Speaker of the National Council of Representatives

Frances Keech; Ann Marie Alessi

From the beginning, the SNM-TS governing body was the national council of delegates. This council was presided over by the SNM-TS president. Following the reorganization in 2004, the executive board, chaired by the SNM-TS president, became the governing body of the SNMTS, and the national council, now known as the national council of representatives (NCOR), was chaired by a speaker of the council, a new position created in the reorganization.

FIGURE 1.

The speaker of the council establishes the agenda, identifies hot topics for discussion, identifies issues important to delegates and the chapters, and serves as an ex-officio member of all NCOR committees, work groups, and task forces except the nominating committee. The speaker is responsible for taking conclusions or issues identified in the NCOR debates and discussions to the executive board for review and consideration.

The speaker of the council is elected by the voting members of the NCOR. The nominating committee compiles a list of eligible candidates that is submitted to the NCOR in a closed ballot. The elected speaker serves for a term of 2 y. Dave Perry was the first speaker of the NCOR, serving for 2 consecutive terms from 2004 to 2008. The following is a full list of speakers of the council from 2004 to 2020.