NAMI Maryland Annual Meeting,

NAMIWALKS Award Celebration, and Election

Please join us for our Annual Meeting and Walk Awards Celebration on October 20, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. at The Conference Center at Sheppard Pratt, 6501 N. Charles St., Towson, MD 21204. NAMI members will also be given the opportunity to vote on candidates for the NAMI Maryland Board of Directors at this time as well.

Voting is the crucial way you make your voice heard in our organization. Taking the time to vote helps your Board of Directors ensure that NAMI Maryland's annual meeting represents as many members' views as we can. In order to vote (see below for voting options), you must be a NAMI member and your membership must be active through October 2018.

Click here to become a member or contact NAMI Maryland (adminassist@namimd.org or 410-884-8691).

Click for the Ballot of Nominees for the Board of Directors proposed by the NAMI Maryland Board Development Committee.

Click here for bios of the nominees. Additional bios will continue to be posted as they become available.

"Proxy" Voting

If you cannot attend the annual meeting, you may fill out a proxy form. A "proxy" means that you officially delegate your voting privilege to another member to vote in your absence. When you assign your proxy, you will provide the following designation:

I designate the following person to vote by proxy for me at the Annual Meeting on October 20, 2018: (check one)

__ NAMI Maryland's President of the Board (or, if the President cannot be present, then the Executive Director)

__Other (please designate a member who will be at the Annual Meeting and can vote on your behalf: [list name]______________________

Note: If the proxy is other than the NAMI Maryland's President of the Board of Directors, please let the person to whom you are granting your proxy know that you are doing so. You may submit your proxy by one of the following options:

You may fill out the proxy assignment online HERE.
You can print out the proxy assignment form and give it directly to the member to whom you are granting the proxy.
You can print out the attached proxy assignment form and mail or fax it to NAMI Maryland. If you are using this option, then all proxy assignments must be received at the NAMI Maryland office by Friday, October 19, 2018 by 5:00 p.m. to be counted.

The Process of Nominating Candidates for the NAMI Maryland Board of Directors

The process of nominating this year's slate of candidates for the NAMI Maryland Board of Directors involved thorough review process by the NAMI Maryland Board Nominating Committee. The Board Nominating Committee began work at the beginning of 2018. The application packet was finalized and sent out by email and posted on the NAMI Maryland website in June, 2018.

The committee members reviewed all applications and conducted phone interviews with each candidate to: present expectations; confirm consent to run and commitment to serve; and identify attributes that would contribute to good governance and diversity as required by the NAMI Standards of Excellence, our bylaws, and good practice. Among the attributes considered were: demographics, expertise, personal relationship to the issue of mental illness, connections to strategic community networks, interests, availability, and connection and past service to NAMI Maryland and/or to NAMI affiliates in Maryland. The committee discussed each candidate in the context of NAMI Maryland's needs and recommends all six candidates for election to the six open slots. The committee chair presented that ballot and recommended slate of candidates for distribution to NAMI Maryland affiliates and members 30 days prior to the scheduled annual meeting. This ballot is posted online HERE.