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Tuesday, November 01, 2016 12:15 AM

Call for nominations: 2017 president-elect, AMA delegates and alternate delegates

by Kate Alfano, CMS Communications Coordinator

The nomination period for the 2017 Colorado Medical Society all-member election will be open through Jan. 31, 2017. The Colorado Medical Society encourages all members to consider nominating a colleague or self-nominating for one of the open leadership positions: president-elect (one position open), AMA delegate (three positions open) and alternate delegate (three positions open).

The election guide is available at www.cms.org. This guide provides all the information a potential candidate needs about the duties, eligibility, terms of office and honorarium for each open position, as well as candidate requirements, campaign guidelines and the election process. The position descriptions and qualifications for office are available starting on page three of the election guide and the candidate requirements on page five of the election guide.

Past CMS president John L. Bender, MD, FAAFP, described why he chose to run for office at CMS: “I was (and still am!) enthusiastic for the opportunities before the house of medicine and the patients of Colorado as we implement the critical pieces of health care reform. We have a unique opportunity to really influence the legislative and regulatory process compared to many other states, all thanks to the legacy work of those who came before us and the highly skilled CMS staff.”

Past CMS president Jan Kief, MD, explained what to expect in an officer position. “As the CMS president, you are given great support from the excellent staff at CMS, proper orientation with the president-elect year, and can work your CMS duties around your practice schedule. The time you put in at CMS is well spent, and the benefits of feeling truly excited about our profession and contributing to something important come back to you threefold!”

“My mentors as CMS president were the past presidents of CMS – too many to name,” Kief continued. “I studied their leadership styles and they were always available to answer my questions, be on a committee, or just meet as colleagues. And I learned so much from watching the teamwork exemplified by the effective CMS staff.”

Email CMS CEO Alfred Gilchrist at alfred_gilchrist@cms.org if you have additional questions or if you would like to be connected with a past CMS president to discuss leadership expectations peer-to-peer.