The following candidates are standing for officer positions in the Kitakyushu JALT chapter for the period of office from November 2020 to November 2021:

Position: Chapter President
Candidate: Jason McDonald
The chapter president is responsible to organize and oversee the other officers, ensure that all the presenters are taken care of and generally manage chapter business. The chapter president also will report to the national JALT board both through the Executive Board Meetings held three times per year and through a written report of chapter business, submitted once per year.
Jason McDonald is a language school owner living in Kanda. Originally from Canada, Jason has lived in Japan for nearly twenty years.

Position: Membership Chair
Candidate: Charlie Bell
I have been in charge of membership for the past four years, and I am more than happy to continue my duties as membership chair. I'll try my best to keep those numbers up after the COVID situation settles down.
Charlie Bell comes from Reading, in the UK. He has an MA TESOL from the University of Birmingham. Charlie has been teaching in Japan for almost seven years in a variety of different teaching jobs, and currently holds a full-time position as an English lecturer at a local medical university.

Positions: Program Chair / Website Manager
Candidate: Paul Collett
The program chair is responsible for finding & organising & scheduling presenters at the chapter. As well as contacting possible speakers to see if they are interested in presenting, other duties include helping the speakers with transportation and accommodation arrangements, where necessary. Where possible, the chair may work with other chapters and SIGs to help share the costs involved in putting on events, or creating opportunities for speakers to present at a number of chapters in the region.
Paul Collett has been a member of the chapter for more than 20 years, and has maintained the chapter's internet services for a number of those. He is currently employed at Shimonoseki City University.

Position: Publicity Chair
Candidate: Andrew Zitzmann
The Publicity Chair will contact the membership in a timely manner, informing them of the details of JALT events. Additionally the Publicity Chair is resposible for the maintenance of the Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts.
Andrew Zitzmann is the current Publicity chair. He is employed at Seinan Jo Gakuin University.

Position: Reporting Secretary
Candidate: Markus Yong
As reporting secretary, my duties include writing summaries as well as recording, editing and posting videos of all our chapter meetings.
Markus Yong is from Australia and have been teaching English for 14 years at all levels.

Position: Treasurer
Candidate: Juha Vaittinen
To oversee the disbursement of funds from JALT national to the Kitakyushu JALT chapter. The treasurer will submit monthly reports to the National office regarding the state of the chapter funds as well as oversee any payments from the chapter to speakers, renting of venue, and various other expenses related to the chapter.
Juha Vaittinen is the current Treasurer of Kitakyushu JALT, a position he has held for the past four years.

According to Bylaw III-4, of the chapter constitution: If no officer positions are being contested among two or more candidates, the JALT Kitakyushu Executive Board may present the full slate of officers to the membership at the Annual General Meeting for approval by the members present. If there are contested positions, elections will take place at the Annual General Meeting or prior to the AGM via the Internet, with the results subject to approval by the JALT Kitakyushu Executive Board.

The chapter AGM is scheduled to be held from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm, prior to our regular meeting on November 14, 2020.

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