GGRWHC 2013 Candidates for the Board of Directors

 
Grand Rapids native Susan Johnson Coombes attended Michigan State University, majoring in Communications. Following work in radio in Lansing she moved abroad living in Europe, Africa, and Asia. While resident in Nigeria she was a member and then president of the International Women's Association. After two years in the Netherlands, where she worked as an information specialist on the Eastern Schelde Works (a storm surge barrier being built on an artificial island), she moved to Asia and spent 9 1/2 years in Hong Kong. Back in the US she lived for 13 years near Seattle and became a City of Issaquah Arts Commissioner. Currently retail manager for the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Coombes has also worked in the PR/Communications industry as a freelance producer and has been active in the local theater scene. On the national level, she served on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Theatre.

Ruth Stevens is a professor in the Legal Studies division of the Criminal Justice Department at Grand Valley State University. A history major as an undergraduate, she also has a J.D. degree and an M.A. in Library and Information Science. Stevens began a research project on early Grand Rapids attorney Ella Mae Backus while working at Thomas M. Cooley Law School and has presented locally on her research at the Great Lakes History Conference and various other groups. Her research on Ella Mae Backus drew from local history resources at the Grand Rapids Public Library (including the World War I registration cards) and helped her connect on projects with other members of the GGRWHC. She has written for both academic and popular publications and is interested in continuing her work on Ella Mae Backus and collaborating with others on local women's history projects.

BYLAWS: To review our current bylaws, click here: http://www.ggrwhc.org/pdfs/GGRWHC_Bylaws.pdf

On Thursday the current board  will ask the Council to ease its business by approving  the following amendments. Note sections in bold. Please mail to info@ggrwhc.org with any questions you wish to raise.

Directors

Section 3.2. Number and Term of Office. The board of directors shall consist of not less than ten (10) and not more than thirty (30) members, as determined from time to time by resolution of the board of directors. [ALTERATION: The board shall at all times include the officers and, as often as possible, standing or special committee chairs.]

Standing Committees

Section 5.3. Special Committees. Such other standing or special committees as may be necessary or desirable may be appointed by the president or elected by the board of directors. [ADD: Dues-paying Council members may serve as committee members or chairs of committees at the discretion of the board. In such cases, at least one director must be a member of said special committee.]