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68th NAPS National Convention Committees: New Orleans

68th NAPS National Convention Committees: New Orleans

Preparations continue for the 68th NAPS National Convention in New Orleans, Aug. 8-12, at the Hyatt Regency. One of the major requirements for a smooth-running convention is the selection of delegates to serve on various national convention committees. All members should be mindful of several important rules concerning committee assignments:

• NAPS members no longer have to get their branch president’s recommendation for a national convention committee assignment.
• Members may self-nominate for their national convention committee selections. Self-nominations may be made online only through NAPS’ committee registration process at www.naps.org (committee request). No mail-in, fax or email requests will be accepted.
• All committee members must be registered for the national convention and be certified delegates prior to the NAPS national president’s committees’ selections.
• All national convention committee members must be registered guests of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans from the date of their first committee assignment until the conclusion of the convention on Friday, Aug. 12. Committee chairs will verify hotel registrations of their respective committee members.
• Delegates serving on committees will receive lodging and per diem as follows: Credentials & Registration—two nights’ lodging and two days’ per diem; Audit, Constitution & Bylaws, Postmaster, Resolutions and Rules—one night’s lodging and one day per diem; Assistant Secretaries and Sergeants-at-Arms—$100 per day, no lodging.
• A national convention committee may have only one branch member appointed per committee, unless granted an exception by the NAPS national president. Furthermore, committees may have up to 25% of members who never before have served on a national convention committee.

When expressing an interest in serving, members must give careful consideration to the fact that one committee will meet on Saturday, Aug. 6, and the others on Sunday, Aug. 7, in advance of the convention’s opening day. Some committees will meet throughout the national convention.

Moreover, members serving on these “advance” committees must attend all meetings of their respective committees, which generally begin at 9 a.m., although some could begin earlier. No exceptions will be made to this attendance rule.

Members should make their hotel reservations early enough so they won’t have a problem getting a room for an extra day or two in advance of the convention. If members are not selected for advance committee assignments, they simply may cancel their room reservations for the extra days as soon as possible. Do not cancel your entire hotel stay—only the extra days. Otherwise, reserve your hotel room after you have been confirmed to serve on a national convention committee.

If traveling to the national convention via airline and you purchase your ticket before being selected for a committee, NAPS Headquarters will not reimburse you for any airline change fees. It is suggested that you purchase an airline ticket after you receive confirmation that you have been selected for a national convention committee.

For the 68th National Convention, self-nominations may be made only through NAPS’ online committee registration process at www.naps.org. No mail-in, fax or email requests will be accepted. The deadline to request consideration for a committee is midnight, March 31, 2022. No requests will be accepted after the deadline.

Listed here are the national convention committees, including the tentative dates of their first meetings, the minimum number of members on each committee and a brief description of their responsibilities:

Assistant Secretaries (no advance meeting, four members)—Sit at the dais during all business sessions and keep a record of the actions taken on all resolutions, including amendments; help conduct vote counts and assist the national parliamentarian and resident officers, as needed.

Audit (Sunday, Aug. 7, 10 members)—Audits four months of NAPS financial records chosen by the chair and assistant chair from the previous two fiscal years. Discrepancies or errors, if any, are noted and a written report (to the secretary/treasurer) and verbal report (to the entire convention) are made.

Ballot and Election (no advance meeting; 18 members, includes chair and assistant chair, one member from each of the 16 NAPS areas)—Conducts the balloting and election for national officers and site selection for the national convention that will take place four years hence.

Only the Ballot and Election Committee chair and assistant chair are notified of their selection before the convention. Members of this committee do not know they have been selected until their names are read by the NAPS national president on Tuesday of the convention week.

Ballot and Election Committee members will be sequestered from the time they leave the convention floor with the sealed ballot boxes until the committee chair, alone, later announces the election results before the convention body.

Constitution & Bylaws (Sunday, Aug. 7, 16 members)—Reviews all resolutions having to do with the NAPS Constitution & Bylaws, as well as those directing NAPS to take action on other matters.

Credentials & Registration (very early Saturday, Aug. 6, 21 members)—Processes the registrations of all NAPS and Auxiliary delegates and guests. Committee members verify credentials and hand out name badges, One Books, delegate cards, souvenirs bags and more.

Postmaster (Sunday, Aug. 7, 12 members)—Reviews matters of particular interest to postmaster members. Will meet with members of the NAPS Executive Board Postmaster Committee.

Resolutions (Sunday, Aug. 7, 14 members)—Reviews all resolutions (except those related to the NAPS Constitution & Bylaws) having to do with pay, working conditions and postal policy.

Rules (Sunday, Aug. 7, six members)—Reviews and edits the convention rules and ultimately provides each delegate with a copy of the rules.

Sergeants-at-Arms (meeting day and time TBD, 18 members)—Maintain order during the convention, escort guests to the dais, assist in the vote count and distribute materials, including the convention Daily Newsletter and amended resolutions, to delegates. Members of this committee must attend all business sessions.

Again, the Self-Nomination National Convention Committee Request is available online at www.naps.org. Delegate credential information will be mailed to branches before Dec. 31, 2021. Final committee assignments will be made by the NAPS national president.

When nominating yourself for a national convention committee, indicate your first, second and third choice (if applicable) committee assignment. All committee requests must be received by midnight, March 31, 2022.

Please note: No committee recommendation will be considered unless the delegate has registered and submitted their credential prior to the national president’s selection of committees on April 20. All those requesting national convention committee consideration will be subsequently notified whether or not they have been selected for a committee assignment.