During the next several weeks, HSA members in Region 5 will have an opportunity to elect their representative on HSA's Board of Directors.
Nominations for the position closed with five members declaring their candidacy:
Janice Morrison has been selected to return as the Region 9 representative to the HSA Board of Directors. She was acclaimed after the deadline passed with no further nominations.
Morrison is a physiotherapist at Kootenay Lake Hospital. She was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2009.
Marg Beddis has been selected to return as the Region 7 representative to the HSA Board of Directors. She was acclaimed after the deadline passed with no further nominations.
Beddis is a dietitian at Surrey Memorial Hospital. She was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2007.
She currently serves as an LTD trustee, chairs the Political Action Committee and sits on the union's Finance and Run for the Cure committees. She has also worked on the union's Education and Elections Committees.
Bruce MacDonald has been selected to return as the Region 3 representative to the HSA Board of Directors. He was acclaimed after the deadline passed with no further nominations.
MacDonald is a social worker at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. He has been a member of HSA since 2000.
Anne Davis has been selected to return as the Region 1 representative to the HSA Board of Directors. She was acclaimed after the deadline passed with no further nominations.
Davis is a Program Coordinator at the Comox Valley Transition Society. She was involved in the union organizing drive to allow HSA to represent staff at the Society 19 years ago. Since then she has served as Assistant Chief Steward and as an HSA Labour Council Delegate. In this capacity, Davis currently sits as President of the Campbell River, Courtenay and District Labour Council.
HSAs 2013 Annual Convention will include an election for the position of president, a full-time position that carries a two-year term.
All members in good standing are eligible to run for president when nominated in writing by six members.
Nominations for president are open until the final call for nominations takes place on the last day of convention Saturday, April 20, 2013.
Candidates for president may submit a statement of up to 400 words and a photograph for inclusion in the Annual Report, circulated electronically to members prior to the convention.
The next HSA Annual Convention will take place April 18-20, 2013 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
All HSA members are welcome to attend and speak at the convention. However, only delegates have the right to vote.
For chapters with 49 or fewer members, the HSA chief steward is the sole delegate. If the chief steward is not attending convention, an alternate should be identified. Chapters with more than 49 members are entitled to one additional delegate for each additional 50 members or portion thereof.
In 2005, David Bland -- a vocational rehabilitation counsellor and HSA member from Richmond Mental Health -- was murdered at his workplace by a former client. His tragic death served as a sombre reminder that more needs to be done to prevent incidents of violence in the workplace and to protect health care and social services workers on the job.
This year, Regional Director elections will take place in Regions 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. All HSA members in these regions are encouraged to put their name forward for these important positions.
Directors meet, on average, every six weeks and take an active leadership role in representing the union. They receive wage replacement for the time they spend in official meetings at their own regular rate of pay. Part-time and casual members are reimbursed as if they were at work during the meetings they attend.
HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2013 HSA Convention, to be held April 18 - 20, 2013 at the Fairmont Hotel (Vancouver Hotel) in Vancouver.
Annual convention is the union's annual meeting where chapter representatives from around the province determine the union's future direction. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, and structural changes are all discussed and debated at convention.
