Overview

The Cartography and Geographic Information Society is represented in the ACSM Congress by two delegates who shall be appointed by the CaGIS Board. The Delegates each typically serve a three-year term, beginning with the spring ACSM Congress meeting. Any member of CaGIS in a position of leadership can be appointed by the Board as a CaGIS delegate to the ACSM Congress. CaGIS delegates are expected to attend the meetings of ACSM to facilitate liaison and policy coordination between ACSM and other member organizations of ACSM. In addition to the two delegates, the Board also appoints an alternate representative, who may be called upon to sit at Congress meetings if a delegate is unable to attend.

History

During the transition to the Congress model in 2004, when ACSM member organizations became individually incorporated entities, it was agreed that each ACSM member organization (MO) would decide its own representation to the ACSM Congress, with each MO having two positions to fill. The CaGIS Board, at that time, chose to set a three-year term on its representation to the Congress. Because this was a decision of the Board, it can be changed at any time by the Board without having to change the bylaws.

The first to be nominated as CaGIS representatives to the ACSM Congress were Tim Trainor and Eric Anderson. To ensure that the terms of CaGIS representation are staggered, Tim Trainor agreed to serve a two-year term and Eric Anderson was asked to serve a three-year term starting at the same time as Tim Trainor's term. When Tim's term expired, Dave Danko was apointed to serve a three-year term. There was recognition that, if the Board chose, and the representative(s) agreed, current representative(s) could be assigned to serve for a second term.

In 2007, and every four years thereafter, one of the CaGIS delegates will succeed to serve as chair of the Congress for one year. Dave Danko will assume that responsibility in March 2007. CaGIS therefore needs to appoint another delegate in place of Dave Danko for the period March 2007 to March 2008, as the ACSM Congress chair must be neutral in terms of MO representation. After CaGIS' role as Congress chair has expired, the former chair can revert to serving as CaGIS representative until his or her term expires. Originally, it was assumed that the alternate would assume the position of the representative chairing the Congress and a new alternate would be selected for the year to replace him or her--this, again, is the choice of the Board.

It was suggested that alternates would always be the past presidents, since that would give them more experience on Congress matters and prepare them to serve as representatives. Thus, the alternate would change each year.

Note that all these decisions are for the Board to make. The CaGIS delegates (representatives) to the Congress are your voice, your channel of communication AND feedback, and your ambassadors to the other member organizations within the Congress. They are not the only source of contact, though. Getting more CaGIS officers and members involved in ACSM committees can be very beneficial in many ways. For example, having the treasurer actively engaged in the Budget and Finance Committee is of great value in making sure that CaGIS finance concerns are addressed by the Congress. The president's interaction with the Executive Director of ACSM and the presidents of the other MOs can contribute to greater understanding, awareness, and willingness to cooperate because of shared interests. Therefore, the CaGIS Board must chose its delegates wisely.

If you wish to become more involved, please let us know at cagis@acsm.net.