Do you want to help make UWMBDA the best club on campus for dancing and meeting new friends?  Sure you do!   We always need leaders to step forward and help on the UWMBDA Council. And you will gain valuable leadership experience working together as a team. The first step is running for a Spring semester leadership position at the UWMBDA Election Dance on Friday, December 4th.

What sort of experience do I need to have?
None at all.  No dancing skills or prior leadership experience are necessary.  All you need is an eagerness to help make UWMBDA a welcoming and fun dance club for everyone.  In fact, the best people to help with the council are those who have recently started dancing with the club.  We want the club to appeal to new dancers, so if you've recently started dancing, no one knows better what's best for the club.

How much of a time commitment are we talking here?
Council leaders serve for 1 semester and your time typically averages about 2 hours each week for club responsibilities, but the actual amount of time can vary throughout the semester. For instance, the dance and instruction coordinators may require more time at the beginning of a semester planning room reservations and lessons, but then require very little time commitment the rest of the semester.  You do not have to attend every dance, but it would be helpful if you are able to come to half of the dance dates during the semester.

Who can serve on the UWMBDA Council?
Any UWMBDA member can run for a council position, however the President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Facilities Coordinator must be students at UW-Madison.  Furthermore, UW-Madison students are given priority nomination.  So if you are not a student, and there is a student running for a position, we ask that you please run for another position to give students the greatest opportunity for leadership.

So this is an election?  What sort of campaigning will I have to do?
No campaigning, no pressure at all.  Most council positions are uncontested.  If someone is running against you for a position, we just ask that you publicly introduce yourself at the beginning of the election dance to tell everyone who you are and why you want to help with the council.

So other than leadership experience, a fun dance club, and everyone's admiration and praise, what do I get out of this?
Council members receive a free semester membership.   If you already have an annual membership, the club refunds to you the cost of a semester membership.

OK, I'm ready to run as a UWMBDA Council Leader. How do I put my name on the ballot?
Talk to a council member at a dance or lesson and ask any questions you may have about being a council leader.  Or you can contact the current council using the contact form at the bottom of the following webpage:
http://www.uwmbda.org/contact.php
There you can ask any questions you may have and indicate which positions you are interested in running for.

Council Position Descriptions

PRESIDENT
The president is the main contact person for members, the University, other clubs, interested people, and council members. He or she organizes meetings, coordinates council-member activities, registers the student organization, and checks with other council leaders periodically to be sure that necessary tasks are completed.

VICE PRESIDENT
The vice president is responsible for any duties delegated to him/her by the president as well as doing the president's duties when he/she is unavailable. The vice president plans the dinner dance, including menus, location, invitations, and organization.

TREASURER
The treasurer is responsible for keeping the cash box and making sure someone can bring it to all necessary functions, overseeing the collection of money at dances, making bank deposits, keeping the checkbook, making necessary payments, keeping accurate financial records, and reporting this information at council meetings.

FACILITIES COORDINATOR
The dance coordinator is responsible for making room reservations for dances, and for lessons and practices if they are in the Unions. You will work closely with other dance organizations to maximize the number of social dances on campus.

WEB AUTHOR
The web author maintains the schedule, announcements, and all other information on the UWMBDA website. The individual holding this position uploads new photos to the photo gallery, posts electronic versions of the membership forms, maintains online copies of council meeting minutes, and is responsible for delegating the moderation responsibilities of the discussion forums. Familiarity with computers, the Internet, and HTML preferred but not required.

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
The membership coordinator maintains the membership Excel database and the email distribution list. Therefore, he/she should be comfortable with computers. This position is also responsible for printing memberships forms & cards. He/she also assists in answering club email questions.  

MUSIC COORDINATOR
The music coordinator is responsible for organizing sound system setup and take-down at the dances as well as making sure someone is available to transport the equipment.  There are always members available to help with transport, so the music coordinator is not required to have a car.  He/she is responsible for playing music at the dances or delegating others to help DJ. Also, he/she finds new music for the collection and should have some knowledge of the type of music appropriate for each dance.

INSTRUCTION COORDINATOR
The instruction coordinator(s) is responsible for scheduling instructors for all dances, workshops, and other lessons. He/she is not responsible for finding rooms for the dances (done by dance coordinator). However, he/she is responsible for finding rooms for workshops and other lessons (i.e. 4 week series lessons). The instruction coordinator chooses the dance genres that will be taught. Because the instruction coordinator is required to attend all instruction (unless he/she sends a delegate), he/she will receive all instruction for free.  Often the person best suited to serve as instruction coordinator is someone who is new to the club and eager to take lots of free dance lessons.

PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR
The PR Coordinator is responsible for distributing information regarding UWMBDA's activities, including dances, workshops, lessons, social events, and dinner dance, to the club and, when appropriate, outside organizations (such as newspapers, email lists, etc.).


WITH THE EXCEPTION OF INSTRUCTION COORDINATOR (Dual-post), IT IS STRONGLY REQUESTED THAT EVERY COUNCIL POSITION BE HELD BY ONLY ONE PERSON. (Effective: Fall 2004 Elections)

In addition, under the terms of the UWMBDA constitution, no one person can hold more than one post of President, Vice President, or Treasurer at any given time. All council members should assist at UWMBDA functions however necessary. Also, they are encouraged to "work the desk" at UWMBDA dances. However, they do not get in free to the dances unless they work the desk, set up, or decorate. All council-members work together to plan the semester's dance and instruction schedules and contribute insight into the club's policies and future direction.