Teachers` association to choose its president

The Association for Teachers of English in Korea will be accepting nominations for its first presidential election until noon today.

Once the list of nominees is compiled, ATEK`s Election Committee will e-mail it to the association`s general members and voting will begin.

"We`re excited about the election," said Jason Thomas, a member of ATEK`s founding board. "A lot of people have worked hard to establish the association, and the founding board was pleased to be able to pass responsibility for leadership over to members.

"Once members have chosen a president, we`ll be able to say that ATEK is truly representative."

All general members of ATEK are eligible for president. Interested members must submit a one-page resume detailing their experience teaching English in Korea, as well as other relevant experience and a short message explaining why they are the best candidate. This information will be viewed by all general members during the voting.



Once nominations have closed, ATEK members will receive the list of all nominees and their biographical information, and the one-week polling period will be set.

The president will take office Sept. 1, Thomas said.

During the voting, members will send their votes to elections@atek.or.kr

Two members have volunteered to count the votes and confirm that they were sent by eligible ATEK members.

The president will serve for one year, during which he or she will be the public face of the organization, Thomas said.

"Working closely with the elected National Council, the president will represent members to education stakeholders at the national level - government, employers, media and the public," Thomas said. "It will be a demanding job, especially since they will still have their teaching work to do - the association isn`t collecting any revenue, so we can`t pay the president anything; it will be entirely volunteer work."

ATEK currently has about 800 members - general and associate - with the National Council serves as its governing body, Thomas said.

The council consists of teachers who have already been elected by members in their region to represent them at the national level. At present, local associations in five regions - Busan, Gangwon Province, South Gyeongsang Province, North Jeolla Province and Seoul - have chosen representatives.

A vice-president, communications officer, membership officer and fiduciary officers will be chosen by the national council. They will report to the council and the president, Thomas said.

General members with further questions should contact their local chair for more details; send their inquiry to elections@atek.or.kr; or visit www.atek.or.kr, the organization`s official site.

Those interested in joining may do so through ATEK`s website. Thomas said membership is available to anyone who "supports our mission," but only teachers employed on visas can become general members, and only general members may vote or run for leadership positions.

(rjamesyork@heraldm.com)



By Rob York