MAJOR CHANGES!

For those of you out of the loop, a couple of tremendous changes took place at the past GMM.

First off...we now have a new faculty advisor-Dr. Julia Pennington. She is more than qualified for overseeing our AIESEC chapter on account of her background in International Business and having traveled to over 50 countries. She now teaches International Marketing here in UWEC and has taken a keen interest in us, so let's all be sure to make her feel welcomed!

Secondly...the new election process was put into effect. From now on we'll be handling things the way they do on the national level and holding LCP elections at the end of first semester, so that the new year-long term will be start in January. This also entitles a new voting system. After each candidate presents a short speech, teams will separate to discuss possible questions to pose. Post Q&A, teams regroup to collectively vote. The twist is that each candidate can earn either a 2 (highly confidant), 1 (moderately so), or 0 (hell no!). The LCP, a random VP, and a random GM then tally the votes, and in case of a tie, the current LCP chooses. All of this is confidential of course, so as not to raise any drama. For a grand finale, the new LCP is declared by having a cup of water poured over his or her head.

Last but not least, our new LCP elect is.......Jake Hammes! He'll run the show for a short term from May 2010-January, so as a whole let's lend our support. The decision was a tough one, but I believe that Jake's experience compared to the other candidate, Eric Larson, was what pulled him through. The three main points he made as to what he'd like to see occur in AIESEC Eau Claire were transparency, sustainability, and growth. In addition to these goals, he aims at creating an identifiable culture within our chapter, as well as raising our status to the top 5 in the nation. These are major ambitions, but they aren't to be confused with the impossible. One attributable quality Jake has is charisma, which is a critical factor in being a motivating leader. If we work as a team, and hold him accountable for his communication skills, I think these goals can be accomplished!