covered, the actual wording of any motions or resolutions made and the outcome of voting on each, the time each meeting began and ended, and who attended and who was absent;
• Notify members and Executive Committee members of meetings;
• Transmit to the Executive Committee, and have published on the Chapter website, a list of all Chapter Officers and Executive Committee members (including their addresses and telephone numbers) within 10 days of their election or appointment;
• Serve as Chapter Parliamentarian;
• Chair the Chapter Bylaws Committee, and submit proposed Bylaws or amendments to the Executive Committee;
• Carry out any other duties assigned by the President.