Additional nominations may be made by a petition signed by not less than one hundred (100) members of the Society submitted to the Nominating Committee at least fourteen (14) days prior to the beginning of the election. Persons so nominated by petition must previously have agreed to serve if elected. No nominations may be made from the floor of the annual meeting at which the Nominating Committee’s report is made.

In 2024 the membership approved changes to Article IV of the Society’s Articles of Incorporation. The board has now adopted additional revisions to Article IV and recommends them to the members for approval. These revisions simplify the Society’s election process.

The revisions

• potentially enlarge the size of the Board 20 people to allow greater flexibility in the future. This range of directors gives the Board more flexibility to determine how many directors it wants in the future since amending the Articles is a tedious and costly process,
• simplify the system of regional directors, to make it easier to find the best candidates for the Board while maintaining geographical diversity
• ensure the Vice President of Society and Organization Management will automatically serve as a director, and changes the starting date for officer and director terms to the start of the fiscal year following their election, which is currently January 1st.

The proposed changes to the Articles of Incorporation are available here.

The NGS board of directors is a working board. Board members spend on average twenty or more hours a month in a variety of activities. Each member is expected to chair a committee or actively participate on one or more committees. Aside from complimentary registration to the annual conference and a $300 reimbursement for each in-person board meeting, directors fund their own NGS membership, activities, and travel expenses to the two in-person board meetings each year. Board meetings are typically held at the site of the annual conference (usually a day or two prior to the start) and one other location around the country, often in the Washington, D.C. region. Additional meetings are held as needed by Zoom teleconference. Attendance at the annual conference is expected of board members. No person shall be eligible for office who is not a member of the Society in good standing when nominated.