By Jason E. Camis, IOM


This year, I’m happy to announce that for the first time in a long time, all our races (Mountain West Regional Director, Great Plains Regional Director and International Vice President) are contested. In many walks of life, we might posit that this happens when people are unhappy with the direction we’re heading. For Sertoma, that couldn’t be further from the case. The truth is we have individuals who are excited about where Sertoma is headed, and they are genuinely interested in helping us get there! As I told each of them, I’m excited to work with whoever wins. Candidates are:

International Vice President
Chris Huether, Alexandria Sertoma Club (Alexandria, MN)
Stephanie Marks, Watagua Sertoma Club (Stillwater, OK)
Joe Schneider, Powell Sertoma Club (New Albany, OH)

Great Plains Regional Director
Brendyn Richards, Sioux City Noon Sertoma Club (Vermillion, SD)
Jim Sharrick, Hastings Noon Sertoma Club (Hastings, NE)

Mountain West Regional Director
Mark Daley, Sertoma Club of Mesa (Mesa, AZ)
Adriane Raven, Roswell Sertoma Club (Roswell, NM)

So, it’s upon all Sertomans to cast a vote and show the candidates you care about what happens internationally as much as they do. Over the years, voting has declined to the point where we’re lucky if 5% of our membership votes. With that in mind, we’re doing something different this year. We’re mailing a hard copy ballot to every Sertoman. My hope is that you will take the time to cast your vote by mail (or online at sertoma.org) in May to help us ensure that our national leadership is a representative of our membership.

In addition to candidate races, we’re also asking for your vote on one significant change to how we operate. The Sertoma International Board of Directors has authorized staff to dissolve Hearing Charities of America (HCOA) as a stand-alone entity and roll all its programs, services, finances, etc., into Sertoma’s operations. The HCOA Board will become an advisory board for all our hearing-related programs, allowing those individuals to focus on their area of expertise. It’s important to note that HCOA, with the Hearing Aid Project as its flagship program, is profitable (and growing), and we’ll continue to explore ways for our hearing health programs to support the efforts of our clubs in their communities.

To move forward with this change, Sertoma members are required to vote on the change as is required by the State of Missouri, where we are headquartered. This is a positive change, albeit one that most people would not even know because it’s essentially one in the same operationally today. I encourage you to support this change with a YES vote, as it will allow Sertoma to save some financial resources by streamlining what we do.

Additional information about the candidates, including biographies and video interviews, will be posted on the website in the coming weeks. Watch Sertoma social media and email communication channels for more information as it becomes available.