The Apalachee Chapter will hold elections at the February 10 chapter meeting. All members in good standing are urged to attend. A quorum of 10 chapter members is needed at the meeting to make the elections official. Officer positions that will be up for election are Chapter Chair and Trails Coordinator. Chapter officers serve a term of two years and are limited to two full consecutive terms under Chapter Guidelines.

The Chapter Chair serves as the executive officer of the chapter, and presides at the meetings of the membership and at the Chapter Coordinating Committee. In addition, the Chapter Chair is the chapter’s representative to the Chapter Council of the FTA, and attends quarterly meetings of the Chapter Council and the board of directors of the Association.

The Trails Coordinator is responsible for the development and maintenance of trails that are within the chapter’s scope of activity, especially the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST). In addition, the Trails Coordinator nominates section leaders to the VP for Trails of the FTA, performs duties as provided in the Trails Manual for the Florida Trail System, and attends meetings of the Trails Committee of the Association.

The incumbents for the above chapter officer positions, Richard Graham as Chapter Chair, and Terry Tenold as Trails Coordinator, have both served two consecutive terms, and therefore, cannot run for those respective offices again.

There are also non-elective coordinating positions for the chapter, which are appointed at the discretion of the Chapter Chair. Although none are currently vacant, since the last elections, the position of Programs Coordinator has been filled by Linda Patton, who has done a marvelous job getting interesting speakers and programs for our chapter meetings for the past few years. But she would like to step down from this post at this time. Duties include coordinating with scheduled presenters, obtaining biographical information, and introducing speakers at chapter meetings. Linda has many ideas for future programs and she would gladly share them with the new Programs Coordinator.

Any member of the Apalachee Chapter who would like to become more active and serve in one of the chapter officer positions up for election is urged to inquire about nomination. The chapter can always benefit by new ideas and energy in chapter leadership. If you are interested, please contact Richard Graham at 850-878-3616, or r_graham@lycos.com

– Terry Tenold